Update on Mark

I just got home from OHSU. Mark's "blockage" isn't like what people get when they have bypass surgery. It's just that all of his blood has become too thick and his heart is straining to pump it effectively. His echocardiogram showed that his heart failure has worsened somewhat. Not dramatically. Not the point where he needs to be in ICU, etc. It's just more "sluggish" than it used to be, the doc said. Today they gave him (in addition to his regular meds), heparin to thin his blood, morphine for the severe pain, phenergan for the nausea, potassium to remedy a deficit they discovered, and fluid. They're hoping that will be enough. If not, they will phlebotomize him (i.e. draw off a unit or two of blood and replace it with albumen). If that doesn't work, then we will discuss more dramatic measures. They want to proceed slowly, however, and use the least invasive methods they can to avoid as much risk as possible.