I'm Melanie. I decided to try a blog to update my friends and family on my husband Scott's progress. He was born with a congenital heart defect called tricuspid atresia and had 3 open-heart surgeries as a child. Over 20 years after his last surgery Scott's heart began to fail. He was admitted to the hospital and put on the heart transplant list. After 2 and a half months in the hospital he had a heart transplant on January 29/09. The road has been tough. The new heart didn't work well at first and Scott nearly bled to death. The new heart needed a rest and eventually started to work after 4 days. Because of Scott's previous heart failure and the traumatic surgery Scott's kidneys failed. After over 4 months on dialysis his kidneys are finally in the recovery phase and dialysis is not needed. After a total of 6 months in hospital Scott finally came home. The recovery continues and Scott gets stronger as time goes by.
This picture is from a news article about the Berlin heart. The guy in the white lab coat is Dr.Rebeyka, Scott's surgeon. He is a pediatric surgeon who happens to know Scott's congenital condition best. The doctor in the back is Dr.Buchholz who specializes in the Berlin heart. He engineered the large VAD(ventricular assist device) that kept Scott alive for 4 days after the transplant. We see both of them most every day still.
Today Scott started his own blog in his own words. I love his first post and I look forward to more! Maybe now I'll start a blog about being a mom instead of an unpaid nurse. Here's the link.
I continue to cheer on You and Scott and your whole family. I am so happy that life appears to be better and better. And I look forward to reading Scott's version of his story.
Enjoy the coming colors of the fall! Suz http://spicydragon-sb.blogspot.com/
The link did not post. Could you please post link again. Thank you :)
ReplyDeleteCan you repost the link? I can't seem to find it. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteOops it's secondshotscott.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteI continue to cheer on You and Scott and your whole family. I am so happy that life appears to be better and better. And I look forward to reading Scott's version of his story.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the coming colors of the fall!
Suz
http://spicydragon-sb.blogspot.com/