We had a little scare Thursday morning at about 1:30. Brent woke me up and said "get Michelle." His heart was racing at about 190. Michelle listened to his heart and said we needed to go to the ER. Woo hoo! Not knowing if this was life threatening or not, we went to UVRMC, not IMED.

I have always thought that the ER stood for "emergency." The place was deserted, which was a plus seeing no other patients, but there was also no medical personnel. I looked in all of the triage rooms, no one was at the front desk, and I couldn't find anyone. I finally knocked on the big door going back to the actual rooms and someone came out. Geesh.

They decided to push a medication that slows down the heart, and that worked for a minute then it shot back up. They then decided to prep him for electric shock to get the heart back into rhythm. That required them to sedate him. They also weren't quite sure where to put the pads that shock him since they didn't want to put them on his newly opened sternum. When they got it all figured out and were ready to start the sedation and shock, the five people in the room all looked at the monitor and said "um, Dr. Bringhurst! " ( not exactly what you want to hear when you can not see the monitor.) turns out that right before they were going to shock him his heart miraculously went back to a normal rhythm. Ha.

So, no shock, and they sent him home with orders to see a cardiologist. Needless to say we didn't get sleep for the rest of the night, for fear that it would happen again.

It hasn't happened again, and we now know that even in A-Fib, we have time to go to IMED. We are still waiting to hear back from the surgeon to see what he thinks is happening.

Anyway, that is the excitement for now. Boring would be good.

I apologize if you have been checking in every day. I have been a slacker.

Brent is doing remarkably well! It really is miraculous. He is still tired, but that is partially due to the IV Benadryl that he has to have twice a day before the IV antibiotic. He usually gets a nap after the Benadryl. :) I just checked his labs from today and they all look great.

Today we went up South Fork canyon and had a picnic. It was great to get out and just sit and watch the kids dogpile on michelle. :)

We are still amazed at how well he is doing so soon. We count our blessings, and are still very aware of how critical his situation truly was. There is no doubt in our minds that had we not gone in for his cough, and the heart valve regurgitation detected, that this story would have ended quite differently. Our hearts are full of gratitude.

Today is Memorial Day. We have many people that have gone before us that we miss terribly. Brent and I have both lost both of our parents, and I also lost my sister and a nephew. We have several cherished friends that we also miss today. We had great memories as we visited graves. Brent received a blessing before going into the hospital, and in it, those who have passed on were mentioned. I can honestly say that I have felt the influence of them throughout this ordeal. I picture some of them (Leland and our surrogate Grandpa Bruce Clark) giving em heck up there and pleading for Brent to be healed. We know that there are many who are on our team, and we love you.

So, Brent says I was a little harsh with the whole visiting and being sick warning. He says now nobody will come visit because they are afraid of me. Well, I am pretty scary.

So, yes, you can visit, and no, I won't run throat cultures or blood tests on you when you knock on the door.

So far so good at home. Just have to get into a routine.

Well, Brent had a pretty bad night last night because they gave him a medication that he didn't want and sure enough, it made him sick. Sometimes I wish they would listen to him. He knows his body and how he reacts to certain things.

So, imagine my surprise when I get a text saying they are releasing him today! Say what? Wow!
It's only been five days since surgery! Holy cow!

I am feeling a bit apprehensive since I know nothing about the heart. I know what to look for with all of his gut surgeries, but the heart frightens me. I'm thankful that Michelle doesn't work until Friday. She knows cardiac stuff. She did her capstone/preceptor in cardiology. Phew. At least we will be able to let Brent sleep at home. He hasn't slept much here. I think that will make a world of difference.

AND, here is where I go all Momma Bear on you . . .

If you want to visit with Brent, please call or text me first. 801-372-8467. If you have even a hint of a cold or anything else, or have been around illness of any kind, please stay away. Brent has no immune system, and this dandy little infection almost killed him. I know you all love him, but if you even have a tickle in your throat, please love him from afar, like an email or something. Thanks.

We have once again witnessed several miracles. We acknowledge them with deep humility. One of his friends texted, saying he is beginning to think Brent is immortal. Oh, he's quite mortal, just extremely blessed. Well, time to put my nursing hat back on . . .

Today has been an ok day. A few frustrations, but he is still showing progress. Today Brent had a PICC line put in, and the central lines in his neck finally came out. They are quite uncomfortable. The PICC line will stay in for a few months until they are totally sure any sign of infection is gone. Then they will feel safe enough to put in another Hickman tunnel IV. A PICC line is more of a pain because it is in his arm, and also he has to go to IV therapy at UVRMC to have the dressing changes done. With the Hickman we are able to do it at home. We are glad they are being so careful, though, and not inserting the Hickman before it is safe.

The infectious disease dr that came in today said that the line most likely did not cause the heart infection, but visa versa. Somehow he got an infection that spread to his heart valve, and then caused the line infection. He thinks the heart valve infection had been brewing for awhile. Everyone that sees the picture of the infected valve is amazed. Mostly amazed that he is still alive. I sure do love my miracle husband. :)

Hopefully tomorrow he will be able to have his chest tube taken out. Just one more step closer to coming home.

Brent is doing really well. The surgeon is pleased with his recovery so far, and all of his nurses and rehab people say he is way farther than most other patients only two days out of surgery. He is walking around the unit and his pain is manageable. One nurse today seemed so shocked that his surgery was only two days ago, and I just smiled, knowing that he is doing so well because of the faith and well wishes of all of you. Thanks.

Today was a good day! Brent lost three tubes, which s a good thing. The less foreign objects going into his body, the better. And, they moved him from the ICU after only 24 hours! That never happens with Brent. But the funnest part of it all was to watch him WALK out of the ICU, to the elevator, and to his new room. Say what?!?

We feel like so many miracles have occurred this week. Is there a limit to the number of miracles one person can receive? I sure hope not. For some unknown reason Brent is still with us, and we are very grateful.

I just spoke with Brent's nurse and she assured me that he was doing well, and resting with his noise canceling headphones on, undoubtably listening to the Mo Tab. I awoke in a panic so had to call. It was good to get about 6 hrs of sleep.

Can I just take a moment and focus on a few tender mercies in all of this turmoil?

First and fore most, we will forever be in Dr. Carn's debt. If he had not listened to Brent's heart when we went in for a persistent cough, the story could be tragically different. He is the one that detected the abnormality that inspired the Echocardiagram which detected the infection. We have been told by the surgeon and team of Drs that this most likely would have been fatal had it gone undetected. He quite literally saved Brent's life. Trying to think of an appropriate way to show our gratitude.

Second, the blessing of being in the right place at the right time, meeting a very skilled and kind thoracic surgeon at IMED named Dr. Caine. After an agonizing six hours he informed us that this was by far the worse infection he has ever seen. He even took a picture of it on his iphone,( which Michelle excitedly asked if he would send it to her. always the nurse. )It was not what they had anticipated going in. I very much appreciated his kind and sensitive nature and how he was so thorough in answering every question in a manner that we understood. He is always smiling and he sets my whole being at peace. Dennis, Brent's brother, trained under Dr. Caine's father at the U of U many years ago and remembers his father to be the same way. Grateful for skilled AND kind and compassionate people.

Third, the many people that we call our support team. You. It is made up of so many people that span the globe, either in our own home, next door, around the corner, across the country, or across the ocean. We have the most amazing family and friends that pull us through each time a crisis arises, which, unfortunately, has been all too often. We have family and friends of various religious beliefs, and perhaps with no religious beliefs, but we feel strength from each of you. We choose to make our private life very public during these times because your strength is what we survive on. We are nothing alone. I can't imagine anyone going through what we have to go through each day, and doing it alone. We suck all of the well wishes, positive energy, prayers, kindnesses, and hugs right out of you. And for this, we are ever thankful. We rely on your faith and your love and your physical, emotional and spiritual strength when we can no longer find it in ourselves. To you we say Thank You, even though we know that saying it does not even become close to expressing what we truly feel.

Brent has a long road of recovery ahead of him. We have yet to discover the extent of the infection. Dr. Caine tried to fix all of the damaged areas in the heart, and we can only hope that the blessings of modern medicine will take over and obliterate the remaining infection. (Pretty big words for 4:00 a.m.)

I would be ungrateful if I did not praise my four children. We could not ask for better children. They each deal with the stress of it all in different ways. We appreciate each of them. Sometimes you want to strangle them and sometimes you stand back and in total admiration and amazement exclaim, "that's my kid!" Thank you Joseph, Michelle, Kristina, and David for being who you are and for keeping your parents in line. :)

For those always in our corner, dropping everything to be here, feeding my family, and serving us in  so many ways, you know who you are, and you know how much we love you.

I will stop rambling now, but just wanted to unload some thoughts.

Lisa

6:30 update

Michelle here: Breathing tube is out! He's awake and talking to us. He has a chest tube in to help drain any extra blood from around the heart. He gets to eat ice chips at eight thirty!

Thanks for all the prayers and support.

Brent is out of surgery and in the cardiac ICU. He is still intubated, waiting for him to wake up enough to breathe on his own.

Dr. Caine said that he is doing well post-op.

The surgery took much longer than expected because when the surgeon got into the heart they found that the infection was much worse than they had thought. The mass was actually twice as large and the damage to his heart was much more severe.

Brent has a long recovery ahead of him, and a huge fight to fight this infection. We know he is a fighter, and that The Lord keeps him here for a reason. We are confidant that he will beat this. Please pray for his body to fight the infection. Pray for him to have the strength to keep fighting.

Thanks

O.R. Called to say that Brent is now on the heart/lung machine and they are now working on the valve. Kind of freaky to think about.

They took Brent back a while ago, and the surgeon came out to reassure us. They should be starting soon. It was a sleepless night, as they moved us to the cardiology tower at 10:30 pm to prepare him for surgery. There is a lot more to do for open heart surgery than there is for all of his other surgeries. Anyway, here's hoping for a quiet, smooth surgery with no surprises. Thank you for the millionth time for your thought and prayers.

Not the post I was hoping for...

Well, this didn't go as we had hoped. Apparently the valve in Brent's heart has sustained more damage from the infection than we had previously thought. We initially thought that he would be on IV antibiotics for six to eight weeks and that would be it. The infection on the aortic valve is too large and the Drs are worried it will dislodge and that could be fatal. The infection has also caused damage to the valve and it is not functioning properly. Therefore, Brent will undergo open heart surgery first thing in the morning to replace the valve completely. It is too risky to wait.

Needless to say this is not what we expected. We are quite scared. This is a whole new ball game for us. Tell us you are going to open up his belly . . . We have encountered and survived every possible complication from that . . . This is new and frightening.

Please send your thoughts and prayers to whomever or whatever you believe in for Brent. We do feel calm and peace about the decision to go forward with the surgery. However, there is that fear of the unknown. Thank you for your love and support. We appreciate it. I will post as needed to keep everyone updated. Thank you again. We go forward with faith once again.

Lisa

Well, this is something new.

Well, it's been a couple of months since I updated, which is awesome. Brent has been doing really well, and even had the strength and energy to finish the basement remodel due to flooding. We finished(except for a few things like window sill, the hallway flooring and moving all the crap back in) right on time. Which leads me to the bad news . . .

Last week he started running fevers and on Thursday we had his IV line cultured with the suspicion that it was somehow infected. He also has had an annoying cough that we attributed to allergy season and the fact that our huge tree out front is in full bloom. Well, the line tested positive for staph. Yippee. Luckily we can do IV antibiotics at home, and we have a great team of Dr.s who have confidence in us. Meanwhile we went to our primary care Dr for the cough and while listening to his heart noticed something of concern. He has always had an innocent heart murmur. He thought he detected an aortic regurgitation. So, the chest X-ray for the cough was clean, but today he had an echocardiogram and they found infection in his heart valve, most likely spread from the infected IV lines. Sooooo, they wanted to admit him right then to UVRMC, and we said "um, nope." We didn't say it was because we dislike UVRMC, and the care they give, but instead said that we needed to go to IMED in Murray because that is where his team of Drs and nutritionists are, which is true. So, after a blessing from our Bishop and Bro. Campbell (thanks), we headed up to IMED. They want to remove his IV line and monitor him for awhile (not sure how long awhile is, days?) and they will keep testing for staph and if he shows no growth they will put a new line in. Hopefully the IV antibiotics will clear up the infection in the heart valve, otherwise they will have to do a heart valve replacement. That is not sounding fun.

Soooo, here we sit. Waiting.

We are thankful for Dr. Carn and his good call on the heart sounds. Could possibly have led to something quite serious, like a stroke, if left untreated.

We are thankful for our amazing kids who are so responsible and I don't have to worry about them while I am at the hospital with Brent. I am thankful that the girls are living at home right now so david has someone to keep him company, even though I know joseph would stay with him if needed. We are thankful for our caring team of Drs, specifically our PA who handles all of Brent's nutrition, and was instrumental in getting him admitted at IMED without having to go through the ER. We are thankful for our ever supportive family, neighbors and friends. Some people think that I am a bit too public with things, but everyone deals with things differently. Personally, I need the strength and support of others. If I didn't have it I wouldn't be able to handle all of the stress. Thanks.

Here's to modern medicine, and prayers that it works.

Lisa