Day full of progress

Monty got the picc line out today. Makayla got her top braces put on. Makenzie made it back to school after recovering from the flu. Things are getting back to normal. I am looking forward to a relaxing weekend!

Tuesday's doctor appt.

Monty had an appointment at the infectious disease doctor today. The doctor said that Monty's body has had all of the antibiotics it can handle for now. Luckily, his blood work looks good so he can stop the IV antibiotics. Home health will come tomorrow to administer one more dose of steroids and then will remove the picc line. Monty is excited to be finished with the IV's. Makenzie is feeling better. So far no one else is showing any signs of the flu. Makenzie has been 24 hours without fever and will most likely return to school on Wednesday. Makayla is getting braces on Wednesday. Hopefully things will begin to return to normal here now that the IV's are done and the flu patient is well. Have a good rest of the week. I am looking forward to a relaxing weekend!

Update on Monty and Makenzie

Makenzie is feeling a little better. Her fever is down, but her throat is very sore still. She also still has a cough. Monty had another reaction to the antibiotics today and he still has the rash from last week. His knuckles are swollen. His hands are red and they itch. His nurse called the infectious disease doctor and he had a syringe of steroids delivered to our house. He has an appointnment with the infectious disease doctor tomorrow. I hope everything goes well and that he can get off of the IV's. Please pray that everyone gets well and stays that way.

Makenzie

Makenzie started feeling a little under the weather on Friday night. She did not have any fever, so we thought she was getting a cold. On Saturday she was tired and did not feel well. We were at a chicken show in Decatur most of the day. We went home for a little while and she talked us into going into town for dinner. She wanted to go to her favorite Mexican food place. She ordered her favorite food. Before her food was brought to the table she asked to go to the car to get her jacket. She had chill bumps and was shivering. I gave her two tylenol. When we got home her temperature was 103.2 . She went to lay down. I went to do all of the farm chores. She came out on the porch and told me that her fever wasn't going down. About an hour later her fever was 104. I called her doctor and she said to take her to an after hour clinic or the emergency room. She has the flu. She got the Tamiflu medication and is already feeling better. Please pray that she is well soon. Also, plese pray that no one else gets it - especially Monty. I told the ER doctor about Monty and he suggested that we call his doctor and get him some Tamiflu. We got it today. He is not going to start taking it until he talks to the cardiologist tomorrow. I am so ready for everyone in this house to get well NOW!

TGIF

Monty still has his rash. It looks extremely painful, but he says that it doesn't hurt or itch anymore. I don't know about you all, but I am glad it is Friday. I love my job and my students, but I need sleep! With the rash and all, Monty has not been able to get comfortable at night, so we are up several times during the night. Please continue to pray that the antibiotics are successful in fighting the strep infection in the heart valve. Thanks for following along. The prayers are greatly appreciated.

Allergic Reaction

The rash, itching, and leg pain was caused from an allergic reaction to the antibiotics. They should be out of his system and he should be feeling better within 48 hours. He got a new type of IV antibiotics that he will start tonight. Thanks for praying.

Prayer request

This is my conference period at school but I need to ask you to pray for Monty. This has to be quick because I have tons of stuff to get done in this hour! Monty's rash has gotten worse. It is on his arms and legs. He also has a lot of itching and pain in his legs. Please pray that this is from the medication and not the strep infection. I called the infectious disease doctor and they wanted to see him today. Rex is taking him. I will update when I get home. Please pray that the rash, itching, pain and whatever is causing it subsides quickly.

Making progress

Monty continues to make progress. He is able to get up and move around more. He is also eating better. He did not get lab results yesterday or today. I will call tomorrow and see what is going on with that. He also did not get his shipment of IV antibiotics today. Last time they were delayed was because his numbers weren't quite right and his dosage had to be adjusted. I will have to call about that tomorrow as well. He is feeling quite good today. Please continue to pray about the strep infection and the rash on his legs.

Prayer request and a birthday wish

Monty was hoping to make it to church today for the first time since surgery, but did not feel like it. He was very sore when he woke up. He has also developed a rash on his legs. It might be from the antibiotics. It is one of the side effects. He did not think that we should call his home health nurse since she is coming in the morning. He is feeling okay this evening. Please pray that the rash goes away and that it is not from the antibiotics. He will have blood drawn tomorrow that will test the level of antibiotics in his blood and his kidney function. Please pray that all of the lab work turns out well. Now for the birthday wish - my sister is having a birthday tomorrow. She drove all the way to Fort Worth to bring me chips and hot sauce from Casa Torres and tea from Chicken Express when Monty was in the hospital. Happy Birthday to Michelle, my OLDER sister.

Busy Day

It has been a busy day here at the Fitzgerald house. I cleaned the house and got all of the laundry done. Makenzie mowed the yard. The girls and I had to feed the chicken farm. Monty had a couple of things he needed me to do on the tractor. I also had to pull a trailer to town for him. I was even able to back it up. I am getting quite skilled at driving the tractor. I can pick a trailer up with the bucket of the tractor and pull it. Monty is having a fairly good day. He got up at 7 this morning and made his own coffee because this girl didn't get up until 9. He went into town with us and walked around outside while we were feeding. He seems to have more energy today. He has spent a good amount of time outside on the porch today. He had his first salad since surgery for dinner tonight. For those of you that aren't familar with Coumadin, (blood thinner) it works with the Vitamin K in your body. Monty has to keep his level of Vitamin K consistent in order to keep his blood thinner working properly. He is able to eat greens but he has to do so consistently. Monty was hungry for a taco salad so i figured it was a good time to try it since he will have his Coumadin level checked on Monday. He would like to go to church tomorrow. He will have to see how much sleep his gets tonight and how he feels in the morning. If he is feeling up to it, we will just go for church and not Sunday School. The awesome husband of our awesome children's minister is going to pick the girls up and take them to Sunday School. I hope you all have a great weekend.

Update

I am sorry that I have not been updating regularly this week. I have been very busy. Now that I am back at work, I have lots of things to do that got piled up the ten days that I was out. Monty continues to run a low grade fever. He is still on IV antibiotics for about 2 1/2 more weeks. He had to have blood drawn today. He is eating better. Monty is still very tired and sore. He wanted to ride to town with us tonight. We went to get groceries. He stayed in the car most of the time. He did come in and walk for a few minutes. It was good exercise since it has been to muddy for him to get outside to walk. Thanks to our dear friend, Reece, for taking Monty to the clinic in Bridgeport for the lab work. The home health draws blood, but it is for the infectious disease doctor. The cardiologist needed different tests and wanted Monty to get a flu shot. Unfortunately the clinic was out of flu shots, so he will have to do that later. We are just chilling out at home this weekend. Please continue to pray for strenghth for Monty. I would like you to pray for some of our friends. Our neighbor, Paul, when we lived in Chico is in surgery right now in Denton. He is having a heart valve replaced. He is 83 and broke his hip on Tuesday which has made everything a little more complicated. Please pray for him. The other prayer request is for the husband of a lady I work with. Her name is Traci. Her husband was taken to the hospital with heart problems today. I do not have all of the details, but I know how worried and scared she must be. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

Today was a test of our patience

Monty had two doctor appointments today. We left the house at 7:20. We got about 3 miles down the road and realized that we did not have his gallon bag full of medications. We turned around and went back to the house. We were making good time until we got stuck in stop and go traffic for 45 minutes. Monty was already tired because he did not sleep much last night. I called the infectious disease doctor's office and explained that we were stuck in traffic and would be late. We finally arrived 2o minutes after our appointment time. Monty had to get his morning IV started in the car. We had to wait forever at the doctor's office. I went to the window twice and explained that Monty has only been out of the hospital for a week and a half. I further explained that he is weak, has been up half of the night and has an appointment at the cardiologist's office in an hour. They finally called us to the back. The doctor came in. We talked with him for a few minutes. He is going to extend the length of time Monty is on IV antibiotics. He still has about 3 weeks of IV antibiotics left. He told us that most people with strep infection in the heart never make it out of the hospital. He also said that he is "hopeful that this will turn out well." WHAT? I am fairly certain that this man needs to work on his bedside manner just a bit. I can't believe he actually said that to us. I was about to get upset with him but decided I wasn't going to waste my breath. Honestly, I haven't been impressed with him since he was assigned to us at the hospital. Enough about that. After leaving there, we went to the cardiologist. Thankfully, she is a very kind lady that has some compassion for people. She said that Monty was doing well. His new heart valve sounds great. She adjusted his medicine a little. The only concern that she has is that Monty needs to gain some weight back. Anyway, that was our day and my patience was definitely tested. Please keep praying about the strep infection in the heart and that Monty would continue to regain energy and strength. Thanks!

Prayer Request

Monty has a fever tonight. Please pray. His blood work wasn't what it should have been this week. It had something to do with the level of antibiotics in his blood and it had caused increased kidney function. He had to have the amount of IV antibiotics reduced to prevent damage to his kidneys. Please pray that the strep infection will not spread to the new heart valve with the decrease in antibiotics. Please pray for complete healing for Monty.

Thank you

Monty and I would like to say thank you to all of you for your kindness during his surgery and recovery. Thank you for the prayers, visits, calls, childcare, lawn care, food, flowers, and staying with Monty when I returned to work. We went into this surgery expecting it to be fairly easy. Even though it was open heart surgery and a complex procedure, the surgeon said it would be a piece of cake because Monty is young, thin, in good shape, and did not have any blockages or heart disease. Well, it was anything but easy. The 2nd trip to surgery and the code blue were far from a piece of cake. Thanks to all of those that waited with us during the surgery and the craziness that followed. First of all I would like to thank our church family, old and new, for the continuous prayers, numerous visits, and calls. It was really heartwarming to have staff and members from two churches to sit with us during this time. I would also like to say thanks to our friend, Ty. He spent the night at the hospital with us the night of surgery. After such a crazy day, it was comforting to have him there. He also stayed at the house with Monty one day this week so I could work. Thanks to Sherrie and her family for caring for the girls. My mom also stayed at my house a few nights with the girls. I would like to say a special thank you to those that were there through the 2nd surgery and the craziness afterwards. Rex, Debbie, Reece, Berniece, James, Ty, Uncle Ken and Aunt Lorene, and anyone that I might be forgetting - I really appreciate you all for comforting the girls and I through that ordeal. That was probably the longest 20 - 30 minutes of my life. I am thankful for the staff of FBC Decatur for coming back to the hospital that night to sit with us. I appreciate the yard work done by Ron and Randy. Most of all I appreciate the prayers from everyone. I am forever grateful to a young lady named Robyn. She is a Physician Assistant and ran the code on Monty. We were able to discuss our faith at the hospital a couple of different times. She talked with me about her spiritual gift of knowing. She knew that things weren't right after Monty's surgery, although she could not pinpoint the problem. She said that God told her to stay with him, and I am so glad she listened. I am also forever grateful to Al, the ICU nurse, who cared for Monty during his most critical time. He was responsible for doing the chest compressions when Monty's heart stopped. He came to the waiting room and visited with me after everything settled down that evening. He also allowed me to sneak into ICU to see Monty when it wasn't visiting hours. Last but not least, the hospital liason, Tony, was so helpful during the hospital stay. He called and got updates on Monty's condition. He sat with us through the craziness after surgery. He worked deals with the ICU unit to allow Makayla to see her dad. She wasn't old enough to get into ICU, but he was able to arrange it. He also found me a place to shower at the hospital while Monty was in ICU. We have been so blessed by the kindness of many. Thanks to everyone that called with well wishes, stopped by to visit, or sent cards. God bless you all!

A good day

Monty had a good day today. He felt better than yesterday and had more energy than he has had the last couple of days. He enjoyed visiting with his boss and some of his chicken showing buddies. I really like having my mom sit with Monty while I am at work. She has been doing my laundry and cleaning my house. I wonder if I can still get her to do that after Monty is fully recovered. Please continue to pray about the strep infection. That's all for today. This girl is tired. I have decided that at 34 I am too old to make it on 3-4 hours of sleep a night. That's about all I have gotten for a little over two weeks, and it has caught up with me!

Another fairly good day

Monty was tired most of today. He slept a lot last night but was still tired this morning. He is getting his antibiotics adjusted tomorrow. The lab called and said that some numbers are elevated. I am not sure what all of it means, but they have to cut back on his antibiotics. Pray that the heart valve will be protected from the strep infection even with the decrease in antibiotics. Please continue to pray that he becomes stronger each day.

1st day back at work

Today was my first day back at work. My mom stayed with Monty. I don't want to leave him alone yet. He wasn't able to sleep much last night, so he is very tired today. The home health nurse came out and checked his blood levels. His blood is too thin, so he has to stop taking his Coumadin for two days. I am hoping we both get some much needed sleep tonight. Tonight is the last night for the antibiotic that is three times a day. After tonight we will be able to move the other antibiotic to a more reasonable time. Please continue to pray that Monty gets stronger each day.

Labor Day

The weekend before Monty's surgery Makayla asked him to cook a brisket. She knew that he would not be able to cook one for Labor Day. She likes when her dad cooks meat on the smoker. She likes to go out with him to check on the meat and sample it with him. Since we had our Labor Day cookout a couple of weeks ago, we are going to enjoy a much needed day of rest. Monty feels better today than yesterday. He continues to cough a little. He is walking more each day. Last night he went out to the barn with us while we fed all the chickens. He sat on a bucket and told us which pens need krumbles and which pens need pellets. Makenzie and I filled the feeders up. The nice guy from the feed store delivered a load of feed on Sunday. Monty is getting stronger each day. Please continue to pray for a speedy recovery.

Peaceful Sunday

Monty feels pretty good today. He is taking a nap now while getting another round of IV antibiotics. The middle of the night IV antibiotics cause both of us to lose some much needed sleep. We were up from 4-7:15. I have planned to take a nap this afternoon - after the Rangers came of course. I got all of my papers graded and lesson plans done for the upcoming week. I am ready to go back to work. I went on the first day of school and haven't been back since. I have made arrangements for a couple of people to keep Monty company while I am at work this week. I don't feel comfortable leaving him home by himself just yet. Please pray that he continues to regain strength each day and that the IV antibiotics continue to fight the strep infection in the heart valve.

All is well

Our first night at home went well. Monty has to have IV antibiotics 5 times a day. We were up about 3 hours during the night to get the IV's done. He got a hospital bed delivered this morning. He had trouble getting comfortable last night. He could not lay flat in the bed and had a hard time sleeping in the recliner. He is quite comfortable in his new bed. Monty even felt good enough this morning to walk outside and check on his chickens. We are watching the Rangers game and catching up on laundry.

Home sweet home!

We are home! Yippee Jesus! We are waiting on home health to get here to give Monty his evening IV antibiotics. Please pray that Monty continues to recover and regain his strength. Thanks for praying and following along.

We are going home!

It's official. We are going home. Monty is getting his IV antibiotic. As soon as it is finished, we are heading to the house. Yippee Jesus! Please pray for a safe trip home and that my driving doesn't make Monty nervous.

Maybe, just maybe

Keep your fingers crossed - If Monty's labs come back good this morning, we will be going home this evening. Pray for good news.

Friday AM

We are just hanging out. Monty coughed quite a lot during the night and is napping now. None of the doctors have been by this morning. The surgeon said that he would come by this afternoon and see where Monty's numbers are. If they look good, we might get to go home. We got Monty signed up for home health yesterday. They will be coming out 2-3 times a week to draw labs and flush his Picc line. He will be on a powerful combination of IV antibiotics at home for 4 weeks for the strep infection in the heart valve. The respiratory therapist was in a little bit ago and recommended that Monty have oxygen at home. He is going to have 8 prescriptions as well. He will have 3 heart meds, 2 stomach meds, magnesium, potassium, and lasix. Some of these he will take from now on. Others he will only need for about a month or so. Anyway, we are anxious to go home. The girls are ready for life to get back to normal, and so are we!

Thursday morning

I slept the entire night. I was so tired. It's a good thing that Monty didn't need me during the night. If so, he would have been out of luck. The hourly nurse checks, respiratory therapy, the 3am weigh in, beeping ivs, and coughing husband couldn't wake me. Prayer concerns for the day: Monty is still coughing. Pray that the irritation in his lungs subsides. Monty has developed a rash on his back and abdomen. The surgeon assistant wants the Infectious Disease doctor to look at it today. Please pray that the rash is not from the antibiotics that are being used to treat the strep infection in the heart valve. It is important that Monty is able to continue with this particular combination of antibiotics for the next 4 weeks. If there aren't any more issues today, we are expecting to meet with a social worker tomorrow to get signed up for home health services. Once that is arranged, Monty can continue his recovery and treatment at home. Home health will administer his IV antibiotics for the strep infection and check the Coumadin level in his blood for the next four weeks. If all is well today, it just might be home sweet home for us tomorrow. Yippee Jesus!

Evening update

The x-ray report doesn't show any pneumonia. Monty has sections of his lungs that are not expanding as they should. He is going to have to keep working on his breathing exercises and try to breathe deeper in order to expand his lungs. We are going to be here a few more days. They are still working on regulating heart rate, blood pressure, Coudamin levels in his blood, and are trying to pull some fluid off of him. He weighed 165 when he got here. He is now up to 186. They are giving him lasix to pull about 20 pounds of fluid off of him. Please pray that he is able to rest tonight. He has coughed so much the last two days that he is exhausted. The girls are on their way to see us. We haven't seen them since Sunday. Yippee! We sure have missed them.

Chest x-ray

Monty's cardiologist ordered a chest x-ray this morning. He has developed a dry cough, and she could hear a little fluid in his lungs. She is hopeful that it is all normal post operative stuff but ordered the x-ray to rule out pneumonia. He also got some of his medicines adjusted to help keep his blood pressure and heart rate in normal range. Please pray that Monty does not have pneumonia.

Doctor visits done for the day

Monty has had a very good day. All of the doctors came in and pretty much said the same thing. They all thought that he had made a lot of progress since yesterday. They said he looked good and that all of his numbers look much better today. His white count and liver enzymes continue to drop. The only discouraging news is that he has developed a fever again this afternoon. Please pray that the fever will go down quickly and that it will not cause any further complications - specifically that the new heart valve does not become infected with the strep infection.

One week update

We are definitely in a better situation than we were last Tuesday. Looking back over the past few days, I am grateful that we have made it this far. We have only seen 1 of 6 doctors today. The kidney doctor said that Monty's kidneys have fully recovered. Praise the Lord! I have no clue what the reports and lab results will look like later today. All I know at this point is what I can see, and Monty looks good today. He felt like bathing, putting on pajamas, going for a walk, and he even wanted to do some manscaping on his week long whiskers. Manscaping = shaving, just in case you were confused. I came up with that word a long time ago and have continued to use it. We were unable to sleep last night. Nurses and therapists were in and out all night. Please be in prayer for the little lady in the next room. She had a bad night. Honestly, she made me have a bad night. Please keep in mind that we are a week into this hospital stay. My nerves are shot, and I am mentally and physically exhausted. With that being said, the poor little lady must be very elderly and so confused. She screamed "ma'am, ma'am" for at least 3 hours straight. I kept asking the nurse if she could hear her. She kept saying yes. I guess she was trying to ignore her. I feel bad for the little lady now. However in the middle of the night - not so much. I prayed for her during the night. It went something like this, "God, please shut her up." When I woke up this morning I felt very convicted for the selfish attitude I had in the middle of the night. Please join me in genuinely praying for this lady. She must be so confused and scared to not understand where she is or what is happening to her. Sad. Truly sad. Anyway, there isn't really any news to report on Monty as of now. As soon as I know anything, I'll pass it along.