Good News...Good Weekend :-)
Delcy's appointments yesterday went very well...the echocardiogram showed that the fluid around Delcy's heart is being absorbed into his body just as it should. His heart is strong and his incision is healing up very nicely. Dr. Fangman, one of the cardiologists, gave Delcy the okay to resume "normal" activities (no soccer games or marathons for a couple more months though!). With that approval given, we took the opportunity to get Delcy out for slightly more extensive outings while Brittany is here with us. First though, we stopped in at the barber shop that took such good care of Delcy last time. As soon as they saw Delcy, Ron waved him over to his chair and set to work giving him a quick spruce up. He asked Delcy how the surgery went and Delcy told him that the doctors did a good job and them lifted up his shirt and showed them! We promised to get Delcy in one more time before he heads back to Haiti. Last night we went to the "World of Wheels" car show at the Century Link Center, where Bill and I have 2 classic cars entered. We walked around quite a bit and then had a late dinner and came home.
Today we went to one of Omaha's best attractions, The Henry Doorley Zoo. We've recently been ranked the number one zoo in the US. We have the largest indoor rain forest In North America, a Desert Dome, Aquarium and lots more. There were 8 of us in our little group and we had a good day...we were at the zoo from 11:30 until 4:30. At one point, as we were walking up a hill, Delcy smiled and said, "my heart does not beat fast, but my feet hurt!" It was wonderful for him to realize that he is now able to start doing all the things that he's been unable to for so long.
It's been a great weekend with Brittany. It's great for Delcy to have his good friend with him for three days, and all of us Bolte's have enjoyed getting to know her. It's fun to have someone to help me give Delcy a hard time when he starts getting sassy! :-) It's been a great pick-me-up for Delcy.
Peace,
Margie
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Friday, March 15, 2013
UPS AND DOWNS
What an eventful week Delcy has had! Monday he had his first post surgery appointment with his cardiologist, and everything looked great. His heart and lungs both sounded really good, and his incision is healing very nicely. The doctor told us it was okay for Delcy to start getting out and about again and enjoying Omaha as he's able. We're starting off slow, but looking forward to showing him some more sights as he starts feeling stronger.
Wednesday started off on a great note with Delcy's first day of cardiac rehab. Nick went with us to help translate, and that proved very helpful. Delcy enjoyed his "exercises" and was amazed at what he was able to do just 9 days after surgery. He went with me to work at church for a little bit and then relaxed at home for a few hours that afternoon. That evening, Bill and I took Delcy out for dinner and we all enjoyed good food and each other's company. After we got home, we decided to relax and watch a movie ("Something's Gotta Give" dubbed in French) and after about an hour or so Delcy told me that his heart was beating very fast. We took his pulse, and indeed his heart was racing! I called his nurse practitioner and he said that it was possibly no big deal, but that we should take Delcy to the ER just to be sure. The doctors decided to admit him so that he could have more tests in the morning, so Delcy and I spent the night in ICU (there were no beds available on the cardiac floor). After 20 hours we got Delcy back home Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m. Turns out he has a little fluid around his heart but not enough to be really worried about...it should resolve itself fairly soon. And Dr. Langdon said that it will take 2-3 months for Delcy's heart rate to get down in the normal range and stay there. In the meantime, he should simply sit and relax if he feels his heart rate speeding up a lot. I think he finally understands that this is normal and he shouldn't be alarmed when it happens.
Since then, Delcy has been back at cardiac rehab and is doing very well. He's enjoying being able to exert himself a little bit after living so long with such restricted physical activity.
Over the weekend Delcy met two of Bill and I's best friends, Marg and Rod. We all had dinner together on Friday evening and they were very taken with Delcy (as everyone who meets him seems to be!). Delcy is looking forward to going to their house on the lake for a visit soon. He said that he would like to have a ride on their boat when we visit, but we explained that it's a little too early for boating in Nebraska! Sunday evening we had a family birthday for Aly and Delcy got to meet the family members that he hadn't met yet. He fit right in with our crazy family, joking and telling stories around the table. He even played Geoff's guitar and sang a song to Aly as her birthday gift.
Bill and Delcy spent some quality time together on Tuesday and Wednesday as I had an overnight staff retreat in Nebraska City. Delcy accompanied Bill on visits to his job sites and even helped Bill take one of our dogs and our cat to the vet for an appointment. Rehab has continued to go well this week and he's progressing very nicely.
Yesterday was a big day, as Brittany Galvin, Delcy's friend who volunteered in Haiti for two years flew in to spend three days with us! Brittany is currently living in Boston, so it's wonderful that she was able to see Delcy while he's in the United States. As we speak, we're waiting to see one of Delcy's cardiologists to talk about the echocardiogram he just had. It's a follow- up to last week's overnight stay in the ICU. Hopefully we'll hear that the fluid around Delcy's heart is being absorbed into his body. More news later...
Margie
What an eventful week Delcy has had! Monday he had his first post surgery appointment with his cardiologist, and everything looked great. His heart and lungs both sounded really good, and his incision is healing very nicely. The doctor told us it was okay for Delcy to start getting out and about again and enjoying Omaha as he's able. We're starting off slow, but looking forward to showing him some more sights as he starts feeling stronger.
Wednesday started off on a great note with Delcy's first day of cardiac rehab. Nick went with us to help translate, and that proved very helpful. Delcy enjoyed his "exercises" and was amazed at what he was able to do just 9 days after surgery. He went with me to work at church for a little bit and then relaxed at home for a few hours that afternoon. That evening, Bill and I took Delcy out for dinner and we all enjoyed good food and each other's company. After we got home, we decided to relax and watch a movie ("Something's Gotta Give" dubbed in French) and after about an hour or so Delcy told me that his heart was beating very fast. We took his pulse, and indeed his heart was racing! I called his nurse practitioner and he said that it was possibly no big deal, but that we should take Delcy to the ER just to be sure. The doctors decided to admit him so that he could have more tests in the morning, so Delcy and I spent the night in ICU (there were no beds available on the cardiac floor). After 20 hours we got Delcy back home Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m. Turns out he has a little fluid around his heart but not enough to be really worried about...it should resolve itself fairly soon. And Dr. Langdon said that it will take 2-3 months for Delcy's heart rate to get down in the normal range and stay there. In the meantime, he should simply sit and relax if he feels his heart rate speeding up a lot. I think he finally understands that this is normal and he shouldn't be alarmed when it happens.
Since then, Delcy has been back at cardiac rehab and is doing very well. He's enjoying being able to exert himself a little bit after living so long with such restricted physical activity.
Over the weekend Delcy met two of Bill and I's best friends, Marg and Rod. We all had dinner together on Friday evening and they were very taken with Delcy (as everyone who meets him seems to be!). Delcy is looking forward to going to their house on the lake for a visit soon. He said that he would like to have a ride on their boat when we visit, but we explained that it's a little too early for boating in Nebraska! Sunday evening we had a family birthday for Aly and Delcy got to meet the family members that he hadn't met yet. He fit right in with our crazy family, joking and telling stories around the table. He even played Geoff's guitar and sang a song to Aly as her birthday gift.
Bill and Delcy spent some quality time together on Tuesday and Wednesday as I had an overnight staff retreat in Nebraska City. Delcy accompanied Bill on visits to his job sites and even helped Bill take one of our dogs and our cat to the vet for an appointment. Rehab has continued to go well this week and he's progressing very nicely.
Yesterday was a big day, as Brittany Galvin, Delcy's friend who volunteered in Haiti for two years flew in to spend three days with us! Brittany is currently living in Boston, so it's wonderful that she was able to see Delcy while he's in the United States. As we speak, we're waiting to see one of Delcy's cardiologists to talk about the echocardiogram he just had. It's a follow- up to last week's overnight stay in the ICU. Hopefully we'll hear that the fluid around Delcy's heart is being absorbed into his body. More news later...
Margie
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
RELEASED FROM THE HOSPITAL!
Delcy was released from the hospital on Friday and we got him back home at 6:00 that evening. What a process being discharged is! Lots of people to go over instructions with, final tubes and IVs to be taken out, waiting to make sure that there was no bleeding where the tubes were removed and then speaking with the translator on the blue phones to make sure that Delcy understood everything. We started the process about 1:00 that afternoon, and left the hospital at 5:45.
Delcy felt pretty comfortable all day Friday, so the trip home didn't bother him too much. In fact, Aly and Geoff came over and had dinner with us that evening, and Delcy's face absolutely lit up when he saw that they'd remembered to bring Geoff's guitar. He'd been asking to play it since before his surgery, and it turns out that Delcy is pretty good! He played the guitar and even sang for us a bit...that was magical!
Saturday (his first full day at home) was pretty good. His pain was managed well and he stayed pretty comfortable. He had his second shower and watched the first half of Titanic with Bill. Valerie spent quite a bit of time with Delcy on Saturday and her best friend came to visit with Delcy for a bit that afternoon as well. He was dissappointed that he wasn't able to go to church on Sunday, but felt better when we assured him that he would make it next week.. The best part of the weekend was that Delcy had very little pain and we were able to keep him pretty comfortable. All in all, it was a good weekend...fairly quiet and restful, just what the doctor ordered :-)
Delcy was released from the hospital on Friday and we got him back home at 6:00 that evening. What a process being discharged is! Lots of people to go over instructions with, final tubes and IVs to be taken out, waiting to make sure that there was no bleeding where the tubes were removed and then speaking with the translator on the blue phones to make sure that Delcy understood everything. We started the process about 1:00 that afternoon, and left the hospital at 5:45.
Delcy felt pretty comfortable all day Friday, so the trip home didn't bother him too much. In fact, Aly and Geoff came over and had dinner with us that evening, and Delcy's face absolutely lit up when he saw that they'd remembered to bring Geoff's guitar. He'd been asking to play it since before his surgery, and it turns out that Delcy is pretty good! He played the guitar and even sang for us a bit...that was magical!
Saturday (his first full day at home) was pretty good. His pain was managed well and he stayed pretty comfortable. He had his second shower and watched the first half of Titanic with Bill. Valerie spent quite a bit of time with Delcy on Saturday and her best friend came to visit with Delcy for a bit that afternoon as well. He was dissappointed that he wasn't able to go to church on Sunday, but felt better when we assured him that he would make it next week.. The best part of the weekend was that Delcy had very little pain and we were able to keep him pretty comfortable. All in all, it was a good weekend...fairly quiet and restful, just what the doctor ordered :-)
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