Friday, August 13, 2010

And the people all said, sit down...

...Sit down, you're rockin the boat.
--Don Henley, "Sit down you're rockin' the boat"

Derek here as guest author, and it's getting past my bed time so this will be pretty short. Overall, Jay is about the same this evening. As Jen mentioned this morning, he had a few hours of a significant arrhythmia last night (ventricular tachycardia or v-tach for those of you who want those details) which stopped rather suddenly this morning. It appeared to stop when they were moving him to attach stickers that are used for the defibrillator (the paddles that are used to shock the heart back into rhythm). Either the movement or the threat of the defibrillator were enough to break the v-tach. I was just standing nearby when it happened. For most of the day, his rhythm remained abnormal, but it was tolerable.

This afternoon he went into v-tach again when they were moving him over onto his side. He stayed that way in spite of mega doses of drugs that should stop this sort of thing. When they began to talk about defibrillating him, he suddenly converted again. Apparently he got he memo, and fixed it himself. Again, I just happened to be standing there. This time he pretty quickly returned to a normal rhythm that was periodically interrupted by abnormal beats. He's stayed that way since about 6:30pm so the plan for the night is to not rock the boat. They are going to micromanage all his drug levels and electrolytes to try and keep in his normal rhythm to stay.

We still don't know why he's having these episodes of arrhythmia. They've done quite a few blood tests, an echocardiogram, consulted with the heart failure team, and the electrophysiology team (the heart electricians), but no one has a good answer. Actually, no one really even has a bad answer. But, as long as he maintains his normal rhythm, we won't worry about the why.

Time to crawl into the little twin bed (yes, both me AND Jen), and try to get some sleep. Hopefully, there won't be any middle of the night drama tonight.

6 comments:

noel tucker said...

we are praying for you!

here's some lyrics from Amy Grant that seemed right on for you:
"Believe, miracles can happen
Just imagine and believe
Open up your heart, the journey starts
When you believe."

We are praying and believing all will be well for you!

"For I know the plans I have for you…plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11

Hugs to you

Ed and Noel Tucker

ANAPatterson said...

Praying for you guys. Hope you can get some sleep tonight.

amy may said...

As much as we all want answers, sometimes understanding a situation isn't as important as just experiencing it. Moments of joy can come anytime, anyplace.
I know Jay is center of attention but I hope you are able to spend a little time with Luke too. A little while of "normal" can go a long way toward keeping your sanity.

I pray for a peaceful, restful night and a tomorrow that is one step better than today.

Amanda Grace said...

Still following and praying hard for you all! Glad you guys are there for each other and able to hold each other through this--and even closer in the Ronald McDonald beds! Praying that God's peace fill your heart each second of the day.

Anonymous said...

Thanks, Derek. You and Jen both are so good at explaining what is going on. The why the arrhythmia just might be important as to a permanent fix, so I am going to be praying about that along with the usual tearful pleas before God.
I couldn't help "chuckle" (there I go again) about the twin beds. I can understand. Dennis and I are still in the old fashioned full bed and since we have both gotten bigger since the honeymoon days, sleeping can be challenging some nights. Hope it worked for you guys.
We need to work on a "Daddy Lovey" for Jay to have with him instead of a cow lovey.
Someone in your comments quoted Jeremiah 29:11. The first night you were in Philly. It was posted on my wall right under Jen's first posting about Jay. I copied and pasted it in the comments.
We don't always know the why God allows us to go through something like this, but we do know that He can get us through it.
Love you guys!
Aunt Ali

Anonymous said...

We are still praying for you and are following all of the updates. Hoping today is a better, more stable day for Jay.

Kimberly Taylor