Our February

What a good morning it is.  This is Monica, playing secretary again.  Marty had given me the information he wants written, but it will be me that writes, so there may be some of my sarcastic attitude that comes through.  Sorry about that.
There has been so much that has happened since the January post.  The one thing that has had the most meaning to Marty is going in to say hello to Dr.'s Shah and Levinson.  They are the "insurance appointed" pulmonologists that basically kept Marty alive during his Scottsdale Healthcare stay.  When something like a sudden illness happens and you are just given a Doctor that happens to be on your insurance company provider's list, you have NO say in it, no choice.  You just pray and hope that they know what they are doing.  Well, these two Dr's did/do know their stuff.  We just stopped into their office, yes, a mask was worn, to say hello and to say thank you to them.  I could not believe the reception that Marty received from them.  We were taken back into their offices and just chatted like old friends.  Both Doctors had smiles on their faces, and words just didn't seem like enough to express our thanks.  I always wonder if it does the doctors good to see their patients and how their medical knowledge for all intents and purposes saved their lives.  These two doctors were key to saving Marty.... (not to say all of the others didn't have a part  it was a big team effort)   We then had the oportunity to also say thank you to Dr. Manish Patel.  He is the ICU/Critical Care Doctor (although he has partners too) that kept on pulling things out of his sleeve for Marty.  He just couldn't believe that Marty was up walking and living. Dr. Patel is the Dr. that recommended both of the Roto Beds. How do you ever really say thank you to people.  It was strange for me to hear how some of the medical professionals at the hospital say they remember the family of the patient more so than the patient, maybe because at that time, I was a pain in their butts....??? They all did remember Marty, just as the patient in room 238 or the Roto bed guy.  What an amazing group of people we have had the opportunity to meet, yes, people first and then Doctors and Nurses.  In my opinion, they would not be good medical professionals unless they are good people first.

Well, on another note... Marty started getting a different type of cough mid February.  It is just part of life after a transplant, but when things are different with their health, you are supposed to call the transplant nurse coordinator.  So we called, since his vitals, breathing,and  O2 saturation's were all good, we were told to just monitor his cough and vitals, he had a  regularly scheduled clinic appointment on Tuesday and things would be checked out then.  Clinics involve chest x rays, Pulmonary function tests, and blood work.  The only thing that was a little off was Marty was a little more tired, and tired more easily.  So on Tuesday, we went in for the appointment.  His chest Xray was clear, his blood work was good, but his PFT's went down.  Thus a bronchcoscopy was ordered, as well as 3 IV steroid treatments, oh and 2 of his treatments I had to do at home, something I have never done through this whole thing...The IV steroids were precautionary in case the bronch showed rejection...The last time  he had steroid infusions, he was a complete nut case, so hyper, so hungry, his thoughts just couldn't even connect with his speech.. a  horrible thing for me...oops I mean for him to go through.

The bronch results came back negative for rejection, negative for RSV, but positive for the flu and a fungus growing in lungs.  The IV treatments weren't as bad as I thought and his reaction was NOTHING compared to the first time.  The fungus is being treated, he has no more coughing, and he is not as tired.  He is just so incredibly cautious now... that is a big change for him...I am glad he is though.  He is doing what he needs to be doing to take care of himself..finally.
There have been so many people who have been praying for him through this latest bout.. Thank you all,  We have been blessed with many good friends and family.  Thank you God for letting us go through this journey, and thank you for the many lessons we  have learned, and to be honest, for the lessons that we are still trying to learn.
Oh, one more thing... This Saturday there is a fundraiser for St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center's Heart and Lung Institute (where Marty's transplant was done).  It is called Laura's Run.  We are planning to go there, not to run this year, but to show support.  More next week about this event.
I was trying to add captions to the photos, but  I could't figure out how to... anyway, the top photo is at home during the IV treatments, and the other photo is Marty "dressed up" the day we saw Drs. Shah and Levinson... Yeah, no black T shirt or Camo pants... I say with a smile.