Good evening all!

So today was another very exhausting day. Jeremy's sleeping, Mom's going back to the hotel, bruce is on his way home and I'm sitting here wile enjoying a little peace and quiet.

This morning Jeremy had the TEE.  

The good news is it showed that the valve is working and doing everything it should.  

The bad news is they saw a thin inch and a half 'something' attached to the valve and "blowing in the breeze." And that's the medical term the doctor used to explain what this thing was doing. He said it's thin like filament, sort of made me think of really light test fishing line.  He explained it couldn't be seen on the tests yesterday, it wasn't the type of test that showed that.  

He also said short of going in there and getting it they don't know exactly what it is right now. It might be an infection or part of the blood clot that went to Jeremy's spleen.  

The doctor first wanted to just go in there and take out whatever it is and if it's an infection replace the valve. When we reminded him that we're Jehovah's Witnesses and using a blood transfusion is not a medical treatment that we will consent to they had to change their plan.  Because Jeremy's red blood count is 11 (12-14 is what they want it to be to operate) and the fact that it's going to be a bloody operation because they would be cutting thru scar tissue they don't want to operate without the cushion of being able to use blood.  

After consulting his colleagues, the doctor came back with the following medical treatment plan: They will keep Jeremy's blood thin with coumadin to keep it from clotting anymore. This will also hopefully dissolve the 'thing' if it is a clot.  Hopefully, it will dissolve in a manor that will not cause it to go thru the blood stream in one long string and stick to another organ. This could cause any number of medical issues (stroke, etc). They will also continue to do lab work and see if they can figure out if it is an infection. They will also monitor his white blood count and vitals for signs of infection. 

Jeremy might still need a heart surgery but hopefully by the time he does, his red blood count is higher and they can use a blood volumizer to help with the blood loss.  If he does it won't be until closer to the end of the week.

So we are patiently waiting, to see what happens with the heart, and treating Jeremy's spleen pain.  He's NPO after midnight in case something needs to be done right away in the morning, but when they know that he's okay he'll be able to eat.