Capricorn Ascendant Appearance

Last month, Part I Maureen

from 05/08 to 17/08. Latest days of waiting

hard Month! Day 05/08, arrival at the Niguarda, Don Gnocchi origin, for my eighth monthly cycle of inotropic (levosimendan). Things do not take the right way. Without the drug, some blood tests indicate poor liver function. Index of congestive heart failure (NT-proBNP), unlike earlier times, it comes down to a trickle. Everything seems to indicate that the benefits of the time course of drugs is fading. The drug is no longer due to the effect.

decide to keep me hospitalized to evaluate the course. Maybe your body just needs a few more days. Reappears shattering the "ghost" ventricular assistance (VAD). If the values \u200b\u200bdo not fall, we begin to take risks. We must act.

Meanwhile, there is the nagging problem of CRT-D (the bicameral synchronizer that I had planted in 2003). The battery has run out. Must be replaced. Not a big deal, but an intervention, however, nothing would be beneficial to the general situation.

Taken from discomfort and anxiety, rejection, however, for the umpteenth time, the ventricular assist system. Keep hospital here, rather I do not move out of bed, but I want to wait for a heart to reach me.

Day 11/08, the first hour in the afternoon. There comes a group of doctors. They ask me how it goes, and with a smile, telling me to rest because that night I underwent a heart transplant! She had arrived the reporting of a heart device, already tested and in good health. I'm told, however, that absolute certainty is found only after the surgeons have the explanted heart and can look in my hand. I am told that this confirmation will come between the hours of 19 and 21.

comes my mother's turn to visit. Meanwhile Sandra alert that is fired in Milan. At about 18 would be subjected to site preparation: fasting total dose of preoperative medications, shaving, enema to evacuate the intestines. Interview with the anesthesiologist. Release form of surgical and anesthesia. Signatures to a study on the various anti-rejection drugs.

19 hours ... 20 hours ... 21 hours ... waiting unnerving. 22 hours ... 23 hours ... I fall asleep and Sandra is in the waiting room. 00 hours. At 01:30, arrives a surgeon: I'm sorry, unfortunately we have carefully examined the heart, and there were problems. We have thought a lot but we decided not to risk doing the surgery. Sorry! All this catches us unprepared. Sandra does not know where to go to sleep and stay in the waiting room all night. I slept a fitful sleep.

This is an excerpt of my messages I left that day on Twitter:

• Reporting
heart
• Shaved, downloaded, drip, fast. Pending confirmation heart 20 hours. Stay tuned! 22 Hours
• still awaiting confirmation of the donor heart. I am completely peaceful:)
• Still no news here. Waiting removed from the donor to ensure acceptable
Heart
• not good. Operation aborted
• Another tough test to live in 7 hours, reporting from the heart transplant, patient preparation, long wait e. .. Finally ... Stop for no good heart.
• I do not believe in coincidences. Too many factors pointing in the right direction. Yesterday, an alert went wrong but I feel that we are going to do it!
• Thought of midnight yesterday, a person died and unconsciously tried to save my life with his heart, but not 'could
• In fact, my gratitude goes to the relatives cmq imagine that consent has been given to grub bodies that person
  
  

The morning after deciding to move to a room of "hi-care" or "intensive care", single bed. I take a central vein in order to increase the amount of drugs into a vein.

The good news is that some nuances, hints from the doctors, make us realize that something was triggered in my situation. This time I really priority on the list. Perhaps national. Maybe I include in the search for the hearts of blood group 0 (I being a Group B are compatible with both the B 0).

Day 15/08, I learn that there have been a heart patient in waiting for another (already the bearer of ventricular assist). The transplant is done in this patient. Stupidly and selfishly, I forget that there are still compatibility parameters and takes me ... but as the gloom, another patient has gone before me? Difficult days!

Day 17/08, 18.30. Here comes the nurse (Maria Pia, no I'll never forget) and tells me to stay on a fast. Of course I understand why, I do not even ask ... is a new listing! Sandra notice. What do we do? Another trip to Milan travel without being sure that it is the right time? Or wait to move until the Genoa and certainty? We decide for the first hypothesis, this time organizing any night in a hotel near Niguarda. If you do the surgery, remains in hospital. If you do not, at least you go to bed at the hotel. Meanwhile, a new preparation (shaving, enema, washing, etc...) I warn that the heart is not close and that the removal no earlier than 22.

final preparations, covered with povidone-iodine, half sedated

23 Hours: confirmed. The heart is good. The intervention will be tonight. I'll probably brought down in the operating room about one o'clock in the morning.

Hooray! CHEERS! It 's the right time! We mourn for the thrill! I'm happy! I am confident and secure that everything will be fine!

(Part II available here )