Spencer had his annual heart cath and biopsy last Friday. We got up in the middle of the night, leaving at 4:30 am to get to the hospital at 6:00. The biopsy takes about 2 hours, during which they draw labs, look at all of his coronary vessels, and take about six pieces of tissue from the chambers of his heart to look for rejection. In recovery he has to stay flat on the bed for another four hours.
Here he is--snacking and watching cartoons--the four hours really aren't that bad.
After that he is released and we make our way downstairs to the transplant clinic where he has an EKG, a chest x-ray, and an echocardiogram. We finish up in an exam room with his cardiologist and we go over all the results.
His labs looked great. His liver enzymes that have been concerning in the past are lower (that's good!) than they've ever been. And everything else is really stable.
Here are a couple of pictures of his coronary arteries. Pretty, no? :) The doctor said they look great and they don't see any changes from last year. Matt and I both let out a big sigh of relief at this news.
But now, the rest of the story. The biopsy results came back showing some mild rejection. Darn it! That's not what we wanted. It is mild and they are able to treat it with a 5 day pulse of prednisone. They also increased his antirejection meds a little bit and Spencer will have another biopsy in January to recheck. Dr. E. felt that this episode of rejection is a result of his Prograf being lowered over the last few months. They have been trying him out on lower doses because the lower the level, the better for his kidneys. We feel grateful that this trial phase happened right before his biopsy so that we were able to see the rejection and make adjustments before it gets worse or even life-threatening. He's doing great though and we just keep counting our blessings because there are many!
During Spencer's biopsy as Matt and I were walking around we found this Christmas tree. I loved it and took a picture to show the kids later.
Those Whos down in Whoville are so smart! They know what we all should know, that Christmas isn't about all the hustle and bustle and busy and worry. Christmas is about family and love and peace. So gather your loved ones around you and hug them tight this season. Remember to enjoy the moment because every day is a gift!
