Just when you think it's over...

Magnus and I went down to Stanford on Monday for a checkup with the Pulmonary Hypertension clinic. It was the first time we'd been back to the hospital since the week after Magnus was discharged, and I could tell that being back in the building brought back some memories for him. In particular, he seemed to be struck by how much better he was feeling than the last time he'd been there. He started running down the hall saying "I can go fast now! I don't need a car anymore!" (when he'd been inpatient, he was too weak to walk very far so we went everywhere in a little toy car). We checked in at the Heart Center clinic and then proceeded to wait until 90 minutes after our appointment time until they called us in, which was unpleasant, but we're used to waiting around for medical appointments.

They checked his oxygen saturations, which looked great, much better than they'd been at his last two cardiology appointments. The appointment itself went smoothly. We actually saw three doctors, including one whom we'd seen in the hospital, and we discussed his medications, but ultimately decided to keep everything the same. They did want to check on one thing, though: on our way out, they wanted us to have an X-ray to check on the status of his lungs. When he'd been discharged in late June, he still had some fluid buildup in his lungs, but the doctors were pretty sure that it would resolve in time. In our clinic appointment, though, they said that it still felt like he had some fluid in there. So, we went for the X ray and headed home.

On our drive home, the doctors called me and said that not only did he still have fluid in his lungs, it was actually significantly worse than it had been when we were discharged. We would have to double his diuretic dose and bring him back down to Palo Alto on Thursday. So, right now, Iggy and Magnus are on their way down there for another X-Ray and some bloodwork. If his lungs look better, they'll be home shortly after that. But if not, Magnus will have to be re-admitted for IV diuretics and possibly a new chest tube, which would be horrible.

I'm not there with them because I have class this morning, and it's my first week of classes, so I absolutely can't miss work. I actually have an evening class tonight, too, so if he is hospitalized, I actually don't know how I'm going to get to my class and then down to the hospital. For now, I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that I won't have to worry about it.