Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place.
Kevin's medical history is long and varied. In 1993, Kevin was diagnosed with diabetes. Over the years, the medication he has been prescribed to take to control his diabetes has taken it's toll on his body, more specifically his vital organs. In 2017, he recovered from a stroke and didn't have any major medical events until July of 2021, when he developed a mysterious fever that no test or medical professional ever figured out. As mysteriously as it started, it disappeared in February of 2022.
In May of 2022, Kevin started hemodialysis as he was diagnosed with end stage chronic kidney disease. In September of 2022, Kevin and I went through the training to start peritoneal dialysis at home and Kevin does his prescribed 8 hours of dialysis every night.
2023 has been quite a medical chapter in Kevin's history. In January, he was finally schedule to get rid of his gall bladder full of sludge. That procedure was stopped while they were wheeling him into the operating room because his hemoglobin was low. The surgery was rescheduled for June 14th but between those two dates, a wound on Kevin's foot, that appeared to be healing on the outside, was infected as deep as his bones in his right foot and his littlest piggy and bones in his foot were amputated. No sooner did Kevin heal and graduate from physical therapy, he was back in the hospital because of his heart. In June, he underwent open heart surgery with the plan to do a double bypass. However, Kevin's pericardium had become so stiff and rigid over the years, that it was actually constricting his heart and preventing it from beating. His pericardium was removed and after 3 days of healing, two stents were put in. After healing, Kevin felt better than ever.
On Friday, September 1st, Kev felt his pulse start racing. Nate took him to the emergency room. He was admitted into the hospital because one of his stents was completely blocked. Saturday, the 2nd, Kevin had an angiogram procedure done and the surgeon ballooned the stent open. He was put on a more aggressive thinner with the hopes that will help keep his blood flowing. The cardiologist explained Kevin's congestive heart failure has progressed significantly since June. His heart's ejection fraction is now at 15%. (Normal EF is in the range of 55% to 70%. A reading of 20% or below is very severe heart failure.) His cardiologist said, there are no further procedures they can do, and the prognosis is not good. He is not a candidate for a heart transplant because so many of his organs are in failure.
We’ve cried a lot since we received the news and we will try to be as pragmatic as we can with each day we have together, and we still hope there are many. Under these circumstances though, we are getting our affairs in order and plan on making the most of each moment – which is mostly how we have been living our lives already, whenever Kevin was up to it.
An amazing family, who has had a huge impact on our lives, taught us, each day is a gift. And, we promise, we will unwrap each day as the precious gift it is.
Oh, and for those who have been following the story - Kevin still has his gall bladder.
We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement.
Both of Kevin's eyes are now cataract free! The surgery today went as expected! He has another week for the 2nd eye to heal and then, he hopes he will be able to drive again. Follow up for one more check will be Wednesday, May 1st.
No news yet about the results of the heart viability study.
Love to you all!
About the cupcake... Broadlawns Medical Center in Des Moines is celebrating its 100th year today (Wednesday, 4/24). The hospital opened in 1924. The first buildings had 60 beds for tuberculosis patients and a nurses’ dormitory with 30 beds.
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