Keep Them In Your Prayers! Clint & Barb...

 

Suez, Here is my current status. It is fine for publication on your Blog or where ever else you think it fits. I or Barbara will try and keep you guys updated as best we can. I am doing better, but probably temporarily.      To be blunt: I am in the St Lukes Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. Been here going on a month. Almost total isolation to prevent infection when I get a heart for transplant. I am essentially here until a heart becomes available or I die.   Only Barb can visit. I am listed on the heart transplant list as a I-A patient and will get the first or second one of the first heart’s that fits. I am loosing weight and trying to reduce my weight as quickly and as much as I can. As I’ve mentioned before, I am an attractive heart transplant candidate because everything works. I have no organ issues, bone issues etc. The heart is the only issue and that is rare I’m told. I have no coronary blockages or other problems with the plumbing. So, they will keep me here until they get a heart for me, however long that takes I’m told. Of course, things change in medicine and the plan has changed quite regularly of late. However, this is what we got now and what we believe will happen. Recovery is about 6 to 8 weeks in the hospital following surgery, another month to 2 months living close by with daily visits to the clinic and then home with weekly clinic visits.      If all goes well, I’ll move to monthly clinic visits and so on. The anti rejection drugs are pretty tough and require a lot of monitoring to get them right and keep them right. For now, keeping me here keeps me on the I-A status and puts me at the first to be considered status. Hearts are transplanted on the basis of the recipient being best able to utilize the new heart and have nothing to do with the order of when one signs up or anything else. It is purely on who can do all the things, solve the problems and get the most benefit from the very limited number of available hearts. So, I am in the best situation I can be in and have the best chance I’ll ever have to get a suitable heart. So, Barb and I have decided to do all we can to take advantage of this God Given opportunity I’ve been given. We deal with things day to day and keep a positive attitude at all costs. Barb has hired some help to take care of John at our Angel Lake Ranch near Columbus TX as she is out of resources by herself. She’ll have 2 people that will help John and more coming on as the need arises later in the process.      Will be quite a while before we get back to SP or anywhere else, but if this goes well, then it should happen later this year. We’ll see. First thing is to have a heart available that works for me. That is it from the Hospital and is most all we know. This is tough duty, but I have plenty I can do and plenty they are doing to me. Things can get busy here and painfully slow and boring. Barb can visit a lot of the days, but she needs to take care of John on Sunday and from time to time tend to other things. She has hired people to handle outside work and can get mechanical stuff done pretty completely. It isn’t forever, but will be a good bit of 2015. You folks take care of yourselves and we’re looking forward to breaking bread with you as soon as the Lord gives us the opportunity. Clint & Barbara