I wish there was more to update but we continue to ride this cycle. His heart is still making slight progress but his fluid is poorly managed and his kidneys remain injured/sedate. They have continued lowering the external pace maker and now we are seeing Alan’s new heart engage just slightly during physical activity (adjusting his heart rate within a small range). Once they can eliminate the pace, Alan will be free of wires and allowed to travel outside for his first fresh breathe of 2022. His blood pressure remains low (90/55) but with a medication we are seeing time periods of 112/68ish; so with medication adjustments this may become stable soon. Our biggest issue is that Alan’s fluid overload/weight is still unbareable. He has more fluid on his heart and lungs than the majority of the time he was waiting for his new organs. This is making Alan incredibly short of breath and hindering his physical progress. The excess weight and the limited mobility capabilities are increasing his back and abdominal pain. It has still been quite difficult getting his teams together for a direct and definitive attack plan. He can’t increase his activity until the fluid is off and he is now blatantly proving he needs dialysis 6 or 7 days a week to break even, let alone eliminate this excess fluid they let occur by trying to move him out of ICU and transitioning to dialysis lab. We obviously have embraced the wait here. We don’t mind how long we are here as long as he is comfortable and capable of getting stronger. At least here is step-down, Alan feels ready for Reese to visit again. Hopefully we have happy family updates for you next week or progress with his kidney and fluid/weight. In the meantime, just so proud and thankful for how hard Alan is trying both with his mood and his motivation. He’s so ready to take on this year and this life. We are at the mercy of his kidneys and this wait remains out of our control so until then we just practice our patience and grace.

Separately, we have progress on our COTA fundraising efforts. In full transparency, we have almost exhausted the entirety of the COTA funds raised in honor of Alan as we are about to hit the 5 month mark in the hospital and out of work. We are incredibly excited that we have 2 upcoming live events as well as a shirt that will be available soon. There will be a cornhole tournament and outdoor event in Sylvania on Saturday June 18th and an additional fundraiser (dinner and gift baskets) on Sunday July 24th in Sylvania. Watch for updates on all 3 coming very soon.