New Shiny Heart

Kelly had a couple of things that kept her in the hospital. She had three chest tubes connected to clunky canisters that we had to drag around on a walker.  Her Sodium was low.  She had extra fluid and air around her lungs.  Yesterday, miraculously, all those things pretty much disappeared.  Chest tubes came out.  Sodium was OK. Fluid and air around lungs were OK.  She had an echocardiogram that showed absolutely perfect/normal parameters which is not at all what she had when she came in.  I'm amazed that they can change the structure of the heart to make it function as it should.  So, bottom line, they said, "Get out of here."  And we did.  We're now sitting comfortably in the Holiday Inn - (which if I never have to spend another night in a Holiday Inn it is too soon - but glad it's here.)

And then there's Cleveland.  Around 1900 it was one of the most prosperous cities in the world.  In 1949 the population was 916,000 people.  Today,  the population is 375,000.  The back streets are almost gravel/dirt/mud.  I am sure the major industry is medicine.  I guess there is insurance here as well.  Cleveland Clinic is enormous - there is a huge building for every organ in the body.  The cardiac surgery alone is 9 stories with I don't remember how many ICUs.

I  went to two concerts at Severance Hall, one of the great concert hall in the world.

Severance Hall is a little over a mile away. The first concert was a Brahms violin concerto which was so romantic but perfect for a big victorian concert hall. Then, I went with my bil, Terry,  to a concert of Beethoven's third, 'Eroica', - so cool to hear a concert like this performed by one of the great orchestras in the world. in the morning, with lots of Ohio kids who were spellbound, I guess, and quiet.
  
I went the Cleveland Art Museum which was also about a mile away and totally free - come and go as you wish.  A legacy from when  Cleveland was one of the most properous cities on the planet.

Today, Kelly felt well enough to go out and so we went to the museum together.

Kelly clearing our table at the museum cafe.

It's a spectacular museum ,and it's free, and there's a free shuttle from our hotel.  It was so nice to be getting back to pretty normal things.

Saturday morning we fly out of Cleveland and back home to Albuquerque.  The weather has been so cold and nasty here that all kinds of people are asking us about what it's like to live there - They especially want to know about the weather.  One interesting thing the clinic concierge told us is to not tell any of the airline personnel what kind of procedure she had because their policy is to wait 10 weeks prior to flying.  CC says that they fly lots of people out days after open heart surgery with no problems.  So, fly we shall. 

Thanks for all your support.  See you soon