9:26am- just waiting. Mama, Ana, and Eric got here at about 5am on zero sleep. I followed at about 8am after dropping off the X man to our dear, brave friends in the ward/neighborhood (thank you so much!). I talked to Dad this morning before he went in. He sounded like he was in good spirits, very happy and confident. He asked about Xander and then told me not to worry cuz he's gonna make it. And then he told me he loved me and hung up..lol That's a good sign. If he were really nervous, he would've started saying his goodbyes.
The nurse came about a half hour ago to report that he was sedated and they were going to start the general anesthesia within the hour. They'll come back with an update once they start the actual surgery.
-Lea
Monday, October 12, 2009
The Sedona & Xander Show
Sedona & Xander started their very own web show.. this is episode 4, dedicated to Papa. They miss Papa very much and want him to come home from the hospital right away.
(all graphics are controlled by Sedona)
Sunday, October 11, 2009
things are lookin up!
Xander SO happy to see Papa!We thank you for your prayers, we truly have felt the comfort and love.
We are happy that our Dad has made the decision to go through with the surgery on Monday morning. Quadruple or Quintuple Bypass Surgery.
We had a great visit yesterday, Dad seems to be in much better spirits. He's back to cracking jokes. He was moved from the ICU to the "normal" level (I don't know what its called).
We just got back from another wonderful visit. He made arrangements to be brought downstairs to the lobby so he could have a short visit with the grandkids.
So tomorrow is the big day. We're nervous but hopeful. The doctors and nurses said they think he'll do very well. He goes in at about 7am, so me and Xander won't be able to see him before hand. He insists I stay home with the baby instead of coming so early in the morning, so that's what I'll do. I don't really agree, but I'll abide by his wishes.
Hopefully we'll have some good news around noon tomorrow.
-Lea
We are happy that our Dad has made the decision to go through with the surgery on Monday morning. Quadruple or Quintuple Bypass Surgery.
We had a great visit yesterday, Dad seems to be in much better spirits. He's back to cracking jokes. He was moved from the ICU to the "normal" level (I don't know what its called).
We just got back from another wonderful visit. He made arrangements to be brought downstairs to the lobby so he could have a short visit with the grandkids.
So tomorrow is the big day. We're nervous but hopeful. The doctors and nurses said they think he'll do very well. He goes in at about 7am, so me and Xander won't be able to see him before hand. He insists I stay home with the baby instead of coming so early in the morning, so that's what I'll do. I don't really agree, but I'll abide by his wishes.
Hopefully we'll have some good news around noon tomorrow.
-Lea
Xander clinging onto his PapaSaturday, October 10, 2009
The Rundown..
Dad has been complaining about chest pain for a couple weeks now (not to mention, he's become increasingly weaker than usual). Last week he went to instacare to get things checked out. They didn't find anything there, so they sent him to the ER. Nothing was found at the ER so he was sent to a cardiologist, a physical therapist, and a bunch of other specialists. He received a call back with an appointment for a angiogram that would take place Monday (yesterday).
An angiogram is pretty amazing (I marvel at modern medicine). Its an imaging technique used to visualize the inside of the blood vessels. They enter the artery at the groin and travel up to the heart. We were worried because this was the procedure to determine wether he needed angioplasty right at that moment (what we were expecting), just meds to clear little blockage (we hoped but doubted), or if he'd need bypass surgery.
We learned that his kidneys are working at 50% and will only continue to get worse. But even worse, he has 4-5 major arteries that are blocked 80-90%. He needs quadruple or quintuple bypass surgery immediately, but they are waiting until Monday so they can take a few preventative measures like pump him with meds that will help protect his kidneys.
The docs are nervous that his kidneys will fail, if not now, eventually. Obviously, any one of us would give ours.
The thing that the docs are shocked with is the fact that he has 4-5 major bloackages.. that is EXCRUCIATING. Even one can be excruciating. Our dad has been living with so much pain for so long that it didn't bother him as much. AND his diabetes has created so much nerve damage.
Our feelings: we are now praying hard that Dad will go through with the open-heart surgery. He is really scared (can you blame him?) so he is actually considering NOT having the surgery. If he doesn't have it, he could have a major heart-attack at any given moment that he most likely won't survive (the docs say). Dad is saying, "well, I could die in 2 weeks at home or die on Monday on the table."
So we hope you'll include our dad in your thoughts and prayers. We pray he'll make the right decision. We pray he'll be comforted and protected.
An angiogram is pretty amazing (I marvel at modern medicine). Its an imaging technique used to visualize the inside of the blood vessels. They enter the artery at the groin and travel up to the heart. We were worried because this was the procedure to determine wether he needed angioplasty right at that moment (what we were expecting), just meds to clear little blockage (we hoped but doubted), or if he'd need bypass surgery.
We learned that his kidneys are working at 50% and will only continue to get worse. But even worse, he has 4-5 major arteries that are blocked 80-90%. He needs quadruple or quintuple bypass surgery immediately, but they are waiting until Monday so they can take a few preventative measures like pump him with meds that will help protect his kidneys.
The docs are nervous that his kidneys will fail, if not now, eventually. Obviously, any one of us would give ours.
The thing that the docs are shocked with is the fact that he has 4-5 major bloackages.. that is EXCRUCIATING. Even one can be excruciating. Our dad has been living with so much pain for so long that it didn't bother him as much. AND his diabetes has created so much nerve damage.
Our feelings: we are now praying hard that Dad will go through with the open-heart surgery. He is really scared (can you blame him?) so he is actually considering NOT having the surgery. If he doesn't have it, he could have a major heart-attack at any given moment that he most likely won't survive (the docs say). Dad is saying, "well, I could die in 2 weeks at home or die on Monday on the table."
So we hope you'll include our dad in your thoughts and prayers. We pray he'll make the right decision. We pray he'll be comforted and protected.
Welcome..
I've decided to start this blog as a way to give updates about our dad (instead of writing a 3 page status update on Facebook).
We appreciate your love and support, especially your prayers.
-Lea
We appreciate your love and support, especially your prayers.
-Lea
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)