I am so pleased to read of the prayers that were sent up for Fred and his family.
We just arrived back home at 1:45 PM -- the cath went well, except for the fact that the artery was easy to inject, but the vein was buried very deep, and it took quite a while and a lot of "jabs" to find it. They even went so far as to prep the left side of the groin, for the vein injection there, when the Dr. found the right one, so they could start the procedure. When the Dr. came out to talk to me, he was very encouraging about Fred's health -- good BP - oxygen level - heart rate - and his arteries are strong, clear and clean. !!! Good news..so that cleared the worry we had about possible blockages. As Teresa posted, the valve is tight - and has a calcium buildup, measures 1.6 and should be at least 2. So a replacement is a definite thing that he will have to have done. When??? Not sure. He has a follow up appointment with the cardiologist on Dec. 3rd and from that to the surgeon and the scheduled time will be done then. I was told this morning that hospital time will be 2 days in ICU and 3 to 4 days in the hospital after that - and recovery time will be 6 to 8 weeks. We are confident the Drs. are all excellent in their fields and we have great confidence in those that will be in command. Right now, he is following orders and is sound asleep in his recliner.
If the ole boy will behave, I see bright happy trails ahead for him and me and the family. Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers.
Blessing to each of you.
Jo and Fred
Good to have that report, Jo. I'm thinking of you!
With Love,
Bonnie
Glad it was a good report! :)
Sounds right to me. Will it be a porcine valve? Some day way down the road we'll learn to use our own cells and just grow a new one.
Glad to hear good news. I just missed you guys. I stopped at the park on my way to Wichita Halloween weekend to say HI, but they told me you guys had left two days before. I'll catch you in the spring.
It sounds like a good report Jo. All the best for you guys. ;)
Good to hear.
I understand what you mean about doing what the doctor says.
We all want to do what we know we are able to do, but nevertheless
our bodies say, 'uh uh uh, you just can't do that" and then we try to
do that anyway and then pay for it.
Keep the faith Jo and when you need help (prayer) let us know and altho
we will keep you in our prayers, we will make them a little louder if that will
help.
Hugs, judy
My prayers are with both of you.
Ms Bear
Jo and Fred, you must be so relieved with the doctor's report. Just remember, the hardest but most important part is the rehab after surgery. Follow doctor's orders and you'll soon be running foot races! Best wishes to you both.
Glad to hear thing are going good......now Fred just has to mind you Jo!!!
Quote from: cheyronni on November 10, 2008, 11:31:39 PM
Glad to hear thing are going good......now Fred just has to mind you Jo!!!
cheyronni......THAT is a loaoooooded statement..
God bless my mothers patience and those "eyes in the back of her head " that she still has from when I was a kid... ;D
..as Daddy isn't the best patient to be told what he has to do. ::)
I called my daddy this morning at 5AM.. They were preparing to leave to be at the hospital in Corpus by 6:00.
He was in good spirits and ready for this to be over with.
Mama called at around 9:30 and said that the surgeons, doctors and nurses all visited with him while preparing him for surgery and gave him some more information on the procedure and his status.
They said his condition of his valve was very very critical. The opening of a healthy perfect valve is 3.0.
A 2.0 needs replaced and a 1.0 is very critical ..and his measures as of this morning, .04. (yikes.. :o that is past bad they said.
They figured that his heart had enlarged some because of the amount of hard work it has had to do to even function. They said without this surgery his lifespan would be less than a year.. But the upside was he was so healthy and strong so they didn't foresee any problems. And with this surgery he will gain more years. ( If God is willin' and the creek don't rise) :angel:
So..................... all that said.. they shaved his body ( even his legs he said.. LOL) and took him in.
Mama called at 11:00 . He was in recovery and doing great!.. Everything went very smoothly and now he has a cow valve in and I'd reckon' he has a little Moo in him now.. ;D
Mother called just a while ago at 1:45 and said she had been in ICU with him for the 2 hours she was allotted ( in 2..out 2) he was still sleeping and didn't seem in a hurry to come out of it yet.. his eyes fluttered but the light was bright so he just settled back and didn't come to yet. HIs coloring is very good and he has tubes coming out every place in his body.
Mama said that they tried to get him to wake up and told him that his lady was there to see him , but she said that didn't interest him at all to get him to open his eyes.. :D hahahaha ( I'm sure he thought " So what. Same old lady I looked at this morning..so nothing new there.. might as well snooze".. ;D ;D
Mama promised him that she would leave the hospital to start home every day t 3 so she would miss all the traffic and not travel in the dark..
( They want his stress level and worry to be zero)..and daddy does and is a worrier....so she promised and she is leaving to go home. I'm sure I will have more updates in the next few days..
But for now, he is doing just fine.
(http://www.cascity.com/howard/animations/thumup.gif)
It sounds like all is going well. Keep us posted.
A good Thanksgiving for sure. Prayers for you all.
Good News :) Glad it went well! Will send prayers:)
Thank you for the report, Teresa! I am so thankful that the surgery is over, and that he appears to be doing very well. PTL !
Sounding very well, we pray all continues to go well. This waking up business does seem to take longer than it use to, but from all my relatives it sounds pretty normal.
Sounds like things are progressing well. Glad to hear it . . . I just love that Magic Man!
My thoughts and prayers are with him.
Great to hear that Fred is doing well. Our thoughts and prayers are with Jo and Fred and the family.
Frank and Myrna
Today they had to get Daddy up for awhile and set him in the recliner. This was not one of his "fun days".. :) He wasn't thrilled at all about this as you can imagine.
The incision is from the bottom of his throat to under his belly button. ( so that alone is pretty painful) They took out the breathing tube and he is on oxygen , but is having some congestion in his lungs that are a bit concerned with. That..and his urine amount is next to none. They are pumping the fluids to him so they were concerned about this lack of urine ( which should be plentiful) .. They gave him 4 doses of medicine that should help flush the kidneys. Tomorrow morning will tell.
The pain of having to get up today ( even for a short time) was bad enough that he got extremely nauseous.. but he hung in there.
He was having numbing of his fingers so sitting up for a short time did seem to help that a little bit. He of course has to do the breathing exercise to make the ball move.. and that is next to impossible right now.. with the congestion and the pain of breathing.. but he will get there. It will just take time.
Mama said he can't stay awake for too long. Just falls asleep while you are talking.. ( Wonder if that tells her anything) :D LOL
The doctors finally told her to go home. That there wasn't anything that she could do right now, and they gave Daddy some heavy pain med. and a sleeping pill.. so he was out in la la land.. so she went home late this afternoon. They will keep him in ICU for a couple more days and then move him to a private room.
They said he is 81 and wasn't a spring chicken anymore, so it will take him longer to heal and to get back on his feet. But he is healthy and full of feisty, so they have high confidence that after these first few days he will do real good.
Every time the staff brings him in ice chips and gives them to him.. they tell him that it is Fillet Mignon..or eggs and sausage and fried potatoes.. so he told mama that he sure was getting some good food in there.. hahahaha The staff really just loves him . Some of them call him GrandPapa.. :) ( which makes me happy)
Thanks everyone for caring and saying a little prayer at night for him .
Gina.. you are right......he is a magic man... and I love him so very much too.
Thanks...........
Glad to hear he is doing well, keeping your mom in my prayers as well, this is very tough on her. :angel:
Daddy was sitting up today and had cranberry juice and lime jello and coffee for breakfast.. LOL
He wouldn't have drank cranberry juice at home, if someone had a gun to his head.. but he sure slurped it down this morning.
His urine was normal.. the fluid was gone from his lungs.. and heart beat was strong and BP was normal.
He is a bit confused on times and the difference of things he has dreamed the past 2 days and things that are fact.. but his mind will clear up the more he gets off the pain meds. He and my sister are just looney as 2 birds with one head when they take any kind of pain medications. ::)
He said his chest incision hurt, but not like it did yesterday. and he is starting to boss mom around a bit, so looks like things are on the up and up.. :)
Funny isn't it the difference 24 hours can make! It's wonderful that things are progressing very positively. I remember when my dad went through this surgery it's not an easy haul for them physcially and mentally. Teresa if I could I'd give your mom a big hug cuz she's gonna need it in the weeks to come. I'm relieved things are going well.
We're glad Fred is getting back to his normal self and sounds strong to begin this recovery process. What a long way the medical world has come concerning heart procedures in the last 40 years! We wish for each day to be a better one for him as he goes through the steps to being back in the "real world". Blessings to Jo, too, as she travels back and forth and encourages him through this journey.
KRI
Good evening to all of our Forum family. What a day!!! I arrived at the hospital this morning at a little before 9 and Fred was up in the recliner and was very sleepy. They have him on pain meds and it is so very noisy in ICU - and the rest is at a very low level. He wears his hearing device to be in touch with his nurse and the Drs. -- and sort of grumbles that he can hear. Normally he says" Honey, I can't hear you" and now he is saying he hears too much. ;D The full scoop now is: He does still have some fluid in the lungs -- and they set him up and he has to stay up all day until late evening. He is still on oxygen - and his level is good -- it is 96/98 his BP is good and his heart rate is 90....but twice it has bleeped and was irregular, but they gave his meds for that and corrected that in a hurry ... He had a one on one nurse and he was wonderful. Fred praised him highly - to him personally and to me. They brought him breakfast and he liked it (except -- no salt and he couldn't understand that.. DUH ) and lunch was nice - salad, turkey ham sandwich on whole wheat - jello - sliced tomato and iced tea (again no salt - again an upside down smile ) and he ate part of it and slept through the rest.
At 1 PM they gave us the news that they were moving him to a private room. HOORAY !! and after all the preparations he was taken upstairs. He couldn't belive how nice and quiet it was. They settled him in, and he asked if he could be in the bed instead of the recliner and the answer ( of course) was no -- he has to be up in the recliner in a sitting position ALL DAY and he had physical therapy twice this afternoon and will have it 4 times a day each and every day. He asked the nurses - therapist - and all that will be attending him to write their names on the black board so he would remember them. This is from a man that says, "Hell, I don't remember who anyone is --" and he is so grateful and so polite to each and every one. He Thanks them profusely each and every time they do anything at all for him.
I can stay with him all day now, and that is so good -- I miss him terribly when I get back home, but he is progressing and I thank the Good Lord and his guardian angles many, many times a day.
Bless you all for your prayers and good wishes for him and for me through this time.
Forum Friends are THE BEST. THANK YOU ALL !!!
Jo and Fred
It is good to hear that Fred is doing good, it is nice that you are down in the warm country where Fred can get out and enjoy the fresh air after he gets to go home. If you were up here he would have to stay inside out the cold weather that we are having.
Dale & Judy
Hi, Jo,
I was happy to read your report regarding Fred's progress. I'm happy, too, that he now is in a private room.
I think of you both, and I'm keeping you both in my prayers.
Love,
Bonnie
Hang in there - Jo and Fred - Jo, Take care of yourself too while looking after the "magic Man" - wish you a speedy recovery
Praise the Lord
I am so glad that Fred is doing so well............each day is a new day to a recovering heart patient.
You feel like they are beating you up............Phyiscal Therapy, I mean. Have they got Fred walking, yet?
Mom recovered well..........but was not a happy camper with all the exercising they made her do.......but
the reward was worth it.
Getting to come home and return to doing what she wanted to do made all the recovery pain worth it.
Jo, do take care of yourself............remember you will be Fred's support/caretaker when he is allowed to come home........and you will need all the energy and patience that you can handle.
God bless,
Judy
Thank you, everyone, for your thoughts and kind words. Fred had a GOOD day today. He looks forward to the therapy - two young therapist, and he was a good scholar today. They come in twice a day for walking - leg lifts - walking in place, twisting and turning the ankles, and raising up on his toes and this afternoon they added learning to lay down in bed and turning to the side with his arms crossed over his "heart pillow"...then rolling to the side and getting his legs over the side of the bed and sitting up. No use of the arms at all. He passed with flying colors. He can rock back and forth three times, and rise up out of the chair -- again with his arms crossed over his heart pillow. He is off all IV lines except the drain tube in his chest, and hopefully that will come out tomorrow.
He is getting excellent care, and is tolerant of the food. Looks good to me, but heck - all food looks good to me hahahahaha
He is going to the bathroom, and that is especially good news.
So -- stay tuned folks, each day gets better.
Nite all.....
Jo
Mama...... you sounded so tired on the phone tonight. I am saying this on a public forum... ( so it doesn't sound like nagging. :D)
Please take some time to just chil and get as much rest right now as you can
l.. I know you try..but you are just starting on the "caretaker..nurse" duty..and when Daddy gets home.. your job really kicks in.
I Love you Mama :-*
Thank you, Tressy, I appreciate you and your sister and your love and concern...I am fine, really!
Fred had a good day today, he was asleep when I got there this morning, and after a while he awoke and I helped him get his shaving done and just as he finished "prettying up" the physicial therapist came in and he was ready for his walk. He walked a looonnng way and when we ( I went along to carry the container that collects the drainage from his chest) returned he had company. A couple of our friends from the park was there and he really enjoyed their visit. The surgeon that is an assistant of the one that preformed the actual surgery came in and was really encouraged about Fred's progress. Our friends left and the hospital Chaplain came in and we had prayer, and we both appreciated that, then it was time for lunch -- more therapy - another walk, then he was treated to a sponge bath..I grabbed my paper and headed to the lounge -- came back and he was taking a nap. But it was a good kind of tired. The therapist told him that tomorrow they were going to start him walking up and down stairs. His heart rate, BP and oxygen level are great.
He probably won't get to come home until the week end -- as the drain tube is still in the chest cavity.
Each day is a blessing and we are eager to get him home, and I pray that I will give him the needed care that he will require and that soon he will be "hot footing it around the park".
Will post again tomorrow evening. Thank you all for the telephone calls and for your concern.
Jo
Thursday 4:05 PM I just returned home from Corpus -- I am smiling from one side of my face to the other. Fred will be released either tomorrow or the next day --- and I do think it will be tomorrow. The Dr. removed the drain tube from his chest this morning, and sewed the hole shut and said that Fred was doing GREAT. He took long walks today and went up and down stairs -- with no help, and his arms at his side. YIPPPEEEE !!! He can walk three times farther today than he could the day before his surgery. We are so blessed.
Jo and Fred
Jo and Fred, what great news. We knew Fred would do it and with you for a Nurse what could be better. Myrna and I will continue to keep both of you in our thoughts and prayers. Tell Fred to do his therapy.
Great news! See what a good tuneup can do? He's ready for another 100,000 miles. Big hugs for you both.
Fred was released from the hospital today -- we were told this morning and after all the dos and don'ts and paper work we arrived here at 8:28 PM.
He is SO HAPPY to be home and I am so happy to have him here. He wanted a fresh grapefruit so I fixed him one and now he is in bed fast asleep. He has not been resting well at all, but he smiled and sighed great big when he laid his head on his pillow.
Thank you all for your concerns and prayers. They are very much appreciated. NOW -- we have to make sure he follows all the instructions and he will be good to go.
I am going to join him 'Nite all. Blessing to you.
Jo
It's wonderful that he is home and doing well! We all know in more ways than one he is in good hands and has you to keep him in line (ha)...now Jo, who is gonna keep an eye on you? Both of you, take care!
Thanks, Linda, for your good thought, all except "someone keeping an eye on me" --- I don't think I'm going to get much of a chance to "get out of line" ---but ~~~~ you know me well, if there is a chance I may go for itl lol lol lol
He really is doing well, and each day sees a little more improvement, so he's getting there.