Cath Lab Results

Ry did go to the Cath Lab first thing this morning and did very well. And best of all, we got a really good report on her new heart. Here's the run down:

~The heart function on both the right and left side looks good. Both are functioning well although not as well on the relaxation motion as the pumping.
~ The pulmonary arteries look great. This is a huge relief. We feared she had narrowing in parts of one or each of these. Ry has been on two meds for pulmonary hyper-tension and after the images today, we will begin to wean off of them. I am thrilled. One of the medications is very expensive and Ry had to take a very large volume. This will eliminate this dose every six hours, each being 8mls! The second medication was one that we'd have to mask and glove with each dose.
~ Her lungs weren't quite in such good shape though. So yesterday's Xray showed what we thought was fluid accumulation along the lower left lobe of her lungs (this is always a trouble spot for her) which is where her last chest tube had been sitting. We had suspected this might happen so we weren't surprised. This morning's Xray was a bit more surprising. The ENTIRE left side showed an infusion. While this was more change than we expected, it was not too worrisome since we had planned to drain the fluid and place a chest tube today. However once in the lab, it was discovered that her left lobe was actually collapsed and there was very little fluid present. They placed the chest tube anyways and then proceeded. Once Ry was intubated for the procedure, it actually helped open her lungs. So now we are dealing with a crummy cough and breathing therapy every 3 hours to strengthen her diaphram. Ry is doing great, I'm just really nervous about it all. It seems so serious and something that will have to heal slowly. The best thing for her in getting up (which we do) and physical exertion (which we haven't done). The chest tube should come out tomorrow though, since it's not really doing a major service. Once the tube is out we'll push her physically.
~ Tomorrow we'll get the results of the biopsy. The result will be one of the following:
Grade O: No Acute Rejection
Grade 1R: Focal, Mild Acute Rejection
Grade 2R: Moderate Acute Rejection
Grade 3R: Diffuse, Borderline Severe Acute Rejection

We are thankful for the good news and hope things continue to progress in the right direction. Tonight say an extra prayer for some of our heart friends here in the ICU. A couple of them had a bad day and need a little help from above.
I need to get to bed, last night Ry only slept 3.5 hours and now that she has that painful chest tube in, I'm not sure she'll be able to rest well tonight either. Praying for rest and favorable biopsy results.