It’s been a long week. Shortly after we arrived Katja crashed and went to bed early. The next morning she was completely exhausted. Very tired and crabby. We were prepared for her having some jet lag but this was much worse. Over the next week her appetite disappeared (she’s on medication to stimulate it), she couldn’t make it through the day without nodding off, her skin was now a constant molted shade. She looked pale and tired. She’s also starting to retain fluid and have a very puffy face.

I’ve been really worried. So I reached out to the team at Duke and requested an echo. Her echo is pretty stable from the one a month ago but her symptoms have worsened. The Cardiologist agreed that we are running out of time. Katja doesn’t usually get this symptomatic when in heart failure unless she’s really sick. Maybe it’s the North Carolina heat (though we mostly keep her in the A/C) or maybe it’s her body saying her heart is working too hard. Either way her Partial Heart Transplant can’t come soon enough.

Time is running out…