Eric keeps everyone busy.

Since his diagnosis, a dedicated nephrologist has been checking on him daily. We’ve been discussing the plan for a laparoscopic kidney biopsy — a procedure to take a small tissue sample to better understand what’s going on with his kidneys. The idea is to coordinate this with his upcoming heart catheterization this Thursday. The PACC Team, ICU Team, and Nephrologist are all on board with doing both procedures together — now we’re just waiting on the anesthesia team’s final assessment.

On Monday, Speech Therapy conducted a video fluoroscopic swallow study (I got to record part of it, and I’ll share that below). It showed that Eric is aspirating a bit when he takes big gulps — especially water. They’ve given him the green light to eat, but he has to sip slowly. Unfortunately, Eric’s been a little too enthusiastic — he downed a Dr. Pepper when no one was looking, which led to some coughing fits, so they’ve had to pause drinks for now.

Later that day, ENT was brought in, and they performed a Flexible Fiber Optic Nasolaryngoscopy. It turns out Eric’s left vocal cord isn’t moving — likely a result of nerve injury post-heart transplant. This type of vocal cord paralysis can cause hoarseness, difficulty swallowing, and even trouble breathing. Sometimes it resolves on its own, but other times it requires treatment like vocal cord injections or surgery. We’re still weighing those options and trying to decide what’s best, especially given the aspiration issues.

Even with everything going on, Eric’s been getting up and walking regularly. He finally got to see his sister outside. It was such a sweet moment. They rubbed noses through their masks, though she got a little scared seeing blood in his remaining chest tube. He started with four tubes — now we’re down to one, and more wires were removed yesterday too. Definitely progress, even if it’s slow.

Thank you all for your continued prayers, kind messages, and support. Every word you send helps us feel a little stronger and a little less alone. Here are some photos from the past few days — moments that remind us of how far he’s come.

I’ll keep updating as things unfold. Please keep Eric in your thoughts as we head toward another big Thursday.