Matt is now a status 1A for heart transplant!

This is good news!  He is now at the top of the list.  Stay tuned for details.

Aimee

Still raising money!!

We have raised over $6000.00 for Matt!  Thank you so much. There is a new donation website as the TFP changed it.  There is a spot for honor roll there.  I will try and updated both sections to honor those that have donated.  I tested it and it works! :)  I love the new website.  The donation link above has been updated.

Thanks to all!!

Aimee

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!

The fundraiser at Mellow Mushroom in Snellville, GA was a HUGE success.  A sincere thank you to all that participated, contributed, and organized.  A special thank you to Barbie at Mellow Mushroom, we are forever grateful to you.  

As of right now we have raised over $4000.00 from the fundraiser.  I will have exact numbers in a day or so!

Aimee

Fundraiser this Sat!!! COME OUT!!

Don't forget the fundraiser this weekend for Matt!!  

What:  Fundraiser

When: Come to the Mellow Mushroom in Snellville. 

Time:  11:00 am until closing.

We will have:

• Jumpy Things
• Auction
• Raffle
• Dunk Tank
• and more!

PRAY FOR DRY WEATHER!

Mellow Mushroom!

Mellow Mushroom this weekend!  Come on out!


Aimee

3/10/2014 Docs say all is well!

Matt had a doctor's visit today and doctors are saying all is well with him.  He is making good progress!!

FYI... On Saturday 3/29/2014 we are having a fundraiser for Matt at Mellow Mushroom in Snellville.  More information to come soon, so STAY TUNED!!

3/2/2014- Matt is open to visitors! Donation spot open (See above)

We are going to try and limit them to one visit a day, but the calendar is open!   Call Matt to get directions, he is at Aunt Suzy's house.


Also- We have opened up the donations.  To start, he needs prayer so the donation of your time spent in prayer is most important.  If you feel led to give, please do so.  Any amount is appreciated!  This money will go to help Matt with medical expenses due to his transplant.

Thank you!

Aimee

3/1/2014- Good first week

There were some adjustments, but overall the first week went well.  Keep praying for strength as he is  a little weak.  I think we will be opening up visitation next week.  I will let you know!

Aimee

2/24/2014 HE IS HOME!!!!!

Matt is home!  YAY!  He even went to KROGER!  We will be opening up visits as soon as he has had a chance to settle back in.  Matt is asking those that visit to take a walk with him to help him build up his strength.  He is pretty weak from being in a bed for such a long time.

Aimee

2/20/2014-Change in Release Date

Update:  11:02 am-  Matt is going home Monday NOT Friday as was originally planned.  They were trying to get all the training and everything in by Friday, but they think it is better to give it the weekend.  So Monday is going home day for now! :)

2/19/2014-Still good!

Update 10:11 am-  Sorry there was not an update yesterday, I was swamped and did not get home from work until after 9:00 pm.  Anyway, there is not much change other than it looks like Matt will be going home Friday.  YAY!  The updates will slow down at this point because there is not much change.  I will be sure to post when Matt goes on the transplant list and if he gets a heart.  Keep praying for him as I am sure this journey will be a difficult one for him.    A sincere THANKS to everyone on behalf of Matt and my family for all the prayers, help, concern, etc.  We could not do any of this without each any every one of you.

Aimee

2/17/2014-A normal room!

Update: 5:42 pm-  Moved to a regular room!!  It is possible he will be discharged by Friday.  We are still holding off on visitors because Matt has physical therapy and LVAD training every day and the timing is not clear until it happens.  However, once he is home, I will open it up again!

Aimee

2/16/2014-Still all good!

Update 2/16/2014- Matt is doing good!  Tomorrow begins training on how to use the LVAD, change daily dressings and whatnot.  He continues to improve.

Aimee

2/15/2014- Walking day!!

Update 5:49 pm-  Matt walked today!!  Yay!  He is getting better every day!  They removed the swan today, (The thing that checks is PAP numbers) which means they are satisfied with those numbers.   Keep those prayers coming!

Aimm

2/14/2014- Happy Valentine's Day!

Update 6:09 pm-  Matt looked much better today.  He was sitting up and trying to eat when I saw him.  They removed the chest tube today!! Visitors are restricted to family for the time being because they will only let family go back every few hours for about 30 mins.  Keep praying!


Happy Birthday Uncle Rod!


Aimee

2/13/2014-Post Surgery Day 2

Update 6:42 pm-  They are moving him to a move private room.  He was in a very open concept type room.  He still looks about the same.

Update 3:37 pm-  Just got back from the hospital.  Nurses say his numbers are rock solid.  He looks pretty rough as would be expected. Pray for strength for Matt and continued healing from his operation.  Mom & Aunt Jill finally went home for some much needed rest.  Also his heart rate is lower, which is good.  I think he just needs time at this point.

2/12/2014- Communicating now...

Update 11:00 pm-  Matt sat up in the chair got a great part of the day, which was tiring for him, but good at the same time.  He drank his protein shakes and juice.

Update: 11:18 AM-  Breathing tube and balloon pump is out!  YAY!  He is able to talk.  Mom says he looks so skinny because he continues to lose more fluid now that his heart is pumping more efficiently.  Heart rate is slightly high, but they are dealing with that and they are not real concerned.  He is doing good ya'll.  Keep up those prayers!!!

Update: 10:09 AM-  Happy Snow Day all!  Matt had a good night and is communicating some now.  He still has the breathing tube in so he can not talk, but when my mom came in he pointed to his eye. Mom asked if he wanted his glasses and he shook his head no.  He pointed to his eye again, and then his heart and then to her. :)!  Love you Matty!!

Aimee

2/11/2014 Surgery Day

Update: 8:46 pm-  They let mom go back in again and he is still doing good.  They are going to remove the tubes and the balloon pump (which they kept in) some time tomorrow which means he will have to lie flat for 6 hours with not much movement.  They will probably keep him sedated throughout this time and then try to get him moving around sometime on Thursday.

Update: 7:22 pm-  He opened his eyes for a min and looked at mom when the nurse told him she was in the room.  They have him heavily sedated.

Update: 3:04 pm-  Mom and Aunt Jill were able to go back and look at Matt through the window.  Now, Prayers for a speedy recovery from surgery!! :)

Update:  1:26 pm-    Doctors said they were pleased with the surgery.  He had very little bleeding and his numbers look good!  PRAISE GOD!!

Update:  11:14 am-  They are closing him up right now.  The doctors should be out to talk to my mom around 12:00 pm.  I will keep you posted.

Update:  9:19 am- Surgery started about 15 mins ago!


Aimee

2/10/2014, 9:00 pm group prayer

Update 9:00 pm- "And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among people." Matthew 4:23

Dear Lord,

Be with Matt during his surgery tomorrow. Be with the surgeons, guide their hands and their minds throughout the surgery.  Remove any barriers that may come up with ease.  May Matt be at peace during the ordeal.  Be with our family and friends as we pray throughout the day and in the weeks to come.  Throughout this, may You be glorified.

In Your Name,

Amen

Update 9:22 am:  Nothing different.  Still doing pretty good.  Matt is going in tomorrow at 6:30 am and should be finished by lunch.  Aunt is scheduling a group wide prayer for Matt at 9:00 pm EST.  We hope you will join us where ever you are and pray for a successful surgery for Matty!

Thanks!

Aimee

2/9/2014-Nothing new to add

Update: 1:41 pm- I have nothing new to add today.  Unless something changes, I will not update until tomorrow!

Take Care!

Aimee

2/8/2014 So far so good

Update 10:03 pm-  Just left the hospital.  He is doing pretty good.  Tired, but good.  It looks like the LVAD surgery is going to be Tuesday morning for sure unless an emergency elsewhere arises that takes the doctors away.  He will be going back around 6:30 am, and surgery is supposed to start around 7:30 am.  It seems the surgery can last anywhere from 4 to 6 hours.   He will remain in an isolated ICU for a few days where we will only be able to see him through a window.  Then at some point we will be able to have short visits.  After a week or so, they will put him back in the CICU (where he is currently) and we hope to reopen up visits for friends at that time.  I will keep you posted!

Update 10:25 am-  Not much to report, which is good!  He is resting well trying to prepare for the LVAD.

2/7/2014- Not sure yet...

Update:  8:07 pm -  Not much to update other than Matt is resting comfortably.  He has got to build up his strength for the LVAD surgery.

Update: 2:22 pm-   Spoke to my mom and Matt is eating more, which is great.  His numbers are better.  They are thinking of doing the LVAD on Tuesday.  Pray for his strength.

Update: 10:30 am-  Had a good night and PAP numbers continue to come down!!!

Update: 10:11 am-  Still waiting on an update.  Jenny should send me one soon.

Aimee

2/6/2014- Had a good night!

Update 6:41 pm-   It seems like this balloon pump is working well.  Matt is resting.  Doctor thinks his PAP numbers so continue to come down over the next few days and they are looking to put in the LVAD on Tuesday.  This is open heart surgery, so we need to pray about that as well.

Update 2:55 pm- Email from Jenny Just spoke with Suzy who spoke with Jill. Matt is doing well, more fluid continuing to come off. PAP numbers starting to come down. The hope is they will continue to come down which will make the LVAD surgery easier. They will be doing the LVAD surgery on Tuesday.

Update 1:40 pm- From Aunt Jill- Matt is done with procedure. It went well. He is sleeping peacefully. ( they gave him something for that) His nurse is in with him and asked us to stay in waiting room until she gets us. Will report any further news later.

Update 9:53 am-  Matt had a good night last night.  The charge nurse tried to stay out of his room as much as possible in order for him and Tim to be able to rest.  A huge shout out to the staff and doctors at St. Joseph's.  They do an amazing job.  Matt should see the doctor at some point this morning to schedule the balloon thingy. (I am not sure what it is called).  Prayers the balloon thingy goes well and prayers that it works to bring the PAP numbers down.

Aimee

2/5/2014 Rough Night

Update 8:07 PM- Thank you to all who have signed up to visit Matt.  Going forward- Please call Matt's cell prior to your visit due to the information I am about to provide.   Sometime tomorrow, they are going to place a balloon pump in order to help ease the PA pressures.  He will be required to remain completely flat for the duration as long has he has this pump in place.   From what I understand, this pump will beat every other heartbeat for Matt in order to give his heart a rest.  This will hopefully bring his PAP number down so that they can put him on and LVAD (Left Ventricle Assist Device) as a bridge to heart transplantation.

Update 11:37 am-  Email from Jenny-Tim said he's good just tired. He has lost 4 liters of fluid. I think that's right, it was a lot. So he was up all night and his IVs were beeping all night. Tim said it was so bad that they started dreaming that things were beeping.  They are upping some meds to get his heart rate down and also giving him potassium. Just trying to do what they can to get fluid off and heart rate down.

THANK GOD FOR TIM! Guys pray for Tim as well!  I am sure he is tired.  He spent the night with Matt last night and is a true blessing to our Family.

Update 8:55 am-  Matt had a bit of a rough night.  He lost a lot of fluid, which is good, but it is exhausting.  It also affected his K levels so they had to put him on intravenous K.  His heart rate has also increased.  We need to continue to pray for his PAP numbers to come down as well as his heart rate.

Aimee

2/4/2014 Another restful night...

Update 9:45 pm  Still no word on the Echo, but he continues to loose the fluid.  So the doctors would be happy if his PAP numbers get below 40, but would be ecstatic if it got below 20.  Lets pray for ecstatic doctors!!!  Also, if you feel so inclined, leave comments for Matt.   He plans on reading them at some point and I know they will be an encouragement to him!

Update 6:36 pm-  Really, Really, Really need those PAPs to come down.  They did the echo, but the only thing we have heard is that he has no clots.  Keep praying about those PAPs!  Fluids are really coming off!!

Update 2:00 pm- From Jenny- Dr Janson just came through and the story is the same the PAP numbers have to come down. If he were to go into heart transplant surgery now a new heart wouldn't be able to survive so transplant is not an option. Doing an echo to check the right side of his heart. If the right side looks good they will put in the LVAD if not there are a few other options to bring the PAP #s down. They are talking about putting a balloon in (at the groin) to help with the pressures. So for now let's just say we need the PAP #s to come down an we are looking at putting in an LVAD if the right side of his heart is strong enough.

Update 9:25 am- Matt had another restful night.  His heart rate and PAP numbers are still high.  He is back to his old self, joking and such.  We are waiting on the Dr. to give us an update.  Matt also asked for you to pray for his new friend Oscar who is hopefully being transferred to Emory today to await his heart transplant.

2/3/2014- A restful night

Update: 1:20 pm-  He has lost a lot of fluid! YAY!!  PAP pressures are still up.   Turns out he does have some options if the PAP do not come down, but it would be a whole lot easier if they did.  Please pray those come down.

Update:  12:00 pm- Matt is still stable.  We are so grateful that so many of you want to visit Matt; however, we MUST limit the time.  He can not handle more than 1-2 visitors a day. Therefore, I am personally asking you NOT to ask Matt when to come and visit, but to simply use the visitation calendar (on the right) to sign up for visits.  Thank you for understanding and for caring so much about my sweet brother.

Update: 8:33 am-  It seems Matt had a restful night and was able to get off more fluids.  Please keep praying that those fluids come off.  We still need his PAP (Pulmonary artery pressures) to come down so pray for that as well.   Once those come down, he will be transferred to Emory to await a heart.  I will let you know more when I do.

Aimee

2/2/2013- A little scary...

Update 6:40pm-  Matt is tired, but pretty stable right now.  Fluids are starting to come off (Thank GOD!) so keep those prayers coming!  We really need the PAP pressures to come down because they can not do the heart transplant unless they do.

Update 1:21- Swan is in. More stable now. Pray his fluid comes off and his PAP pressures come down.

Update: 12:17 pm So we had a bit of a scare today.  Matt's heart rate shot up and he was having trouble breathing.  It was a reaction to a medication.  As soon as he got off the medication, his heart rate came down.  They are currently putting in the swan and they may put in a balloon pump to help regulate the heart.  His doctor said they are just doing everything possible to keep him alive until a heart becomes available.  Ahid and I are at the hospital with Mom right now.  When I know more I will post.

Keep praying!!!

Aimee

Here is what we know so far.

Update: 2/3/2014- 12:10 pm-  I know that some of you are coming over from various links and I wanted to give you the link to the main blog, not just to this post so that you can keep up with the updates.  MAIN BLOG LINK

Update 2/1/2014-11:30 pm

• Matt is currently at St. Joseph's hospital. 

• He has not been well since Oct and they attempted to stabilize his numbers, but they seem to be getting worse.  

• Thursday (1/30/2013) Matt and Mom went in the hospital at around 12:30 am.  The doctor's determined that his heart is no longer functioning properly and that it is time for him to go on the transplant list.  From what we understand, he will be on the top list. 

• They are going to put a device on him to measure some pressures, lung I think.  Once this is complete and his paperwork is in place, they are going to transfer him over to Emory for the duration and he will remain at Emory until this occurs.

CURRENT PRAYER REQUESTS

• He is currently on IV diuretics and we need to get the fluid off of him.
• The medications that Matt are on will stop interacting poorly with his stomach.

Will let you know when I know more.

Aimee