6/17/09

It seemed as though Dad was making some progress yesterday. He definitely looked a lot better than when we saw him on Monday night. The anesthetic from the surgery was starting to wear off so his level of pain was starting to increase. They will continue to make him stand every three hours so the fluids can drain but he still doesn't have the energy or stability to do it on his own yet. He has a breathing device he sucks on ten times each hour that helps his lungs regain their strength. It is very painful for him to do these breathing exercises and wipes him out quickly but there is risk of pneumonia if his lungs aren't expanding enough to encourage the buildup to get out of his system fast. They have set him a goal of getting the pin up to 1,000. So far he has been able to get it to 750 a few times but he is determined to do all he can to prevent any more pain or sickness than what he is already feeling. They are also making him cough a few times a day to get any of the buildup out that way. He holds a pillow to his chest and force coughs. As you can imagine, this doesn't feel pleasant at all. It's amazing how much energy these small things require of him. He was able to take down a few sips of broth yesterday, which is a start. They are hoping to get him out of ICU today and to be able to remove a few of the tubes still in his chest. They said as soon as these tubes are removed he will be able to breath much easier with much less pain. Day two down!

6-16-09

We were finally able to see Dad last night two hours after the surgery. There were still some things that needed to be done so they only gave us five minutes and said we could come back in an hour. He wasn't able to talk to us because the tube that monitors the amount of oxygen entering his heart was still down his throat, but he was able to shake his head in response to our questions. He seemed to be doing ok although the leg where they pulled the vein was really bothering him and he was still freezing cold from the surgery. They have to warm up his body gradually so it was pretty tough to see him shaking so bad and not be able to do anything about it. The nurse said the tube would be removed by the next time we came to visit which would help him look a lot better and be able to communicate with us.

When we came back an hour later the tube was still down his throat, just a little disappointing. We were able to meet the nurse who would be watching over him through the night and found her very helpful in explaining the different things they were doing to him. She asked us if Dad was a calm man and we all smiled. She said she could tell he has a very calm nature about him by the way he was handling the tube down his throat. She said he was very cooperative with everything they asked him to do..that is until she told us she would be waking him up every few hours so he could sit up and let the fluids drain from his chest. I don't think he liked the idea of that because he started shaking his head ;).

We talked to the nurse this morning. She said they weren't able to take the tube out until 2:00. I guess Dad slipped her a note that said, "I hate this thing." She had a good laugh over that. She said he did really well through the night and that his spirits were high this morning. One day down!

6/15/09

After close to six hours, Dr. Karwande let us know the surgery went well. They were able to repair the valve, which is a huge blessing (Dad will be very happy when he hears that news!) and found it unnecessary to repair the second valve. They also pulled a vein from his leg to repair the arteries and closed up the hole in his heart. He is in recovery now so we are just waiting for the go ahead to see him. Thanks for your prayers!

6/15/09

Hello all! Dad is in surgery right now so we thought we would let you know how much we appreciate your love and support. We have felt the prayers offered in our behalf and feel it a great blessing to have such good friends and family to support us through this time. Hopefully this will be a good way of keeping you updated on his recovery process. Thanks again for your love and concern.