Fortunately / Unfortunately

Fortunately, Eddie's heart came back into rhythm about 1am yesterday and his heart has had some much needed rest over the past 24 hours. Unfortunately . . .

There are a lot of questions about Eddie's condition right now, but there are a few things we know. Most importantly, two blood clots have developed in both his left and right ventricles. Everyone is confused how this could have happened considering how heparinized he is right now . . . his blood is very thin to avoid clotting in his Berlin pump. Equally puzzling is how quickly these clots were able to form since no one saw them on previous ECHOs . . . we don't believe they were there.

Our best guess is that the clots developed during the pericardial effusion on Sunday, when his heart may have been constricted enough to give the clots time to grow. We continue to drain fluid out of his pericardial sac to prevent the problem from getting worse, but until we get good images this morning, we won't know if the clots are growing, shrinking, or staying the same size.

I won't walk you through the detailed risks, but at a high level we're concerned about a major respiratory event (if the clot in the right ventricle moves to the lungs) or a major stroke event (if the clot in the left ventricle moves to the brain). Any surgical removal is extremely risky due to the thinness of his blood. Using clot-busting drugs is very risky since they can cause spontaneous bleeding. So overnight, we were simply waiting and hoping that the clots dissolve since they are relatively new and unhardened. Once we are able to get a new ECHO this morning, we'll have more information on which to base our next step decisions.

We hate to share this kind of news . . . especially after Eddie had such a great day on Saturday. We feel it is important to keep everyone up to date, however, and know that he will be in your thoughts and prayers. More to follow . . .