Cath Lab Results 

Today was very busy. It was just one thing after another. Hana had a better but still pretty terrible night’s sleep. I really think it’s the steroids. I’m running on fumes. Hana must be too!

The big thing today was Hana’s first cardiac catheterization. Everyone has been surprised to learn this, but before, the consensus was that it was too risky of a procedure for her old heart. But here we are with a new heart. We took Hana down where they gave her IV versed. Then they walked us to the cath lab which is on the adult side of the hospital. Hana was getting a little droopy and drooling a little in my arms. There we said good bye to Paul and I took her in and laid her on the table where they gave her propofol and I stayed with her until she was asleep. For this procedure they thread a small device into a vein in her groin area that goes to her heart. They measure the pressures of the heart and take four samples for the biopsy.

30 minutes later she was done. The doctor came out and explained the results. The pressures in the right side are higher than a normal, healthy heart (10, versus 6-8). The pressure on the left side of her heart is 20 (they want 8-10). This means that her heart is stiff. We were disappointed until one of the transplant doctors came to talk to us and said the results are what they expected. Hana’s new heart spent 5.5 hours on ice, which is a long time and it may take a while for it to adjust. So, we feel a little better. We will get biopsy results around Friday afternoon.

The other big thing we did today was check into the Ronald McDonald House. It is impressive and beautiful and brand new. I’ll talk more about this later. It feels crazy to be thinking about leaving! Now, we wait for biopsy results. We also have to wait for Hana’s Prograf levels to become stable and then we can e discharged. This could delay us a day or so. Hopefully not!

Okay, so tired, must sleep!

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