What a difference a week makes!

Boy, are we glad to be home. Joel is doing so good. He just had his last home health care visit with a nurse this morning. He is down to 202 pounds (six months ago he weighed 257). Last fall, he stopped eating seconds and purposely started coming home to eat a healthier lunch. He has lost 55 pounds in 6 months or an 8 year old :). So proud of him.

He is adjusting quite well to his new medicines. He is on some pain pills (but slowly weaning himself off), a blood thinner, baby aspirin, and a few beta blockers and ace inhibitors (so his heart doesn't have to work so hard). They hope to have him off all medications in 90 days.

He is getting around really good. Taking a shower by himself. Getting dressed without my assistance. Doing small things around house like laundry or emptying the dishwasher. And, most importantly, getting caught up on past episodes of Judge Judy.

He can't drive for a month. So, I have to pack him up like a toddler in the back of a mini van and drive him around. That doesn't make him very happy. :)

I need to extend a huge thank you to everyone who has helped us. Your support, love, concern, and prayers have helped us get through this. We couldn't have done it without you. We are forever grateful.

To everyone who has sent us cards, e-mails, instant messages and words of encouragement, you are awesome. Your words of motivation and compassion were just what we needed.

To Amy and Gary Robbins, thank you for coordinating food to be brought to us and for coming to see Joel in the hospital in Chicago. What a wonderful surprise that was. Also, thank you for bringing us your own family dinner on Wed night when you found out we hadn't eaten yet! You are the best friends anyone could ever ask for!

To our families -- thank you for ALL you have done to support us through this time. We could not have done this without you. I so appreciate how you've just jumped into to help us when you saw we had a need for something. We are so blessed because of you.

To God, thank for you answering all of our prayers and seeing us through his time.

Joel will go back to Northwestern for a follow up visit in a few weeks. Doctor said he should have his pilot's license back in 3 months. Yay for Joel.

Enjoy your weekend because we sure will!

With love, Michelle

Joel is doing great! We are on our way home! Yay!!

Joel: The Comeback Kid

Happy Mother's Day! I miss my girls so much. :( They are having a blast with my sister so I am happy about that.

Again, thank you to all for your words of encouragement and prayers. Modern medicine is wonderful but I truly believe Joel's miraculous recovery is a result of the all the prayers coming our way. Keep them up!

He got moved from ICU to the regular cardiac floor last night around 11:30 pm. Today, he ate a full breakfast and lunch, read about half of his new Bill O'reilly book my dad bought for him, and we just finished walking the halls. His pain is under control and feels as good as can be expected! Yay Joel. He is such a trooper and hasn't complained one time despite everything.

He will have a chest xray, echo, ekg, and a few other tests tomorrow to establish a baseline. If he continues to improve like he has -- he will be home sooner than later! Wow. I cant even believe it.

I am gonna try to take a nap while he is sleeping. More soon.

Love, Michelle

Live from Nothwestern....it's Saturday night!

Let's see...cath and large chest drainage tube were removed this afternoon. All test results coming back continue to be excellent. He sat up at lunch and dinner for a couple hours. Nurses and docs continue to comment on his great recovery. Around 6pm he walked around 30 feet. YAY! His first steps ;0.

He's pain is under good control. He is so very peaceful right now. He just told me how happy he is that his surgery over. He said, "Michelle, I have been given a second chance. I have so much to live for. I am thankful to God for seeing me through this and for all our friends and family for their prayers, love, and concern.":)

Thank you so much to everyone for your all notes, emails, and calls. We are so very blessed.

With love, gratitude, and thankfulness, Michelle

MUST WATCH

He who has health, has hope. And he who has hope, has everything.

Joel is doing considerably well despite his tremendous pain. They made him sit up in a chair for 2.5 hours this morning and that about did him in. He had a few routine procedures this morning: took the main line out of his neck and replaced with a smaller one, took blood, and an xray. He should get his cath and main chest drainage tube out sometime today.

I have never ever been witness to such tremendous health care in my life. Joel has a full time nurse dedicate solely and fully to him. Northwestern Hospital = excellence in health care. Wow, what a difference 200 miles makes. They know him, they know his needs, they know his history. He waits for nothing - if he asks for something -its taken care of immediately.
The comprehensive health care is truly amazing and the staff are so passionate about their jobs - it leaves me shaking my head in astonishment. They work as a team and as a result of that -- there is no confusion among the various doctors seeing Joel, no repetition of information, etc.


Funny side note, my parents and I were at the hospital for over 19 hours yesterday --only leaving for two very short stints to eat. After we came back from dinner, Joel looked at me and said, "Wow. I can't believe you are just now coming to see me!" I was like, "huh"? He said, "I've been here alone all day...where have you been?" Poor thing -- he was on so much medication that he didn't remember all of us being by his side :(. I told him we were all here all day and I had the pictures of him flipping me off and the blog to prove it :).

He is going to try to eat lunch...hasnt had anything to eat since Thursday at 7pm.

Thank you all for you continued concern and prayers.

More soon! Love, Michelle

PS- Happy Birthday, Joel SR! We love you!

Power of Prayer Can't Be Denied

Joel is doing amazing! They repaired the aorta and his valve. In deed, God heard everyone's prayers. Thank you all so much. Thank you God.

He was off the vent in record time. They told me he would not know me or be able to respond for 24 hours. Within about 3 minutes of me being in the room, he reached for my hand. He is fully attentive and doing so amazingly well. He just asked me to take his face mask off and he gave me a kiss and signed I love you ;).

He is in alot of pain but he has a nurse fully dedicated to him and she is wonderful. I cannot believe the care at this hospital. I have never seen anything like it. He'll be in ICU for the next few days.

A huge thank you to our friend Melissa Shyrock. It is because of you that we are here and Joel is on the road to recovery. Nothing I could do would come close to repaying you for all you've done. God bless you.

Please pray that he continues to have an amazing recovery.

All my love, Michelle

Doc just called

They were able to repair his valve and fix the aorta!! Yay. Prayers answered once again. His heart is very, very weak but we already knew this. Doctor said there were no surprises and that he is doing as good as he possibly can. They will be working on him for about two more hours and then I will get to see him...but, they are keeping him sedated many hours after surgery so he wont know I am there. More after I get to see him. Off to lunch with my mom and dad...I need a cold beer!! Love, Michelle

What is a thoracic aortic aneurysm?

What is a thoracic aortic aneurysm?

The aorta is the largest artery in your body, and it carries blood away from your heart to all the parts of your body. The part of your aorta that runs through your chest is called the thoracic aorta (this where Joel's problem is) and, when your aorta reaches your abdomen, it is called the abdominal aorta.

When a weak area of your thoracic aorta expands or bulges, it is called a thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA). Approximately 25 percent of aortic aneurysms occur in the chest, and the rest involve the abdominal aorta. Again, Joel's is in his chest.

Thoracic aortic aneurysms are a serious health risk because they can burst or rupture. A ruptured aneurysm can cause severe internal bleeding, which can rapidly lead to shock or death.
Thoracic aneurysms affect approximately 15,000 people in the United States each year. We seem to be 1 Percenters in this family. Only about 20 to 30 percent of patients who get to the hospital with a ruptured TAA survive. For this reason, it is crucial to treat large aneurysms early, in order to prevent their rupture. Thank God Joel's was caught. These doctors are so amazingly comprehensive here! They are repairing it with a stent graft as I type this.

What is Endovascular Stent Graft Repair?

Endovascular means that the treatment is performed inside your body using long, thin tubes called catheters. The catheters are inserted in small incisions in your groin, and sometimes your arms, and are guided through your blood vessels. During the procedure, Joel's surgeon will use live x-ray pictures viewed on a video screen to guide a stent-graft to the site of his aneurysm --upper part of his aorta. Like the graft used in open surgery, this stent-graft allows blood to flow through his aorta without putting pressure on the damaged wall of his aneurysm. This keeps his aneurysm from rupturing. Over time, his aneurysm should shrink.

With the endovascular stent-graft repair, it is particularly important that long-term follow-up with periodic scans of the aortic repair be done to be sure that the stent-graft is functioning properly. Sometimes further procedures are required to maintain the stent-graft if leaks develop or if it moves out of position. But, none of this should be a big deal because have transferred all Joel's medical records here and all of his follow up care and any future medical needs will be done here at Northwestern.

Got him on the heart and lung machine

Just got an update from OR room - they've successfully got him on the heart and lung machine now. Will post more when I hear back.

Tests are a good thing!

We arrived at 6:30 am and were able to meet with the team of doctors before he has taken away for his surgery. I've never seen so many doctors and assistants(20 or so) for one patient. Wow. He is in great hands. Melissa hand picked all the doctors and assistants and nurses for Joel's surgery. She referred to them as the "A Team" :).

Joel had an MRI and MRA yesterday and they found that he actually has another problem...he has an aneurysm in his aorta (what John Ritter died from). So, they will be taking care of that too during the open heart surgery and hopefully, putting a graft in, if possible. Otherwise, they will put a tissue valve in. This complicates the surgery a little more and they expect the surgery to be about 6 hours. He will also be in the hospital for at least week now.We are so lucky this was caught because aorta aneurysms have no symptoms -- until after the fact. Joel's cardiologist said last week -- she wanted to just do a little more checking and a few more test -- thank GOD she did. They called us late last night to inform us of the test results. Par for the course :).

His team of docs and nurses are calling me throughout his surgery with updates. I just got the first call five minutes ago. They cut him open at 9:15 and when they get him on the heart and lung machine -- they will let me know.

That's all for now. Love, Michelle