Wednesday, June 27, 2007

The game plan for Bruce

There is so much information from today's cardiology visit that it's hard to sum it up succinctly, but I'll try... On July 18th, Bruce is going to have an Amplatzer device installed via heart catheterization. The hole between his atria is just under an inch long (!) but in a good place for device closure. The potential complication for him is after the device placement -- after the hole is closed and the right ventricle (RV) is once again required to pump sufficiently -- since that side of his heart is enlarged and weakened, the RV may have some difficulty. The doctor feels that this is a significant risk, so they will be watching him very closely in case they need to assist his heart a bit. The doctor confirmed that the ventricular enlargement will likely resolve after the device correction; however, it is not very likely that the right atrium will reduce in size, which will mean that Bruce will still be at risk for AF, etc. Right now, though, we are excited to have a game plan and a surgery date! Bruce continues to battle severe fatigue (though we found out today that the fatigue is due in large part to the medication he's on, and there's nothing they can do to relieve that...). Thank you for continuing to pray for him/us!

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