I still can not believe how my dad was able to drive himself to the hospital on Monday morning, with no chest pains or symptoms that day of the severity of his heart condition.
Yesterday, after the angiogram, it was determined that he would need a triple bypass. There were some kidney function concerns resulting from tests done later that day which they were monitoring to see if surgery would even be possible today. This morning, he was cleared. Everything looked good and they managed to squeeze him in for surgery with Dr. Carson - a very reputable cardiac surgeon.
At 11:30, he was prepped for surgery. At 1:00 PM he was in he was in the operating room. The nurse told my mom that the Dr. had studied his X-rays, ultrasound, and EKG and believed that there would actually be 5 bypasses that will need to be performed - they will know more when they see his heart.
At 4:00, his chest was opened and heart exposed. He was not yet on the heart-lung machine as they were in the process of extracting a vein from his left leg and a mammary artery from his chest cavity to be used for the bypasses.
By 5:30, he was on the heart-lung machine and they had performed 3 of the 5 "rewires." My dad had very strong, thick veins and arteries, which made the attachments go very quickly and smoothly. We chatted awhile with the nurse who was providing us these regular status updates and she was able to reassure us that things were going very well.
Shortly after 6:00, the nurse came out again to tell us the bypasses have been completed. He was off of the heart-lung machine and his heart responded well immediately and is beating strong, but he was bleeding a little and they were waiting for it to stop before they would close him up. We were told to get some dinner and they would find us if there were more news. Paul and Abby had arrived by then, so my mom and I went with them to the cafeteria across the hall for a bite to eat.
About 7:00, the nurse told us they were going to need to get some plasma and platelets for my dad to help with the bleeding. This sometimes happened with the amount of blood thinners they had given him over the past couple of days.
Around 8:30 was when we found out the surgery was over and he was being moved to the ICU. We talked to Dr. Carson and he showed us the diagram at the bottom of the post, which showed us exactly where the new pathways had been created - 5 in total; a quintuple bypass.
The bleeding was due to poor liver function (an existing condition we knew about) which caused his liver to not be able to produce enough hormones to stimulate platelet production. So, this was a complication which even a doctor as experienced in the field as Dr. Carson had only rarely seen.
A second point of concern was that they discovered he had fairly severe kidney disease, which will need to be closely monitored from now on.
At 9:00 we were in the ICU, where my dad will stay overnight. So many tubes and needles were coming out of him and his face had an ashen hue - it was a real shock to see. The nurse prepared us well, though, and we knew what to expect, so it wasn't scary. His hands are tied down to prevent him from thrashing or pulling tubes out when he starts to regain consciousness. Allen arrived shortly after we were able to visit Dad. His body temperature - according to the monitors - was high, but his skin was cold. We talked to him and reassured him that we would see him soon. By the time we left for the night - we were not allowed to stay with him after 10:30 - most of the puffiness in his face and upper chest actually seemed to have decreased a lot and the color in his face looked very good. All of his stats were good when we left, but blood work did indicate that his platelets were still low and implied that he would probably need a small transfusion in the middle of the night.
My dad had very high spirits this morning and was anxious to get it all over with. To us, that is a very positive sign.
I want to thank all the friends and family who have provided a wealth of support for me and my family. Your prayers and well wishes really mean a lot to us!
Yesterday, after the angiogram, it was determined that he would need a triple bypass. There were some kidney function concerns resulting from tests done later that day which they were monitoring to see if surgery would even be possible today. This morning, he was cleared. Everything looked good and they managed to squeeze him in for surgery with Dr. Carson - a very reputable cardiac surgeon.
At 11:30, he was prepped for surgery. At 1:00 PM he was in he was in the operating room. The nurse told my mom that the Dr. had studied his X-rays, ultrasound, and EKG and believed that there would actually be 5 bypasses that will need to be performed - they will know more when they see his heart.
At 4:00, his chest was opened and heart exposed. He was not yet on the heart-lung machine as they were in the process of extracting a vein from his left leg and a mammary artery from his chest cavity to be used for the bypasses.
By 5:30, he was on the heart-lung machine and they had performed 3 of the 5 "rewires." My dad had very strong, thick veins and arteries, which made the attachments go very quickly and smoothly. We chatted awhile with the nurse who was providing us these regular status updates and she was able to reassure us that things were going very well.
Shortly after 6:00, the nurse came out again to tell us the bypasses have been completed. He was off of the heart-lung machine and his heart responded well immediately and is beating strong, but he was bleeding a little and they were waiting for it to stop before they would close him up. We were told to get some dinner and they would find us if there were more news. Paul and Abby had arrived by then, so my mom and I went with them to the cafeteria across the hall for a bite to eat.
About 7:00, the nurse told us they were going to need to get some plasma and platelets for my dad to help with the bleeding. This sometimes happened with the amount of blood thinners they had given him over the past couple of days.
Around 8:30 was when we found out the surgery was over and he was being moved to the ICU. We talked to Dr. Carson and he showed us the diagram at the bottom of the post, which showed us exactly where the new pathways had been created - 5 in total; a quintuple bypass.
The bleeding was due to poor liver function (an existing condition we knew about) which caused his liver to not be able to produce enough hormones to stimulate platelet production. So, this was a complication which even a doctor as experienced in the field as Dr. Carson had only rarely seen.
A second point of concern was that they discovered he had fairly severe kidney disease, which will need to be closely monitored from now on.
At 9:00 we were in the ICU, where my dad will stay overnight. So many tubes and needles were coming out of him and his face had an ashen hue - it was a real shock to see. The nurse prepared us well, though, and we knew what to expect, so it wasn't scary. His hands are tied down to prevent him from thrashing or pulling tubes out when he starts to regain consciousness. Allen arrived shortly after we were able to visit Dad. His body temperature - according to the monitors - was high, but his skin was cold. We talked to him and reassured him that we would see him soon. By the time we left for the night - we were not allowed to stay with him after 10:30 - most of the puffiness in his face and upper chest actually seemed to have decreased a lot and the color in his face looked very good. All of his stats were good when we left, but blood work did indicate that his platelets were still low and implied that he would probably need a small transfusion in the middle of the night.
My dad had very high spirits this morning and was anxious to get it all over with. To us, that is a very positive sign.
I want to thank all the friends and family who have provided a wealth of support for me and my family. Your prayers and well wishes really mean a lot to us!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009 |
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