update

got tons of stuff to blog. looking for a little time tonight. =)

The news from the ENT was good!

Daddy saw the ears, nose and throat doctor on Friday. Lisa and Daddy were very impressed with the doctor. They said he was first class. He was in NO rush, asked lots of questions and looked carefully at Daddy's throat. He saw swelling, but no infection or signs of lasting damage. He gave Daddy a second antibiotic to take as a precautionary measure due to swelling and continued soreness. He explained that this extreme throat pain is, unfortunately, sometimes a side effect of heart surgery. 

Daddy will see the surgeon this Wednesday for follow up. After which, he may be cleared to return to cardiac rehab. and driving. (Side note: The concern with driving is that in the event of an accident, if the airbag deployed against the driver it would/could cause damage to the incision and healing there. Being a passenger is less risky because the airbag isn't as close to a passenger.)

Above is Daddy, my girls, and Daisy Joy last weekend. 

Happy Valentine's Day Papa!

(Sorry for a delay in updates. We've been staying at my dad's house. His computer isn't working too well.)

Daddy went home last Thursday, 2/5. He has been stable on his feet and able to walk around from the day he came home. He has had very little pain in his chest or legs. In fact, he didn't even leave the hospital with any pains prescription medications. The single complication has been...

His throat HURTS! We were told this is a fairly normal complication from being intubated during the surgery. Wednesday when he went to the cardiologist for follow up, Dr. Hermer looked in his throat and said there appeared to be an infection. After 48 hours on an antibiotic, he felt much better.

Dr. Hermer was pleased with Daddy's recovery. He has been cleared to go back to his cardiac rehab. work out routine slowly!

An acquaintance of my sister's stopped her at a basketball game last week and told her that Daddy was famous at Memorial Hospital. When Lisa said, "Really?" As it turns out, this lady's husband has been in the Memorial for a severely infected bee sting. News from the nurses and staff had reached his ears of the 82 year old heart patient that went home 72 hours after surgery. We are praising God for Daddy's quick recovery.

Thank you for your prayers. 

Going Home!

We are under the impression that Daddy will be going home today or tomorrow. His friends in the Cardiac Rehab (where he has worked out for 10+ years) came to visit him yesterday and helped him walk the hallway three times.

Current Prayer Concerns: 1. His throat REALLY hurts from being incubated. His voice is so scratchy. 2. He isn't sleeping.

Would you believe this man had a heart valve replacement and bypass 24 hours earlier?

Ok, I originally took this picture to show my girls that their Papa was okay. The more I looked at it, I decided to post it on his blog. I took it this afternoon at exactly 24 hours after the surgery.

• His cardiologist and surgeon have said the surgery was very successful.
• His coloring is great!
• He was disconnected from all the chest tubes and wires early this afternoon.
• He was up in a chair several times today. 
• He ate a soft breakfast, a little lunch and dinner.
• He will be moved out of the Cardiac Critical Care Unit tonight and placed in a regular room on the Cardiac floor.

Prayer Concerns:

• He is in pain- especially after they get him up.
• His throat is sore from the surgical tubing that has been down it.

We are thanking God for His mercy and the success of this procedure.

Very Late Night Update: Daddy called from the hospital to say he had been moved from Critical Care to regular room and had WALKED some. He is not even connected to an IV.

Surgery Completed

Just making a quick update. Daddy had his surgery today. It went splendid. The valve was replaced and a bypass completed. The entire procedure from the moment they rolled him away until they called us and said it was done, was less than three hours. He was on the heart lung machine for a very short time. 

I can call the hospital later for an update. They discourage family from staying after the surgery. They said to come back early in the morning. He is so heavily sedated that he wouldn't know we were there. 

More later when my mind isn't so exhausted.

We Have A Surgery Date!

Tonight Daddy treated us to dinner at the Pei Wei. 

Here are the girls around the big fire with Papa.

We think... we (Daddy, Lisa, and myself) met with the surgeon today. After looking at the facts in front of him, Dr. Bethencourt suggested that only the heart valve be repaired. He said the aortic valve was functioning at less than 25% thus putting a lot of pressure on Daddy's heart. He said the valve procedure was minimally invasive and would be a much easier recovery. Dr. Bethencourt plans to discuss the surgery in greater detail with Dr. Hermer, the cardiologist. The date was set for Monday, 2-2-09.

The only thing we are a bit fuzzy on is... we were under the impression that there were two other "narrowings" in the arteries that needed either a stint or rebypassed. Dr. Bethencourt said these areas were open about 50% according to the paperwork he was given. A 50% opening would not likely be cause for alarm and could be ignored. We are anxious for the two doctors to talk and clear this up. Just how blocked are those arteries? Can it wait or be put off permanently? It would be wonderful if Daddy needed only the valve repair!

That's why I say we think we have a surgery date. If the surgery is just for the valve, it will take place as planned. It will likely be rescheduled if it will involve anything else. We hope to get confirmation from the cardiologist tomorrow or Friday.