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We are back from Houston. We saw the radiation doctors, and they were TOTALLY shocked that he had damage from the radiation. They said radiation gets blamed for a lot of things, but that it did cause the damage. The doctor said this is the first case ever that damage happened so fast with such a low dosage he received. She said you start seeing damage around 7 years, but mostly 10-15. Like I said earlier, they were TOTALLY shocked. As we were leaving, Wes said that since he was the first case that they should write a paper on him. His doctor agreed, so when we go back in July for his regular check-up, they will do some genetic testing. She said that it could be something genetic that makes him so sensitive to radiation. They apologized, but we told them that there wasn’t anything to apologize for. We knew going into the radiation that damage could and probably would be done.

After the radiation doctor’s appointment, we rushed over to the heart doctor’s appointment. He is from Australia, but he walked in the door and said, “How are y’all?” I thought he isn’t from Australia, but once we got to talking to him you could tell. There were certain words he said you could tell he still had his accent. He was a very nice and personable doctor. He acted like this surgery was nothing, but he does this everyday. In 1996, he was listed as the top heart surgeon in Good Housekeeping magazine, but to sit there and talk to him he was just like your local doctor. I was very shocked at how he just talked to us. I figured he would be so busy that he would come in say ok this is what we are doing, now tell me when you want it done. He talked about heart surgeons, insurance, how he didn’t have any money because he had two daughters and one just got married. He told Wes he should really considering going to medical school that was after Wes said he thought he might would like to do something in the medical field. He encouraged Wes to go on and get his PhD in Computer Science, which he was able to start doing when he got sick. He said that he has always told his kids that he would take care of them as long as they were going to school. His son is about to graduate from Baylor Medical School. For him to be a busy heart surgeon, he sure made us or me neither feel very comfortable.

The trip home was loooooonnnnnnnngggggg. We headed out of Houston at 5, but the traffic wasn’t that bad. We cannot go to Houston without eating at Saltgrass, and as always, it was great. We made it home about 1:30, and CRASHED. We woke to the phone ringing this morning with the message that WE HAVE ELECTRICITY, which is very shocking. I checked the messages on the way home last night, and we had a message from Entergy saying that our power was set to be turned on on June 17th. I was PISSED. I called Aaron and he had already been by there, but he couldn’t get the A/C to turn on, so he is calling the A/C man. The painter is still touching things up. I called the floor guy and he is suppose to call me this afternoon to let me know if he can come Monday. We are starting to FINALLY see the light at the end of the building tunnel. I don’t want to get too excited, because every time I do something comes up.

I must tell you that we have the sweetest little girl. She was so good the past few days. She has had to sit in a car seat for at least 20 hours the last two and half days. The only thing she fussed about was wanting to go to Target, and by golly, I am taking that baby to Target hopefully tomorrow. I wish we could have gone to the one in Houston, but we just didn’t have the time. When Wes came out of the heart doctor, she said,”Daddy, you all better now.” She is the sweetest thing, and knows exactly what is going on. She knows her daddy isn’t feeling well. I am not sure how well she will handle this surgery. She was a baby when he had the first, so she wasn’t as demanding. Also, we will be in a major hospital where I don’t think we will get the personal treatment we received in Monroe, which is the only disadvantage to not having it done local. However, this is the best place to have it done.

Guess that is all for now. I will update as soon as I know the exact date of the surgery. We have talked with Dr. Burkett’s office, and we have decided to go with June 16th. We have called Dr. Lawrie’s office in Houston, and they are checking with the surgical center to make sure they have that date available. Once I know, I will post it. Have to get ready for Relay for Life…. Later….

We made it last night around 12:30, and we all CRASHED.  Yesterday was a very long day.  The doctor’s appointment in Monroe didn’t go as planned, but we were expecting the news we heard.  Wes told them he hadn’t been feeling as well as he did when he had the first stent put in.  Dr. Burkett decided to go on and do a stress test since we were going to Houston.  He trained here in Houston, and said if he had a heart problem, Houston is where he would be.  When you hear a doctor tell you that, you know where you need to be.   The stress showed that the stent wasn’t working, so they told us to head to Houston and Dr. Burkett would contact the dr down here.  We are up early and Wes has just heard from Dr. Burkett.  He is on the phone right now with the heart doctor here in Houston to get an appointment.  He has an appointment at 1 with his radiation doctor at MD Anderson.  The heart doctor is associated with several different hospitals here in Houston, but all are right down the street from MD Anderson.  We got lucky and got a room at the Rotary House, which is connected to MD Anderson.  When I called last week, they didn’t have anything, but I called before we left yesterday and they had one.  It is nice to stay here, because not just anybody can stay here.  Well, his appointment is at 2:30, and I hope our appointment with the radiation doctor doesn’t run over. 

We had our inspection this morning so we could get the electricity turned on, and WE PASSED….. However, the police jury didn’t havea sewer permint on file, so that is a hold up.  I talked to Aaron and he said he would find out what needed to be done.  That is all for now……

Let’s see… We are still not in our house. We do have water now, but no electricity. We are hoping next week we will get that. The inspector is set to do his inspection of the electrical work on Thursday. Entergy is coming out in the morning to check the pole and transformer to see if they have to replace the pole or transformer. When I called them today, they told me it could be 7-15 working days before they replace the pole or transformer. I am sure it will have to be replace, and back us up further.

Wes has an appointment in the morning with Dr. Burkett for a follow-up, and then we are headed to Houston for an appointment with his radiation doctor. I called them last week, and talked with nurse about what had been going on. She suggested that Wes come in for a check-up. We will be coming back Thursday afternoon. It will be a whirlwind trip, but we have to be back for Relay for Life Friday night. Wes is being honored as the survivor this year. He is very humbled and honored that he was chosen. So, if you don’t have anything to do Friday night, please come to the Relay for Life.

Oh, well, it is late and I need to get to bed. It is going to be a long day tomorrow.

Wes had his heart cath on Wednesday, and it didn’t go as well as the one in January. They found that the stint that was put in in January was covered with scar tissue, and the artery(which is on the left side of the heart) was 95% blocked. The doctor said had he gone another week he probably would have had a massive heart attack. If this stint doesn’t work, then he will have to have by-pass surgery. He will have another heart cath in about two months. The bad news doesn’t stop here; however, I didn’t find this out until later. I don’t know why the doctor didn’t tell me when I talked to him, but he was in a hurry because his grandfather had just passed away. As they injected the right side of his heart with the dye, he went into cardiac arrest. His doctor hit him three times in the chest with his fist and that didn’t get the heart back in rhythm, so he had to shock him. The shock worked thank goodness; however, Wes’ heart then started beating too fast. This is a little less dangerous, but not has dangerous as what happened when they injected him. This is what happened to him back in September when we rushed him to the ER. This went on for several hours until I brought Emma Grace in to see him. I don’t know if it just happened or if she settled him down, but it went from beating 110 – 160 to the 80’s. I am sure it was the medicine they gave him and it kicked in right around the time Emma Grace came in. He waited several hours, and then they put the stint in. The stint placement went well; however, wherever they brought him back to the room, he started bleeding inside. He started complaining with his side hurting, and they felt of it and it was very hard. They started applying pressure, and got the doctor. I think all the staff was in there and I was FREAKING out. The dr that put the stint in told him if it wasn’t for bad luck he wouldn’t have any at all, and then started to singing a song about it. Wes said he sang the whole time he was putting the stint in. The nurse applied pressure for at least 30 minutes or longer. Wes was in a good bit of pain until the nurse gave him so feel good medicine. As soon as she put it in, he said thank you to whoever gave me that shot. He said whatever it was it should made the pain go away. He stayed in the heart cath lab room for about an hour, and then was moved to the first floor. He was pretty much out of it most of the night. He was very nauseated when he would wake up. He had to lay flat for 8 hours, and finally at 11 he was able to get up and move. He finally got over the nausea, and slept most of the night. (I guess) Since Emma Grace decided to wake up at 2:30 the night/morning before and did not want to go back to sleep, I hadn’t had any sleep. I have been up over 36 hours, and I was EXHAUSTED. I woke up several times when the nurse came, but I would go right back. The dr came in around 10:30 the next morning, and informed us of him going into cardiac arrest. I knew they had to shock him, but the nurses didn’t say exactly what had happened. I guess they didn’t want to worry me or they just thought I knew what had happened. All they would say was that he had to be shocked and that he was ok and that it was not uncommon for them to have to do that when they mess with that side of the heart. Dr. Burkett asked Wes if he was sore in his chest and he said no. He said, “Well, good, because I hit you three times very hard there.” Dr. Burkett’s nurse told Wes that he should get to hit him back since it didn’t work, and Wes said no because he may need him in the future. We were out of the hospital by 11:30. That is the fastest we have ever gotten out of the hospital. This was probably the best hospital stays we have ever had. Everyone was so nice. He had it done at P&S Surgical Hospital, which is right by St. Francis. When we walked in the waiting room, we were met by one of Wes’ old nurses from North Monroe. I was so happy to see her. She was so sweet when Wes was in the hospital back in 2005, and we knew she had started working at the main hospital after St. Francis bought North Monroe. She was pregnant with her first child when Wes was in the hospital for pneumonia in November of 2005, and she just had another baby in December. She now has a girl and boy. She was as nice as ever. She said she asked if this was her Wes Monceaux. I think she is what kept me calm the whole time, because I knew she would take care of him. She told me when they had to shock him that she got a little excited but not worried, and I trusted her. She came down Thursday morning to see, but I never knew she came in. She brought the photos of the before and after pictures they took during the procedure. She also came down to see us as we were getting in the car. I am truly glad she was there. She said she had only been working there four or six weeks, I believe. His nurse he had for a short time Wednesday night and Thursday morning was wonderful too. As we were leaving, we were talking about how the weather had changed and about the storm that had come through the night before. I said I didn’t hear it because I was OUT. She told Wes I heard it because I was up praying for you. I thought that was so sweet and nice. When she came in the room Thursday, she told Wes that he looked so much better than he did the night before.. As a matter of fact, the other nurse told him the same thing. He did look pretty washed out. I noticed it most after he started bleeding after the stint was put in. It was like he lost all color. I stayed in the room the whole time they worked on him, which I was surprised they let me. I asked them if I should leave and they said no. I don’t want to forget the night nurse. He was very nice too. His name was Wes, and Wes said that is the reason he was so nice. There were only three other people on that floor that night, and the day nurse said usually they don’t have patients on their floor at night but the floor that usually keeps patients over night was full. The funniest thing happened when Wes was just being brought to his room. The nurse came in and was checking his vitals, and Emma Grace decided she was going to get her doctor kit out. She started opening her bag and got her stethoscope out and laid it up on the bed toward Wes. She then turned around and said, “Oh, no,” and then said (with both her little hands in the air), “hey, lady I need some covers.” I knew exactly what she was asking for…. Gloves. As soon as I told everybody, we all fell out laughing, and Karri started looking for “covers”. She never found any, but thank goodness Emma Grace got her mind to something else. I don’t know why she called them covers, because she has gloves at home. I guess the ones they use look different than the ones she has. The odd thing is I don’t know how she knew to put gloves on. Wes thinks she remembers seeing it on Little Bill. I don’t know, but it was so funny. She kept the whole place entertained Wednesday as she always does, and she was very well behaved.

Wes is still sore, and has become sore in his chest from the “beating”. We are not sure when his next appointment will be because his doctor has been out of the office. I am going to call tomorrow to get it. He will do another heart cath in July probably, but will only check the left side of the heart. The doctor said he wasn’t going to wait to see if Wes started showing any complications. He wanted to check it in two months to see if any blockage is showing, and if it is, then by-pass will be performed.

On a sad note, my aunt (she was married to my uncle, but she is still my aunt), Pam Bible, lost her husband Saturday morning. He had been battling cancer for years, and had an aneurysm Friday. His funeral will be tomorrow so please put them in your prayers.

Hopefully, the electrician/plumber will show up this week. Our floor was set to go down this week, but until we get power, we get no floor. Painting is still going on and I think it will be going on for a while from the looks of it. I don’t know when we will be in this house. I have about decided we might be it in by Christmas, I hope.

I am going to end this entry with a Happy Mother’s Day to my mom. I/we know I/we don’t always tell you how much I/we appreciate you, but I/we do. There is NO way I/we could have made it through the last two and a half years without you. I/we thank you for everything and I/we love you.

As the last entry says, we are still building. The flooring hopefully will be here early next week. The painter is still slowly painting. He has paint on all walls, and he has stained everything. Now, it is time for the second coat. Lowe’s will deliver our appliances this weekend. We have had to change the delivery date three times, so this time we will just go ahead and let them deliver, even though we are not ready for them. Hopefully, we will be in the house at the end of this month.

Wes hasn’t been feeling well the last week and a half, so he called his heart dr and he ordered another stress test. They finally did it yesterday, and he has to have another heart cath in the morning. Please pray that everything turns our ok.

Monogramming has been keeping us so busy, which explains why we haven’t made many post lately. We did two festivals last month, the Catfish and Riverfest. We did very well at both. We have another one next weekend, and then one in June.

Emma Grace is entertaining us everyday. She does the most silliest stuff, and is so smart. At time, we often wonder if all two and a half year old kids can do the things she does. It is amazing. She will carry on a conversation with you, and will say the funniest things.

Well, it is late and we have to get up in about an hour to get ready to head to Monroe. Hopefully post will come more frequently.