Giving Thanks

This Thanksgiving week has been an interesting, and good one. With all the kids home, Chris has been energized and she really has a very positive attitude and great spirits. She has enjoyed doing lots of activities with them (cooking, errands, visiting friends, etc.) and will clearly miss the girls when they leave at the end of the weekend. I have watched and am very pleased to see how them being around has made a difference in Chris' outlook. We had Thanksgiving dinner at my sister Judy's and Chris did great with a long day, no signs of tiring and a good appetite.

On Wednesday, Chris and I had an appointment with a cardiologist in Boston who is the world renowned expert on amyloid damage to the heart. He used to be part of the Boston Medical team but has since switched medical partnerships. Nevertheless he remains the "go to guy" on this subject. Again, yet another advantage of being in Boston where the world class health care and expertise just doesn't end. Dr. Falk has led the medical field in clinical analysis and we sought him out to get his perspective, validate what we were hearing at Boston Medical, and satisfy our own need to ensure we have engaged all possible expertise. I am not sure how the Boston Medical program will react to us seeking other opinions, but I am sure they will respect our need to leverage all options.

The appointment went well. Chris had an exam including an echocardiagram, had blood work done, and we spent a long time answering questions - providing descriptions of the history, the treatment, and the period back home. This has led to two next steps. On Tuesday, Chris will have a stress test on the treadmill as they measure blood pressure, heart activity, oxygen levels, etc. This will give us an indication of her level of fitness and her ability to increase her daily amount of exercise. If she shows that she can maintain her blood pressure (and not get light-headed) while she exerts herself, this will be a good sign. If on the other hand she gets winded easily, her chest hurts, and her BP drops, this will probably indicate the heart damage is more than maybe we had thought. Tuesday will be a big day.

On Friday, Chris is going to Brighams and Womens Hospital in Boston for the next procedure. Here, they will insert a camera down her throat and somehow (Chris and I have been trying to figure this out) will snake it to her right atrium in her heart where they will look at the heart wall. They are afraid of hardened proteins deposited in her heart wall and want to see to what extent they are there. These can actually break off as a clot and cause a stroke. To prevent that from happening they are considering placing her on a blood thinner such as coumadin.

So next week will be another important week for Chris' journey to health. This of course will be followed by the week we have been trying to patiently wait for. Chris and I are both clearly getting nervous as we get closer, knowing that what we hear in the next 2 weeks will impact us more than can be written. Good or Bad, our lives will be forever changed. I could write for hours as to what I mean by that, but suffice it to say we are hoping for the best, preparing for the worst.

No matter what happens (in my heart, I know a miracle is going to happen), Chris and I are both thankful for the incredible love, support, friendship, and compassion everyone has given. We had an amazing Thanksgiving as we are more thankful than we have ever been in our lives. We are thankful for family and friends, the fact that we have been able to find the best medical support in the world, the fact that we hopefully caught this early, and the fact that we have been able to be very aggressive in treating this disease. We all have much to be thankful for.