Pacman Medicine

I am sure the Docs would cringe with this description, but I refer to the procedure of a heart Biopsy as Pacman Medicine. Post transplant, I need to have a biopsy of the heart to check for rejection of the foreign tissue the heart brings to my body. With the biopsy, several small pieces of tissue are sampled and sent to the pathologist. The way the samples are collected from the heart is through the jugular vein, a small wire is inserted until the wire reached the right ventricle chamber. The position of the wire is checked via x-ray machine. Once the wire is positioned in the right ventricle, it can be moved to grab a small piece of tissue from the wall of the heart. The tool to do this is something like Pacman; a small round object with a mouth that looks like Pacman. The tool can be manipulated to grab a small piece of tissue and is then removed as the wire is pulled out. This will occur over several years to check for heart rejection. Initially, the time interval is short; one week. Eventually it becomes an annual event. I have not experienced any pain or discomfort with this procedure, which I am glad for.

I believe the transformation I am now experiencing from the heart transplant has given me the most dramatic physical change in a three week period ever. One thing I know is that my increased appetite has helped me put a few pounds back on (though the medications are also affecting this). Since February I dropped weight from 200 to 160 lbs. Now that I am eating again, the weight is coming back fast. This morning I am post transplant for 20 days and have gained 17 pounds back (I was very gaunt and pale in the face, with a lot of ribs showing). The Docs were becoming more and more concerned that I was still waiting for a heart. Now I am eating better and enjoying more and more energy each day.

If my body starts to reject the heart, my medications get adjusted (four installments of pills a day; a total today of 44 pills a day). Daily I check my weight, temperature, blood sugar, pulse and blood pressure. We work on exercising and reviewing the medication list each day. I am still pretty weak and walking with the aide of a walker is hard. Going up stairs is very labored. I will likely not see any marked improvement for several more weeks. The progress now is slow, but steady, and every day is better.