April 30, 2009
Lynn is still at the hospital, but it looks like things are getting better. The doctors have been trying to come up with some sort of combination for her drug therapy that controls the high heartbeat, one that does not involve an IV. Obviously, if she needs an IV drip to keep the afibrillation under control, she won't be able to go home...unless, of course, she gets to take a nurse home with her to hook her up to the drip. We determined that this would not work, however, as she insisted that the nurse be male, and that he bear a striking resemblence to someone like Brad Pitt. I, of course, felt that this was a very poor way to judge someone's qualifications, and felt that any nurse we got should have a look that exudes competence...someone like Cameron Diaz.
Well, it looks like one of the combinations is working. Yesterday, her doctors gave her the mix, and she has been out of arrhythmia ever since. Her heart rate is staying between 80 and 90 bpm, a bit high, but still within a normal range. This is much better than the 140-150 she had a day ago, and that pretty much got this whole line of treatment started. One of the parts of the drug mix she is taking is called Coumadin. It takes a while to work through her system and build up to the levels that her doctors want, hence the waiting game. The trouble is, the only way to tell what the levels are is to do a blood test. And so, nurses take a blood sample from Lynn periodically during each 24 hour period. I guess that the blood sample must be drawn when she is deeply asleep during the night, or when she is taking a nap, because that is exactly when they come to get it. This impeccible timing must be a crucial part of the nurse's training, since they have managed to hit those times exactly right for 2 days running.
Lynn is also starting to get some of her stamina back. Today, when I went to see her for lunch, she made it all the way through the ward to the elevators, but was still getting a bit winded. Tonight, when I brought Mac and Carlee over to see her, we walked around the ward once, and then she walked us over to the elevators when we were ready to leave. Neither time was she nearly as out of breath as she was even just a few hours earlier. I guess that having a functional heart helps out a bit. The doctor handling the drug therapy told her that she may be able to leave tomorrow. If she can make it to noon, they think that they have the right mix, and that she doesn't need to be monitored any longer. If not tomorrow, it will be Saturday. It is pretty clear that it cannot come soon enough for her!
Like I said, I took Mac and Carlee over to see her this evening, and we stayed until around 7:30 PM. When we took our first lap around the ward, the two of them picked up some prints of the heart, line drawings actually, that they used for classes. The two of them thought it would be really cool to color them and leave them hung up for Mommy to see...great idea, except that Carlee liked hers so much she decided to keep it for herself. Mac and Carlee also take advantage of the sterile glove dispensers near the door and keep themselves well supplied with blue rubber gloves. For some reason, Mac thinks that these are part of the normal garb of secret agents, so he'll put on a pair, and start stalking around looking as secretive and sneaky as possible. Unfortunately for him, he just sort of looks like a 7 year old kid in blue rubber gloves that also happens to have a herniated disk.
For this little stay at the hospital, Lynn drew one of the better rooms. It is on the second floor, and she has an excellent view of the front entrance to the hospital. This morning, she saw me walking in as I came to visit her. She also gets an excellent view of the people in hospital gowns, towing IV racks, and that are often on oxygen, sneaking out to light up a smoke or two. Carlee and Mac thought it was really cool that they could see mom from the walk as we left, but all three of us got pretty depressed, thinking that we had to leave Mom up there, and couldn't take her home. Mac summed it up pretty well - he said he felt homesick as we were driving home. It's pretty hard to understand, when you're 7, why your mom has to stay at the hospital, when she looks like she's doing just fine, and doesn't act sick at all.
Lynn's mom is staying with us for a few more days - she heads back to Florida on Monday. Susan Mathew is coming up early next week, then Gary and Sharon do a return engagement next week as well. Having all the help has certainly been great - it does wonders for Lynn to know that she doesn't have to worry about who can watch the kids - or the husband, for that matter.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Wednesday
The treatment that had been planned for Lynn today did not take place - The way things sound, the specialists in charge decided that, since her heart rate responded to drug therapy, it was reasonable to assume that some mix of drugs could be developed that she could take in pill form would also fix the heart rate problem. And so, she did not have to go through the electro-shock therapy today. Instead, she went on a three drug therapy that is supposed to fix the issue of the rapid heart rate. We had sort of mixed feelings about that...on one hand, no one wants to go through the eletroshock treatment...but if it worked, she would be done, and could go right home. The drug therapy determination means that she will have to be in the hospital much longer. It simply takes longer to figure out the right mix that will work for her. And, the trouble is, she feels really great right not, not at all ill, and would really like to get out and go home. However, today she got the word that she will have to spend at least 2 more days there, maybe more, and, despite the fact that she has a corner suite and finally has a view of something other than roof-top air handling units, time does indeed drag on for her.
The treatment that had been planned for Lynn today did not take place - The way things sound, the specialists in charge decided that, since her heart rate responded to drug therapy, it was reasonable to assume that some mix of drugs could be developed that she could take in pill form would also fix the heart rate problem. And so, she did not have to go through the electro-shock therapy today. Instead, she went on a three drug therapy that is supposed to fix the issue of the rapid heart rate. We had sort of mixed feelings about that...on one hand, no one wants to go through the eletroshock treatment...but if it worked, she would be done, and could go right home. The drug therapy determination means that she will have to be in the hospital much longer. It simply takes longer to figure out the right mix that will work for her. And, the trouble is, she feels really great right not, not at all ill, and would really like to get out and go home. However, today she got the word that she will have to spend at least 2 more days there, maybe more, and, despite the fact that she has a corner suite and finally has a view of something other than roof-top air handling units, time does indeed drag on for her.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
April 28, 2009
Well, we’ve had a little bit of a setback. Lynn is back in the hospital, and she is likely to be there for at least two days. There is a problem with her heart rate. When someone goes through open heart surgery, as I related earlier, the heart often has a difficult time recovering from just being handled, and stopped, during the operation. Any problem with the rhythm of the heart is call arrhythmia, a potential byproduct of this handling. The rates can be of three types: It can beat too fast, beat too slow, or go into an irregular beat. Lynn’s heart has shown a tendency to beat too fast, tachycardia, and that’s why she is back at Riverside.
We started out pretty good. She got home Saturday night, and was feeling OK. She had had the fast heart rate at the hospital, but it appeared that it was under control with pills, so she was given the green light to go home. The highlight for her was taking a shower for the first time in 5 days – she said she never had a better shower in her life. Lynn tried to sleep in the bed, but could not get comfortable. It was too hard for her to breathe with her lying flat on her back, so she ended up sleeping on the lounger on the sofa. That seemed to work out well for her.
The next day went pretty well. She had a rough time moving around without getting winded, however, and that was worrisome. One of the things she brought home was a breathing exercise machine…you suck in a lung full of air, and see how much you can move the needle. She was supposed to get to 2500, but only made it to 1000. As part of the operation, the surgeons deflate her lungs… we were wondering if maybe something had gone wrong on that level, and that she wasn’t getting them filled up properly. Sunday night was not good…she simply could not get comfortable, and spent a restless night on the sofa.
The next day, Susan (who had come down the previous night) and Jo took Lynn to the radiologist. Her surgeon wanted her to get an x-ray to see if there was some fluid build-up in her lungs that was causing the deflation issues. He would meet with her the next day, Tuesday, to discuss the results. Well, Lynn started to get winded, then dizzy, as she was heading out to the car. Then, because she was so dizzy, she threw up, which must have been absolute agony for her. Susan and Jo got her back home straightaway, but she was still sick the rest of the afternoon. Dr. Blossom had Lynn stop taking the blood pressure pills…this made a great deal of sense since her blood pressure was already too low anyway! And, when I got home, I picked up the prescription she had that had been screwed up for the proper pain medication. One way or another, she started feeling much better, and the dizziness went away.
That night, she tried again to sleep on the bed – no luck…it still hurt too much. She then went down to the sofa lounger and had a little more luck, but still didn’t do all that well. This morning, she had her appointment with Dr. Blossom to review the x-rays. There was no fluid buildup in the lungs, which was good. However, they found out that the rapid heartbeat was back again, this time at 150 bpm, and he immediately had her readmitted to the hospital.
Right now, they are trying to get the rate down, and have succeeded with an IV administered drug. Tomorrow, they will do a cardio-echo, if the rapid rate continues, to see if there is visible reason why the rate is staying too high. Then, they will try electrocardioversion…this is a procedure where a shock is administered to the heart to try to jolt it into a normal rhythm. This is normally considered to be a safe procedure, as safe as can be expected, but it is still something that they hate to have to do. Of course, if her heart comes back with the medicine, they won’t have to do it…that’s what we’re shooting for.
Lynn’s hospital phone number is 614-544-7761. She is in room 2004 at Riverside.
Well, we’ve had a little bit of a setback. Lynn is back in the hospital, and she is likely to be there for at least two days. There is a problem with her heart rate. When someone goes through open heart surgery, as I related earlier, the heart often has a difficult time recovering from just being handled, and stopped, during the operation. Any problem with the rhythm of the heart is call arrhythmia, a potential byproduct of this handling. The rates can be of three types: It can beat too fast, beat too slow, or go into an irregular beat. Lynn’s heart has shown a tendency to beat too fast, tachycardia, and that’s why she is back at Riverside.
We started out pretty good. She got home Saturday night, and was feeling OK. She had had the fast heart rate at the hospital, but it appeared that it was under control with pills, so she was given the green light to go home. The highlight for her was taking a shower for the first time in 5 days – she said she never had a better shower in her life. Lynn tried to sleep in the bed, but could not get comfortable. It was too hard for her to breathe with her lying flat on her back, so she ended up sleeping on the lounger on the sofa. That seemed to work out well for her.
The next day went pretty well. She had a rough time moving around without getting winded, however, and that was worrisome. One of the things she brought home was a breathing exercise machine…you suck in a lung full of air, and see how much you can move the needle. She was supposed to get to 2500, but only made it to 1000. As part of the operation, the surgeons deflate her lungs… we were wondering if maybe something had gone wrong on that level, and that she wasn’t getting them filled up properly. Sunday night was not good…she simply could not get comfortable, and spent a restless night on the sofa.
The next day, Susan (who had come down the previous night) and Jo took Lynn to the radiologist. Her surgeon wanted her to get an x-ray to see if there was some fluid build-up in her lungs that was causing the deflation issues. He would meet with her the next day, Tuesday, to discuss the results. Well, Lynn started to get winded, then dizzy, as she was heading out to the car. Then, because she was so dizzy, she threw up, which must have been absolute agony for her. Susan and Jo got her back home straightaway, but she was still sick the rest of the afternoon. Dr. Blossom had Lynn stop taking the blood pressure pills…this made a great deal of sense since her blood pressure was already too low anyway! And, when I got home, I picked up the prescription she had that had been screwed up for the proper pain medication. One way or another, she started feeling much better, and the dizziness went away.
That night, she tried again to sleep on the bed – no luck…it still hurt too much. She then went down to the sofa lounger and had a little more luck, but still didn’t do all that well. This morning, she had her appointment with Dr. Blossom to review the x-rays. There was no fluid buildup in the lungs, which was good. However, they found out that the rapid heartbeat was back again, this time at 150 bpm, and he immediately had her readmitted to the hospital.
Right now, they are trying to get the rate down, and have succeeded with an IV administered drug. Tomorrow, they will do a cardio-echo, if the rapid rate continues, to see if there is visible reason why the rate is staying too high. Then, they will try electrocardioversion…this is a procedure where a shock is administered to the heart to try to jolt it into a normal rhythm. This is normally considered to be a safe procedure, as safe as can be expected, but it is still something that they hate to have to do. Of course, if her heart comes back with the medicine, they won’t have to do it…that’s what we’re shooting for.
Lynn’s hospital phone number is 614-544-7761. She is in room 2004 at Riverside.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Saturday, April 25, 2009
April 25, 2009
Nothing but good news today - Lynn got to go home! It didn't look like it was going to happen earlier today, but she called me around 3PM and told me that she was going to get cut loose at 6:00. Jo, Mac, Carlee and I all drive down in the van and picked her up. She was really glad to go home. Mary Ann and Leia came by for visits, but in between times she was reall getting antsy. Her heart rate is down to acceptable levels, and everything else looks to be fine. She had a list of drugs to get from the pharmacy as long as your arm, but it that's a small price to pay. Mac and Carlee are REALLY glad she's back.
More later
Nothing but good news today - Lynn got to go home! It didn't look like it was going to happen earlier today, but she called me around 3PM and told me that she was going to get cut loose at 6:00. Jo, Mac, Carlee and I all drive down in the van and picked her up. She was really glad to go home. Mary Ann and Leia came by for visits, but in between times she was reall getting antsy. Her heart rate is down to acceptable levels, and everything else looks to be fine. She had a list of drugs to get from the pharmacy as long as your arm, but it that's a small price to pay. Mac and Carlee are REALLY glad she's back.
More later
Friday, April 24, 2009
Friday, April 24 2009
April 24,2009
Today was the day that we thought that Lynn was supposed to come home...well, it turned out that wasn't the case. She had some problems with her heart rate, and Dr. Blossom wanted her to stay at the hospital a few more days. The problem is two-fold - first, her heart rate is too high, about 140 bpm. Second, her heartbeat is erratic, that is, unsteady. Dr. Blossom said that an erratic heartbeat is OK, and he would normally have let her go home, but not at the rate she had. Her heart rate is about the one you would expect for someone who just climbed 3 flights of stairs...not for someone laying at rest in bed. We want her to get to somewhere between 80 and 120 beats per minute.
Well, the doctor gave her some medication that is supposed to slow down the heart rate. If she can stay lower than the base rate for 24 hours, she can go home. Even if she can't, if the rate can stay below that threshold with oral drugs, she can still go home. If it takes IV administered drugs, then it is no go. Important note - this is something that is not uncommon for heart surgery patients - many people have to deal with this. The heart simply does not deal very well with the rough handling required to do the surgery that Lynn needed, especially the part where it was STOPPED for over 2 hours, and it simply takes a while for it to get back to normal. She was on the heart-lung for 126 minutes, so this kind of side-effect is something that should have been expected...the trouble is, that it REALLY hard to explain to a 7 year-old, much less a 3-year old.
The big problem is, Lynn feels just fine. She is alert, awake, and ready to go....and BORED TO TEARS. Maybe her heart isn't ready, but her mind is certainly good to go. She really wants to get home as soon as possible (and Carlee and Mac agree.) The phrase "stir crazy" certainly applies! Note: anyone who can - please give her a call tomorrow - it will be very much appreciated.
Right now, Sunday appears to be the best bet. Hopefully, we'll have her home, and nestled safely on the patio, enjoying the 85 degree sunshine, and listening to Boston before the end of the week-end - we'll keep everyone posted until then.
Today was the day that we thought that Lynn was supposed to come home...well, it turned out that wasn't the case. She had some problems with her heart rate, and Dr. Blossom wanted her to stay at the hospital a few more days. The problem is two-fold - first, her heart rate is too high, about 140 bpm. Second, her heartbeat is erratic, that is, unsteady. Dr. Blossom said that an erratic heartbeat is OK, and he would normally have let her go home, but not at the rate she had. Her heart rate is about the one you would expect for someone who just climbed 3 flights of stairs...not for someone laying at rest in bed. We want her to get to somewhere between 80 and 120 beats per minute.
Well, the doctor gave her some medication that is supposed to slow down the heart rate. If she can stay lower than the base rate for 24 hours, she can go home. Even if she can't, if the rate can stay below that threshold with oral drugs, she can still go home. If it takes IV administered drugs, then it is no go. Important note - this is something that is not uncommon for heart surgery patients - many people have to deal with this. The heart simply does not deal very well with the rough handling required to do the surgery that Lynn needed, especially the part where it was STOPPED for over 2 hours, and it simply takes a while for it to get back to normal. She was on the heart-lung for 126 minutes, so this kind of side-effect is something that should have been expected...the trouble is, that it REALLY hard to explain to a 7 year-old, much less a 3-year old.
The big problem is, Lynn feels just fine. She is alert, awake, and ready to go....and BORED TO TEARS. Maybe her heart isn't ready, but her mind is certainly good to go. She really wants to get home as soon as possible (and Carlee and Mac agree.) The phrase "stir crazy" certainly applies! Note: anyone who can - please give her a call tomorrow - it will be very much appreciated.
Right now, Sunday appears to be the best bet. Hopefully, we'll have her home, and nestled safely on the patio, enjoying the 85 degree sunshine, and listening to Boston before the end of the week-end - we'll keep everyone posted until then.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
April 23, 2009
April 23, 2009
Lynn did alright today...she was still in some pain, but having the chest tubes out helped her feel much better. She managed to get a walk or two in, but she got pretty tired. Yesterday, evidently, there was some concern because her heart rate was a bit too high, and she could not walk much. That appears to be under control now, but it meant another day in the hospital, so it looks like tomorrow will be the big day, instead of today, as we had hoped. She got a late visit yesterday from Christa and her boyfriend Justin, plus Gary and Sharon dropped by a couple of times too. They helped out with the kids this morning, then headed off to visit Todd.
Jo flew in this afternoon, and I dropped her off at the hospital. Lynn took her walk while I was there, then I went back to work. Later, I picked up Carlee from daycare, and then got Mac. We all went over to the hospital, and Lynn got to see the kids for the first time since the operation. We stuck around for a while, until Lynn's food came, and then the three of us and Jo went to dinner. It looks like a 90% chance that Lynn will go home tomorrow, according to her. I am still a bit concerned, since she is having trouble getting up from her bed, and thinks that she can't manage stairs. Hopefully, we find that those fears are unjustified, and everything will go well tomorrow. Blood tests are good, blood pressure is good, pulse is where it should be, and all the internal workings are working. All systems go!
Lynn did alright today...she was still in some pain, but having the chest tubes out helped her feel much better. She managed to get a walk or two in, but she got pretty tired. Yesterday, evidently, there was some concern because her heart rate was a bit too high, and she could not walk much. That appears to be under control now, but it meant another day in the hospital, so it looks like tomorrow will be the big day, instead of today, as we had hoped. She got a late visit yesterday from Christa and her boyfriend Justin, plus Gary and Sharon dropped by a couple of times too. They helped out with the kids this morning, then headed off to visit Todd.
Jo flew in this afternoon, and I dropped her off at the hospital. Lynn took her walk while I was there, then I went back to work. Later, I picked up Carlee from daycare, and then got Mac. We all went over to the hospital, and Lynn got to see the kids for the first time since the operation. We stuck around for a while, until Lynn's food came, and then the three of us and Jo went to dinner. It looks like a 90% chance that Lynn will go home tomorrow, according to her. I am still a bit concerned, since she is having trouble getting up from her bed, and thinks that she can't manage stairs. Hopefully, we find that those fears are unjustified, and everything will go well tomorrow. Blood tests are good, blood pressure is good, pulse is where it should be, and all the internal workings are working. All systems go!
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
April 22, 2009
April 22, 2009
Lynn had a pretty good day today. She got up too early, but said that she felt pretty good. The nurses moved her from the recliner to the bed yesterday, and that was her first night in a bed with the new plumbing. I went to see her around lunch time, and arrived just in time for her to get the chest drainage tubes pulled. That was certainly not what I expected. However, since I had to miss lunch in order to go see her, it DID have the side benefit of making me lose my appetite. Actually, it was no big deal. Lynn had been fretting about it ever since she found out she needed surgery, since the first time around, it had been extremely painful for her when the surgeon took them out. Well, the nurse did it this time, and she was much more careful. Lynn said it hardly hurt at all. In fact, for the first one, she didn't even know that it was out until we told her. The second one, she noticed, but it still wasn't all that bad. Nurses seem to be a little more considerate of a patient's pain than the surgeons. I guess that is understandable...surgeons are just not used to their patients being conscious!
The nurse also pulled the catheter, which just left the IV and the oxygen feed. They asked if Lynn wanted to go for a walk. She said that sounded fine to her. So, she dumped the oxygen feed, the nurse grabbed the IV stand, and off they went. She did quite well, and didn't feel much fatigue or pain. She was able to make a full lap around the floor, which is far better than most patients. The nurse was monitoring the oxygen levels, and was a little concerned at the end, as Lynn's were a bit low. Other than that, it went very well.
After the chest tubes were pulled, Lynn felt much much better. She had all sorts of pain when she breathed deeply...that was relieved significantly when the tubes were gone. However, she still has trouble breathing deeply. She has a device that measures how much she can breathe in. They want her to get to 2500, but she can only reach 1000 at this point. It looks like her lungs are having a hard time recovering from being deflated during the surgery. This was exactly what happened the first time, so it is not a big surprise. It took her months to get back to normal last time, and that will probably be the case this time as well.
We had hoped she would get out of the hospital tomorrow, Thursday. However, it looks more likely that we'll have to wait until Friday at this point, at least that is what Dr. Blossom said. Maybe he'll change his mind once he sees how well she is doing, but we aren't going to hold our collective breaths.
Lynn had a pretty good day today. She got up too early, but said that she felt pretty good. The nurses moved her from the recliner to the bed yesterday, and that was her first night in a bed with the new plumbing. I went to see her around lunch time, and arrived just in time for her to get the chest drainage tubes pulled. That was certainly not what I expected. However, since I had to miss lunch in order to go see her, it DID have the side benefit of making me lose my appetite. Actually, it was no big deal. Lynn had been fretting about it ever since she found out she needed surgery, since the first time around, it had been extremely painful for her when the surgeon took them out. Well, the nurse did it this time, and she was much more careful. Lynn said it hardly hurt at all. In fact, for the first one, she didn't even know that it was out until we told her. The second one, she noticed, but it still wasn't all that bad. Nurses seem to be a little more considerate of a patient's pain than the surgeons. I guess that is understandable...surgeons are just not used to their patients being conscious!
The nurse also pulled the catheter, which just left the IV and the oxygen feed. They asked if Lynn wanted to go for a walk. She said that sounded fine to her. So, she dumped the oxygen feed, the nurse grabbed the IV stand, and off they went. She did quite well, and didn't feel much fatigue or pain. She was able to make a full lap around the floor, which is far better than most patients. The nurse was monitoring the oxygen levels, and was a little concerned at the end, as Lynn's were a bit low. Other than that, it went very well.
After the chest tubes were pulled, Lynn felt much much better. She had all sorts of pain when she breathed deeply...that was relieved significantly when the tubes were gone. However, she still has trouble breathing deeply. She has a device that measures how much she can breathe in. They want her to get to 2500, but she can only reach 1000 at this point. It looks like her lungs are having a hard time recovering from being deflated during the surgery. This was exactly what happened the first time, so it is not a big surprise. It took her months to get back to normal last time, and that will probably be the case this time as well.
We had hoped she would get out of the hospital tomorrow, Thursday. However, it looks more likely that we'll have to wait until Friday at this point, at least that is what Dr. Blossom said. Maybe he'll change his mind once he sees how well she is doing, but we aren't going to hold our collective breaths.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
April 21, 2009
9PM
Sorry all - did not have time to write in the blog until now. I worked this morning, then hung out with Lynn in the afternoon, took care of the kids, visited Lynn again, then put the kids to bed. Not much time to settle in for any decent writing...OK, how about LEGIBLE writing.
Lots to report...got a call from her nurse last night - this was around 11pm. (These are all scheduled so you know when to expect them) Lynn was pretty much the same as she had been at 6pm. Very tired, and could not keep her eyes open long enough to get the breathing tube from the respirator out of her. Otherwise, everything was fine. The next morning, I got another call around 7:30 while I was at work. They had been able to get her off the respirator around midnight, and she was doing fine. They were planning on moving her over to regular room sometime around lunch time.
I took off from work around 11am and went straight over to the hospital. The critical care nurse moved her over about a half hour after I got there. I met them in the hall and Lynn was still pretty much out of it, and, like the nurses said, she again kept on nodding off. She did smile when she saw me, which is hopefully a good sign. Of course, I WAS standing in front of the candy machine, so who knows for sure. Later, she was placed in room 2019, and got settled in. The nurses left her in the recliner that they moved her in...they were planning on moving her over to the bed later in the day. For the time being, the staff wanted her to remain sitting up, as this would help out in getting her lungs back up to full function - the surgeon had to deflate them in order to work on her heart. We talked a little while...it is kind of hard to carry on a conversation with a person who keeps falling asleep on you. (Now that I think about it, it kind of reminds me of when I was dating, but I digress...) I'll never make fun of narcoleptics again. The nurse on duty said that this was due to the after effects of the anaesthetic, plus the fact that she got very little sleep the night before. Christa came by a little bit later, followed by Gary and Sharon. (Gary would have got there first, but Christa evidently dashed into the parking lot and took the last space, forcing him to use the garage!) Lynn asked about the operation, and I tried to tell her what happened, but, as she was unconscious for at least half the time, I realized that I was going to have to probably fill in a number of gaps in her information later. We left after a couple of hours, and let her sleep.
Later on, after Mac, Carlee, Sharon, Gary and I had scarfed down Sharon's liver and onions, I went back to the hospital and visited for a little while longer. She was much better, but was still having a hard time figuring out the day, and, between normal intervals of conversation, I got some rather weird questions (example: why didn't I record the kids musical show on Sunday? My answer: I have a reputation for not having a very good memory, but I am reasonably sure that the kids did NOT have a musical show on Sunday, and, besides, this was the day before she got into the hospital, so why didn't YOU record the %$#@ thing???) She also kept on taking her oxygen hose out, much to the chagrin of the nurses, and wanted to use her arms to push herself up in the chair, which, next to playing rugby, is probably the worst thing she can do over the course of the next 4 weeks. And, she wanted me to give her a piece of gum - when I told her that I had to see if it was OK with the nurses, she smacked me! Fortunately, the IV line was short enough that she did not have room to get up much momentum, but it does appear that her surgery has not had any detrimental effects on her coordination. (I retaliated by putting her in a head lock, and then using a pile driver on her, but she got a three count on me after diving off the top of the bed and then doing a body slam on me.)
She got her first meal since Sunday around lunch time today - meal might be something of an overstatement, as it consisted of jello, some kind of flavored ice, apple juice, tea, and some brothy stuff that she hated. The next meal was even better - the broth was CREAMY. I hope she builds up an appetite soon...she needs to get some food in her, since they won't let her leave until she makes a BM (I made the mistake of mentioning this to Carlee, and this totally struck a chord...I have a feeling that she will be relating this fact to any and all people she meets tomorrow at daycare, and when Lynn next appears there, everyone will cheerfully state to Lynn that they were glad to see that you FINALLY made a dootie!) When I left this evening, she was waiting on a couple of nurses to come in and move her to the bed. I understand that she gets to sleep all night long tonight (well, not if she wants to go number 2).
Tomorrow, the plan is to take out the chest tube...this will help out in her breathing, and hopefully alleviate most of the pain she has in her left side. Every time she breathes in deeply, it really hurts, and it is making her not want to inhale as deeply as they want her to try to do. This was a major problem for her when she had the surgery 20 years ago, and it looks like it will be an issue again. If everything works out (pun intended), she could be ready to leave the hospital on Thursday.
Sorry all - did not have time to write in the blog until now. I worked this morning, then hung out with Lynn in the afternoon, took care of the kids, visited Lynn again, then put the kids to bed. Not much time to settle in for any decent writing...OK, how about LEGIBLE writing.
Lots to report...got a call from her nurse last night - this was around 11pm. (These are all scheduled so you know when to expect them) Lynn was pretty much the same as she had been at 6pm. Very tired, and could not keep her eyes open long enough to get the breathing tube from the respirator out of her. Otherwise, everything was fine. The next morning, I got another call around 7:30 while I was at work. They had been able to get her off the respirator around midnight, and she was doing fine. They were planning on moving her over to regular room sometime around lunch time.
I took off from work around 11am and went straight over to the hospital. The critical care nurse moved her over about a half hour after I got there. I met them in the hall and Lynn was still pretty much out of it, and, like the nurses said, she again kept on nodding off. She did smile when she saw me, which is hopefully a good sign. Of course, I WAS standing in front of the candy machine, so who knows for sure. Later, she was placed in room 2019, and got settled in. The nurses left her in the recliner that they moved her in...they were planning on moving her over to the bed later in the day. For the time being, the staff wanted her to remain sitting up, as this would help out in getting her lungs back up to full function - the surgeon had to deflate them in order to work on her heart. We talked a little while...it is kind of hard to carry on a conversation with a person who keeps falling asleep on you. (Now that I think about it, it kind of reminds me of when I was dating, but I digress...) I'll never make fun of narcoleptics again. The nurse on duty said that this was due to the after effects of the anaesthetic, plus the fact that she got very little sleep the night before. Christa came by a little bit later, followed by Gary and Sharon. (Gary would have got there first, but Christa evidently dashed into the parking lot and took the last space, forcing him to use the garage!) Lynn asked about the operation, and I tried to tell her what happened, but, as she was unconscious for at least half the time, I realized that I was going to have to probably fill in a number of gaps in her information later. We left after a couple of hours, and let her sleep.
Later on, after Mac, Carlee, Sharon, Gary and I had scarfed down Sharon's liver and onions, I went back to the hospital and visited for a little while longer. She was much better, but was still having a hard time figuring out the day, and, between normal intervals of conversation, I got some rather weird questions (example: why didn't I record the kids musical show on Sunday? My answer: I have a reputation for not having a very good memory, but I am reasonably sure that the kids did NOT have a musical show on Sunday, and, besides, this was the day before she got into the hospital, so why didn't YOU record the %$#@ thing???) She also kept on taking her oxygen hose out, much to the chagrin of the nurses, and wanted to use her arms to push herself up in the chair, which, next to playing rugby, is probably the worst thing she can do over the course of the next 4 weeks. And, she wanted me to give her a piece of gum - when I told her that I had to see if it was OK with the nurses, she smacked me! Fortunately, the IV line was short enough that she did not have room to get up much momentum, but it does appear that her surgery has not had any detrimental effects on her coordination. (I retaliated by putting her in a head lock, and then using a pile driver on her, but she got a three count on me after diving off the top of the bed and then doing a body slam on me.)
She got her first meal since Sunday around lunch time today - meal might be something of an overstatement, as it consisted of jello, some kind of flavored ice, apple juice, tea, and some brothy stuff that she hated. The next meal was even better - the broth was CREAMY. I hope she builds up an appetite soon...she needs to get some food in her, since they won't let her leave until she makes a BM (I made the mistake of mentioning this to Carlee, and this totally struck a chord...I have a feeling that she will be relating this fact to any and all people she meets tomorrow at daycare, and when Lynn next appears there, everyone will cheerfully state to Lynn that they were glad to see that you FINALLY made a dootie!) When I left this evening, she was waiting on a couple of nurses to come in and move her to the bed. I understand that she gets to sleep all night long tonight (well, not if she wants to go number 2).
Tomorrow, the plan is to take out the chest tube...this will help out in her breathing, and hopefully alleviate most of the pain she has in her left side. Every time she breathes in deeply, it really hurts, and it is making her not want to inhale as deeply as they want her to try to do. This was a major problem for her when she had the surgery 20 years ago, and it looks like it will be an issue again. If everything works out (pun intended), she could be ready to leave the hospital on Thursday.
Monday, April 20, 2009
April 20, 8:15PM
Latest:
OK - had to pick up Carlee and take Mac to skating. More on the situation. As I was saying about her heart: when the heart has been handled like it has been during surgery, sometimes there are problems with the timing...it may beat fast, may beat slow, or the beat may be irregular. After a while it clears up, but that may take some time. WE are going to have to keep a close eye on her while the situation clears...if there is anythig out of the ordinary, we have to get her to the doctor or call the squad if it is too severe.
Lost about 4 paragraphs because %$#@ Microsoft decided to force my computer to shut down and do an update. I'm going to give some info and that's all for tonight.
Got a call from her nurse around 6PM. Lynn is doing very well. She was conscious enough that she was able to respond to commands from the nurse, but kept on dropping off to sleep. She is still working the anaesthesia out of her system, and it takes a while. Blood work is good, and she is not showing any signs of bleeding through the chest tube.
Just got another call - 10PM - situation the same. She is still too groggy to get the respirator out, but that is not unusual. Blood counts are all still very good, so once the drugs wear off some more and she is off the respirator, she will be better yet.
OK - had to pick up Carlee and take Mac to skating. More on the situation. As I was saying about her heart: when the heart has been handled like it has been during surgery, sometimes there are problems with the timing...it may beat fast, may beat slow, or the beat may be irregular. After a while it clears up, but that may take some time. WE are going to have to keep a close eye on her while the situation clears...if there is anythig out of the ordinary, we have to get her to the doctor or call the squad if it is too severe.
Lost about 4 paragraphs because %$#@ Microsoft decided to force my computer to shut down and do an update. I'm going to give some info and that's all for tonight.
Got a call from her nurse around 6PM. Lynn is doing very well. She was conscious enough that she was able to respond to commands from the nurse, but kept on dropping off to sleep. She is still working the anaesthesia out of her system, and it takes a while. Blood work is good, and she is not showing any signs of bleeding through the chest tube.
Just got another call - 10PM - situation the same. She is still too groggy to get the respirator out, but that is not unusual. Blood counts are all still very good, so once the drugs wear off some more and she is off the respirator, she will be better yet.
April 20, 2009 - 3:15 PM
Latest
Gary, Sharon, Susan, Christa and I got to see Lynn a little after noon. She was on a respirator, had about 100 tubes and wires draped over her, and was not awake, but she seems to be hanging in there. She will be in this ICU until tomorrow, late morning. The staff will begin working on getting her off the respirator in the next few hours. If all goes well, she may even be able to talk to me tonight. The nurse assigned to her said that she will be sending off status reports to me at various times during the next 24 hours. The first will be around 6PM. The next will be later in the evening, around 11PM. Finally, I should get another one from the night nurse around 6:45 to 7AM tomorrow morning. I will try to keep everyone posted when I get more news.
I also took a "class" this morning. One of the nurses has an hour long course that covers the types of surgery that can be done, and also covers extensively how a given patient should be cared for when they get home. One thing that really hit me was that Lynn's condition, where the left main is severely blocked, is called the "widow-maker". If that artery gets blocked, about 2/3 of the heart loses blood flow, and basically dies. This is the type of heart attack where a person just keels over, and is dead before they hit the ground. Also, another interesting fact - the arteries for the heart are only about a wide as a strand of spaghetti...doesn't take much to block one up.
Lynn is basically going to have to deal with three main circumstances. First, her sternum has to heal. There are all kinds of procedures that have been developed that tell people how to stand up, get out of bed, and move around that address this. The sternum is sawed in two, and then must be wired together...typically, four loops of stainless steel wire are used to hold things together. These wires have been known to break, which necessitates another operation to rewire them - not something that she is likely to deal with.
The second issue will be the heart itself. It is not supposed to be handled by human hands very much. Gotta run - will fill everyone in later!
Gary, Sharon, Susan, Christa and I got to see Lynn a little after noon. She was on a respirator, had about 100 tubes and wires draped over her, and was not awake, but she seems to be hanging in there. She will be in this ICU until tomorrow, late morning. The staff will begin working on getting her off the respirator in the next few hours. If all goes well, she may even be able to talk to me tonight. The nurse assigned to her said that she will be sending off status reports to me at various times during the next 24 hours. The first will be around 6PM. The next will be later in the evening, around 11PM. Finally, I should get another one from the night nurse around 6:45 to 7AM tomorrow morning. I will try to keep everyone posted when I get more news.
I also took a "class" this morning. One of the nurses has an hour long course that covers the types of surgery that can be done, and also covers extensively how a given patient should be cared for when they get home. One thing that really hit me was that Lynn's condition, where the left main is severely blocked, is called the "widow-maker". If that artery gets blocked, about 2/3 of the heart loses blood flow, and basically dies. This is the type of heart attack where a person just keels over, and is dead before they hit the ground. Also, another interesting fact - the arteries for the heart are only about a wide as a strand of spaghetti...doesn't take much to block one up.
Lynn is basically going to have to deal with three main circumstances. First, her sternum has to heal. There are all kinds of procedures that have been developed that tell people how to stand up, get out of bed, and move around that address this. The sternum is sawed in two, and then must be wired together...typically, four loops of stainless steel wire are used to hold things together. These wires have been known to break, which necessitates another operation to rewire them - not something that she is likely to deal with.
The second issue will be the heart itself. It is not supposed to be handled by human hands very much. Gotta run - will fill everyone in later!
April 20, 12:20
Latest
Lynn's operation is over - both bypasses are in place, and she is in recovery. Things didn't wrap up as early as we thought because the surgeon ran into a couple of issues. First off, there was a problem with a vein that ran across her breast bone. It interfered with their being able to spread open the rib cage. When they closed it off, they realized that the IV was connected to that vessel. So, they had to move the IV to another location, in her upper leg. There was lots of bleeding associated with the vein also, so that had to get cleared up. Next, the surgeon found that the artery he wanted to use, inside the chest was no good. There was all kinds of scarring inside her chest from the radiation 20 years ago, and it heavily damaged the blood vessel. There was no appreciable flow through the proposed donor artery. So, they had to use a couple of veins from down in her leg. The good news is that the veins were in great shape, so that means that the grafts should also work well. THe problem is, veins never work as well as arteries. But, Dr. Blossom said that, with all the anti cholestrol medicines and the use of aspirin, it may last a lot longer than the 10-15 year period that used to be standard.
WE'll get to see her in a few minutes, hopefully, and I'll update it more after that.
Lynn's operation is over - both bypasses are in place, and she is in recovery. Things didn't wrap up as early as we thought because the surgeon ran into a couple of issues. First off, there was a problem with a vein that ran across her breast bone. It interfered with their being able to spread open the rib cage. When they closed it off, they realized that the IV was connected to that vessel. So, they had to move the IV to another location, in her upper leg. There was lots of bleeding associated with the vein also, so that had to get cleared up. Next, the surgeon found that the artery he wanted to use, inside the chest was no good. There was all kinds of scarring inside her chest from the radiation 20 years ago, and it heavily damaged the blood vessel. There was no appreciable flow through the proposed donor artery. So, they had to use a couple of veins from down in her leg. The good news is that the veins were in great shape, so that means that the grafts should also work well. THe problem is, veins never work as well as arteries. But, Dr. Blossom said that, with all the anti cholestrol medicines and the use of aspirin, it may last a lot longer than the 10-15 year period that used to be standard.
WE'll get to see her in a few minutes, hopefully, and I'll update it more after that.
10:10 AM
Latest
No news so far, but we don't expect anything this early. A nurse came by and filled us in on more details about what to expect the next few days. She said that Thursday as a release date is a dintinct possibility, especially if Lynn does well. She is probably going to feel pretty good tomorrow, too...they will have her medicated up to the gills. I might be able to get some really good quotes from her that I can pass along at family gatherings. She will start feeling the pain more the next day. She will go from the ICU to a regular room around noon tomorrow. I will probably work in the morning, then head up the hospital that afternoon when she moves. After she is in the new room, she can have visitors at just about time. Carlee and Mac could see her then as well.
Christa came by a little bit ago; Susan got here a bit before that, and Gary and Sharon have been here since before 5AM...pretty big cheering section.
No news so far, but we don't expect anything this early. A nurse came by and filled us in on more details about what to expect the next few days. She said that Thursday as a release date is a dintinct possibility, especially if Lynn does well. She is probably going to feel pretty good tomorrow, too...they will have her medicated up to the gills. I might be able to get some really good quotes from her that I can pass along at family gatherings. She will start feeling the pain more the next day. She will go from the ICU to a regular room around noon tomorrow. I will probably work in the morning, then head up the hospital that afternoon when she moves. After she is in the new room, she can have visitors at just about time. Carlee and Mac could see her then as well.
Christa came by a little bit ago; Susan got here a bit before that, and Gary and Sharon have been here since before 5AM...pretty big cheering section.
April 20, 8AM.
April 20, 8AM
Lynn went off to surgery at 7:30 AM sharp - not many delays when you are first in line. The only delay so far involved finding a clean shower. A little after 7AM, Dr. Blossom came by to discuss the surgery. He will try to use the two arteries in the chest, right and left thoracic. He will probably use the left thoractic regardless, for the bypass for the left main. However, Lynn's radiation and chemotherapy may have caused enough damage to the right one that he will not be able to transfer that one easily. He won't know for sure until he gets in there and can assess the condition of the artery. If he doesn't want to use it, he will have to borrow a vein from her leg, from her upper thigh, and use that. The prep work will go from 7:30 to 8:30, then the surgery itself will begin. Dr. Blossom thinks that it will go until 11:15AM. We will get to see her shortly after that, when she is stable. Next time we'll be able to see her will be tomorrow around noon.
Looks like the stay will be 4-5 days. She might be out on Friday, possibly Saturday. Probably Thursday is out, though. It all depends on how well she does in the next few days.
Lynn went off to surgery at 7:30 AM sharp - not many delays when you are first in line. The only delay so far involved finding a clean shower. A little after 7AM, Dr. Blossom came by to discuss the surgery. He will try to use the two arteries in the chest, right and left thoracic. He will probably use the left thoractic regardless, for the bypass for the left main. However, Lynn's radiation and chemotherapy may have caused enough damage to the right one that he will not be able to transfer that one easily. He won't know for sure until he gets in there and can assess the condition of the artery. If he doesn't want to use it, he will have to borrow a vein from her leg, from her upper thigh, and use that. The prep work will go from 7:30 to 8:30, then the surgery itself will begin. Dr. Blossom thinks that it will go until 11:15AM. We will get to see her shortly after that, when she is stable. Next time we'll be able to see her will be tomorrow around noon.
Looks like the stay will be 4-5 days. She might be out on Friday, possibly Saturday. Probably Thursday is out, though. It all depends on how well she does in the next few days.
April 20, 2009
Early Morning
Lynn and I got up around 4:30 this morning. She took another shower using the soap she is supposed to use before the surgery, gathered up everythng, and then headed out to the hospital. We got there around 5:30...exccellent choice of parking spaces, not surprisingly. Right now, the nurses are giving her ANOTHER shower. (They had to give her one after she got shaved...I'll avoid THAT topic, however.) We also got the scoop on the next day. She should be in surgery for about 3 hours. Then, she gets out, and they stabilize her. About an hour later, we'll briefly get a chance to see her. Then, they put her in the heart surgery ICU, where no one can see her until tomorrow, probably late morning. The next step will be a transfer to the regular hospital, and she will be able to have visitors. That won't be until tomorrow in the afternoon or so.
Lynn's blood pressure was 110/80...pretty good. (I told the nurse I was glad they weren't taking MINE!) Everything else is as normal as it can get. After she gets back from the shower, we should get a visit from Dr. Blossom, then, it'll be show time.
Lynn and I got up around 4:30 this morning. She took another shower using the soap she is supposed to use before the surgery, gathered up everythng, and then headed out to the hospital. We got there around 5:30...exccellent choice of parking spaces, not surprisingly. Right now, the nurses are giving her ANOTHER shower. (They had to give her one after she got shaved...I'll avoid THAT topic, however.) We also got the scoop on the next day. She should be in surgery for about 3 hours. Then, she gets out, and they stabilize her. About an hour later, we'll briefly get a chance to see her. Then, they put her in the heart surgery ICU, where no one can see her until tomorrow, probably late morning. The next step will be a transfer to the regular hospital, and she will be able to have visitors. That won't be until tomorrow in the afternoon or so.
Lynn's blood pressure was 110/80...pretty good. (I told the nurse I was glad they weren't taking MINE!) Everything else is as normal as it can get. After she gets back from the shower, we should get a visit from Dr. Blossom, then, it'll be show time.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Sunday April 19, 2009
Sunday - One day to go...
Tomorrow is the day. Last Friday, we found out that Lynn has to report to the hospital at 5:30 AM. The operation is scheduled to start at 7:30AM. She will be first in the queue, so we don't expect any big delays like last time. We still have no idea on how long the operation will take, but the background information says 3 to 6 hours. Gary and Sharon came by today around 1PM. They are going to be spending the night; Susan Mathew should be coming by soon as well, and she'll also spend the night. Lynn and I will head out to the hospital, then the rest of the crew will show up later.
I have done some research into the operation. It looks as if the surgeon will "harvest" the arteries they need from her chest area, the right and left thoracic arteries. One will be connected directly into the left main. The other will be connected from the aorta to a point just past the blockage. Hope fully, all will go well, and the operation will take closer to 3 hours than 6.
One part of the operation that I never considered... the surgical team will stop Lynn's heart for a period of time. Usually 60 minutes to 90 minutes, they use a combination of drugs and colling to still the heart so that they can work on it. Of course, all I can think of is, what if they cannot start it again? Sure, she will be on heart/lung machine, but that is completely a temporary measure. If the heart does not resume beating, that's it. That does not happen very often, but the fact that this has to happen really serves to illustrate the seriousness of the situation. Hard to believe that an operation this extensive and complicated has such a high survival rate. Never-the-less, the way people used to decide if a person was alive or dead was if they had a pulse...that is, was their heart beating or not? So, by the standards of 100 years ago, Lynn will be dead for at least an hour by the time this is done. Goes to show how far we have come, I guess, that this is now as easily accepted as getting your tonsils removed.
For dinner, we all had chicken divan, plus salad and watermelon. Lynn made an oatmeal cake for dessert. John and Todd Allen called to wish Lynn luck, and Rhonda dropped by - she is taking care of picking up the kids tomorrow. I will get them from her house when I come home tomorrow evening. With the uncertainty about the length of the operation, plus the unknown time period that has to pass from the time she gets done to when she can see visitors, it will be a long day.
Tomorrow is the day. Last Friday, we found out that Lynn has to report to the hospital at 5:30 AM. The operation is scheduled to start at 7:30AM. She will be first in the queue, so we don't expect any big delays like last time. We still have no idea on how long the operation will take, but the background information says 3 to 6 hours. Gary and Sharon came by today around 1PM. They are going to be spending the night; Susan Mathew should be coming by soon as well, and she'll also spend the night. Lynn and I will head out to the hospital, then the rest of the crew will show up later.
I have done some research into the operation. It looks as if the surgeon will "harvest" the arteries they need from her chest area, the right and left thoracic arteries. One will be connected directly into the left main. The other will be connected from the aorta to a point just past the blockage. Hope fully, all will go well, and the operation will take closer to 3 hours than 6.
One part of the operation that I never considered... the surgical team will stop Lynn's heart for a period of time. Usually 60 minutes to 90 minutes, they use a combination of drugs and colling to still the heart so that they can work on it. Of course, all I can think of is, what if they cannot start it again? Sure, she will be on heart/lung machine, but that is completely a temporary measure. If the heart does not resume beating, that's it. That does not happen very often, but the fact that this has to happen really serves to illustrate the seriousness of the situation. Hard to believe that an operation this extensive and complicated has such a high survival rate. Never-the-less, the way people used to decide if a person was alive or dead was if they had a pulse...that is, was their heart beating or not? So, by the standards of 100 years ago, Lynn will be dead for at least an hour by the time this is done. Goes to show how far we have come, I guess, that this is now as easily accepted as getting your tonsils removed.
For dinner, we all had chicken divan, plus salad and watermelon. Lynn made an oatmeal cake for dessert. John and Todd Allen called to wish Lynn luck, and Rhonda dropped by - she is taking care of picking up the kids tomorrow. I will get them from her house when I come home tomorrow evening. With the uncertainty about the length of the operation, plus the unknown time period that has to pass from the time she gets done to when she can see visitors, it will be a long day.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
April 15, 2009
Well, there is some news...but it doesn't have much to do with Lynn. She took Carlee in to see the doctor, an ears, nose and throat specialist, and it looks like she is going to have to have her tonsils out! Her airway is 70% blocked, and that explains all the gasping and wheezing sounds she makes when she is sleeping. Her adnoids are also probably enlarged, which also contributes to the problem. Lynn set up the operation for June 14. She will be in the hospital overnight assuming everything goes well. Before that, we have to have her get a sleep test. That will involve going to a sleep laboratory, having her hooked up to a bunch of sensors, and then trying to get her to go to sleep. This event will occur in the next three weeks. One of the parents will spend the night with her - as you can expect, Lynn will be in no condition to do this after only 2 weeks after having open heart surgery, so it is going to have to be Daddy, whether she likes it or not.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
April 14, 2009
Things are moving right along - in less than a week, Lynn gets to experience the second operation. We all had a very nice Easter week-end. Mac had his soccer game on Saturday, then we went to church afterwards and attended the Easter Bunny Brunch. Christa came by that afternoon, and helped out with the Easter eggs. She also had to show off her latest acquisition - a 2001 Rio, which looks to be in excellent condition. I'm still trying to figure out why my 21 year-old daughter, who is in school, and only has a part time job, has a car that is 2 years newer than mine. Next day, we went to Easter service, then met up with my Mom's side of the family at my Aunt Mickey's. Due to the traditional failure to communicate, each family was under the impression that they were the only ones bringing Easter eggs, so we had about 10 times the number of eggs that we needed. If Mac and Carlee had brought along 5 gallon pails instead of baskets, they could have filled them four or five times each. The food was, as usual, excellent, and I, as usual, ate way too much of it and, once again as usual, was able to completely understand how Jabba the Hutt feels on a daily basis. The conversation was good, and, since we stayed off the topic of politics, no gunfire broke out.
Of course, we overdid it some, staying later than we should have, and Lynn got pretty tired out. She is definitely recovering well from the neck surgery, and it's easy to forget that she had the operation less than 10 days ago. She is doing so well, in fact, that it seems a shame that she'll have to endure the second one soon. And that one will be much harder on her, and require much more recovery time. The incision is closing up very well, and the swelling is way down. She still has a little bit of pain when turning her head certain ways, but it is getting better every day.
It looks like we know the schedule for family coming in to town. Gary and Sharon will arrive this coming Sunday, will be there when Lynn has the operation, then will stay on a few more days while Lynn is in the hospital. They are going to help us out with the kids, which will be a big help. Hopefully, after spending quality time with Mac and Carlee, Gary and Sharon will be able to also make a full recovery. The day of the surgery itself, Lynn's friend Rhonda is going to make sure that Mac and Carlee get to their designated destinations, while the rest of us are at the hospital with Lynn. Lynn's mother Jo will be in Thursday or possibly Wednesday, and will stay with us for at least a week. Lynn's sister Susan should be around on Monday as well, and Christa said that she'd be willing to skip school - I mean, get an excused absense, in order to be there with Lynn.
We're not all that sure about exactly when on Monday they will operate. However, the heart operations are typically done first thing, before other operations, so it will probably be in the morning. Right now, we do not have any idea on how long it will take either, but I am sure we will get some word on that later. Based on my personal track record, it will last longer than it should, and I'll be pretty frazzled by the time it wraps up. The one thing we do know is that Lynn will have to spend at least four nights in the hospital. She'll probably be going home on Friday, if all goes well. Of course, recovery is going to take a long time after she gets back, so she won't really be 100% for a number of weeks. We're just going to have to take it one day at a time, and take things as they come...nothing like some standard time worn adages to wrap things up.
Of course, we overdid it some, staying later than we should have, and Lynn got pretty tired out. She is definitely recovering well from the neck surgery, and it's easy to forget that she had the operation less than 10 days ago. She is doing so well, in fact, that it seems a shame that she'll have to endure the second one soon. And that one will be much harder on her, and require much more recovery time. The incision is closing up very well, and the swelling is way down. She still has a little bit of pain when turning her head certain ways, but it is getting better every day.
It looks like we know the schedule for family coming in to town. Gary and Sharon will arrive this coming Sunday, will be there when Lynn has the operation, then will stay on a few more days while Lynn is in the hospital. They are going to help us out with the kids, which will be a big help. Hopefully, after spending quality time with Mac and Carlee, Gary and Sharon will be able to also make a full recovery. The day of the surgery itself, Lynn's friend Rhonda is going to make sure that Mac and Carlee get to their designated destinations, while the rest of us are at the hospital with Lynn. Lynn's mother Jo will be in Thursday or possibly Wednesday, and will stay with us for at least a week. Lynn's sister Susan should be around on Monday as well, and Christa said that she'd be willing to skip school - I mean, get an excused absense, in order to be there with Lynn.
We're not all that sure about exactly when on Monday they will operate. However, the heart operations are typically done first thing, before other operations, so it will probably be in the morning. Right now, we do not have any idea on how long it will take either, but I am sure we will get some word on that later. Based on my personal track record, it will last longer than it should, and I'll be pretty frazzled by the time it wraps up. The one thing we do know is that Lynn will have to spend at least four nights in the hospital. She'll probably be going home on Friday, if all goes well. Of course, recovery is going to take a long time after she gets back, so she won't really be 100% for a number of weeks. We're just going to have to take it one day at a time, and take things as they come...nothing like some standard time worn adages to wrap things up.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
April 7th, 2009
Lynn reached Dr. Blossom's office - they told her the date of the open heart is April 20th. Probably will occur in the AM, unless some pressing case bumps her. If all goes well, she'll be leaving the hospital four days later, on Friday. From what I can tell, this operation will be less dangerous. However, the recover will take much, much longer. Fortunately, it is only a double bypass. For triples, a second opertion is required, one to remove the third blood vessel from the leg in order to get the ones needed. For doubles, the two required can be found in the chest cavity. That means no extra incision.
One major problem: Lynn had to have a chest related operation when she first got cancer. She knows EXACTLY what she is in for. From what I can tell, recovery will be a long and difficult experience.
I guess that ignorance can be a blessing sometimes.
One major problem: Lynn had to have a chest related operation when she first got cancer. She knows EXACTLY what she is in for. From what I can tell, recovery will be a long and difficult experience.
I guess that ignorance can be a blessing sometimes.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
April 5 - Sunday - 5:10 PM
Lynn is continuing to improve. She's still tired, but not as much as before. Percoset (sp?) really conks her out, but takes the edge off of the pain. Yesterday, her brother Todd, his wife Lori, and their son Josh, along with his girlfriend Mary-Ellen came by for a visit. Cynthia Cassidy also came by as did Lynn's friend Mary-Ann. Mary Ann put together some chicken soup, which we dutifully inhaled for dinner. Barb, who is the mom of Katie, one of Mac's best friends, also swung by with some coupons for pizza. Leia Watkins was in on that as well. Marian Guzzo put together some really good cream of broccoli soup, which, unfortuately, Lynn really liked. I was hoping she wouldn't so I could stash it for my lunch next week.
Today, Li Wei and her husband Yung dropped by. They walked all the way from their extended stay hotel at Frantz and 161. Very, very thoughtful of them. They were not sure what kind of present to bring, in America, when someone is sick, but, knowing Lynn as well as they do, they figured wine would be welcome. They know Lynn WAY too well.
Lynn also was able to make it down to the neighborhood Easter egg hunt. She also managed to get a shower in, which enabled her to get the last of the antiseptic from the operation off her face. The incision still has a tendency to seep a little, but it is definitely starting to heal (I asked her if I could include a photograph of it in this blog...all I can say is that, based on her response, sometime in her past, she must have been a Marine drill sergeant.) In fact, she is feeling so well that I busted her for two violations of the "lift no more than 10 lbs." rule. First, she lugged one of the dining room chairs from the breakfast nook into the dining room. Then, she picked Carlee up. The Carlee one was a 5x multiplier, and should be counted as a felony in our household. I HAD been thinking about heading back to work tomorrow, but I may have to stay home and make sure she doesn't do something nutty, like trying to lug down plywood from the attic, or move my weights around down in the basement.
Today, Li Wei and her husband Yung dropped by. They walked all the way from their extended stay hotel at Frantz and 161. Very, very thoughtful of them. They were not sure what kind of present to bring, in America, when someone is sick, but, knowing Lynn as well as they do, they figured wine would be welcome. They know Lynn WAY too well.
Lynn also was able to make it down to the neighborhood Easter egg hunt. She also managed to get a shower in, which enabled her to get the last of the antiseptic from the operation off her face. The incision still has a tendency to seep a little, but it is definitely starting to heal (I asked her if I could include a photograph of it in this blog...all I can say is that, based on her response, sometime in her past, she must have been a Marine drill sergeant.) In fact, she is feeling so well that I busted her for two violations of the "lift no more than 10 lbs." rule. First, she lugged one of the dining room chairs from the breakfast nook into the dining room. Then, she picked Carlee up. The Carlee one was a 5x multiplier, and should be counted as a felony in our household. I HAD been thinking about heading back to work tomorrow, but I may have to stay home and make sure she doesn't do something nutty, like trying to lug down plywood from the attic, or move my weights around down in the basement.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
April 4, 2009 - 2:00 PM
Lynn is home! Carlee, Mac and I went down to pick her up. We got there a little after noon, and she was all ready to go. Mac and I went down to get the car, while Carlee and Lynn went down with the nurse and met us at the front entrance.
We then dropped off her perscription at the pharmacy, and headed home. Lynn was TOTALLY wiped out. She took a moment to get herself a glass of crushed ice, then went straight to bed.
You'd think that having a 5-6" gash in her neck would make you tired or something.
April 4th - 11:30 AM
Spoke to Lynn twice today - she is feeling much better. She said that she will be out at noon today. We are just getting ready to go get her. Her neck still hurts, but that is tobe expected when you have a 5" gash in it! She also has something of a headache - also expected and, ironically, welcome. That indicates that the blood flow to her brain, which had been choked back so long, is now restored. It takes a while for the brain to get used to the new flow, and the result is a headache that typically lasts about 24 hours.
Thanks to everyone for the prayers and the calls - first part looks like it's in the books. New step in two weeks. For now, everything looks pretty good though, and we'll take it!
Thanks to everyone for the prayers and the calls - first part looks like it's in the books. New step in two weeks. For now, everything looks pretty good though, and we'll take it!
Friday, April 3, 2009
Update - 8:00 PM April 3rd
I left the hospital around 8pm, and am home now. What a day. Totally wiped out. And, we get to do it again in 2 weeks. The nurse told me that almost every patient that undergoes this procedure gets out the next day, so that is a relief. Also, she will be allowed to go up and down stairs, so she won't have to sack out in the living room...also a relief. And, one last bit of good news: the sutures they used for her incision into her neck will dissolve on their own over time, so she doesn't have to go back and get them removed. I don't know exactly how they do it, but I'm sure glad that they used them.
Lynn was having some trouble with the pain in her neck...that is, I am referring to the pain from the surgery, and not ME! Anyway, she told the nurse that, on a scale of 1 to 10, she gave it a 7. After all, the surgeon cut right into the neck muscle, the cut looks like it's about 5 inches long, nd everytime she moves her head, it really hurts. Well, the nurse got approval to give her morphine. Lynn then asked if it will make her nauseous. The nurse, Molly, said, well, that's been known to happen. Lynn then said "OKAY! It's a FOUR out of 10!"
For someone who hails from Columbus Grove, a community with a per capita beer consumption that rival most provinces in Germany, it is amazing how much she hates to throw up.
Finally, the nurse gave her a reduced dosage, and promised to give her some anti-nausea medication if she started feeling sick. She then put the morphine into her IV drip. Well, in a few minutes, anyone could plainly see that Lynn was going to do just about anything but throw up, and that the concept of pain was clearly no longer an issue with her. With a goofy looking smile, she looked up at me and said "The morphine is working", then gave a seductive wink at the IV stand, and said "I'll see YOU later tonight!" and drifted off to sleep. OK, not quite that bad, but, needless to say, no one has to worry about Lynn being in pain tonight. Of course, I might have to beat the &%$#$ out of the IV stand tomorrow morning, but that's for later.
Lynn was having some trouble with the pain in her neck...that is, I am referring to the pain from the surgery, and not ME! Anyway, she told the nurse that, on a scale of 1 to 10, she gave it a 7. After all, the surgeon cut right into the neck muscle, the cut looks like it's about 5 inches long, nd everytime she moves her head, it really hurts. Well, the nurse got approval to give her morphine. Lynn then asked if it will make her nauseous. The nurse, Molly, said, well, that's been known to happen. Lynn then said "OKAY! It's a FOUR out of 10!"
For someone who hails from Columbus Grove, a community with a per capita beer consumption that rival most provinces in Germany, it is amazing how much she hates to throw up.
Finally, the nurse gave her a reduced dosage, and promised to give her some anti-nausea medication if she started feeling sick. She then put the morphine into her IV drip. Well, in a few minutes, anyone could plainly see that Lynn was going to do just about anything but throw up, and that the concept of pain was clearly no longer an issue with her. With a goofy looking smile, she looked up at me and said "The morphine is working", then gave a seductive wink at the IV stand, and said "I'll see YOU later tonight!" and drifted off to sleep. OK, not quite that bad, but, needless to say, no one has to worry about Lynn being in pain tonight. Of course, I might have to beat the &%$#$ out of the IV stand tomorrow morning, but that's for later.
Update - 4/3/09 - 7:15PM - All Good
Lynn is in her room for the night, and is doing fine. They moved her out of recovery around 7pm. Pretty disoriented, and her neck hurts, but otherwise fine.
Dr. Blossom came up and talked to me as soon as she had been settled into recovery. He told me that the operation took quite a bit longer then expected. The reason was, there was much more work to do on the artery than they thought. Dr. Blossom had to remove plaque from a section of artery that was between 1-1/2 and 2" long. Most people do not have plaque area that goes that far...only about 20% of the population has this. Also, it was higher up in the neck than usual, and there was more things that he had to work around than for most people. One thing that they were worried about was that, because of the high location, they might have to get into muscle and nerves that affect the tongue and jaw. In some cases, around 5%, a patient has a temporary problem with talking and swallowing afterwards. However, in this case, Lynn appears to have sided with the 95% majority (for once) and their physical tests show that she can move everything well and without any problems. He also noted that there were no blood clots along the plaque area. Evidently, when they are present, there is a much greater chance of stroke later on. And, of course, her heart held up fine, and there were no issues there.
Lynn will be spending the night here, and then, according to what they said in the prep area, will be able to head home around noon. Susan called Jo and let her know what was up, and I called Gary, Christa, Rhonda and my Mom. Hopefully between them and this blog, the word will get out. She is sleeping right now, and, since she slept just a tad the last few nights, she hopefully will saw logs all night long. I'll fill everyone in more later if there is anything else to pass on =
Dr. Blossom came up and talked to me as soon as she had been settled into recovery. He told me that the operation took quite a bit longer then expected. The reason was, there was much more work to do on the artery than they thought. Dr. Blossom had to remove plaque from a section of artery that was between 1-1/2 and 2" long. Most people do not have plaque area that goes that far...only about 20% of the population has this. Also, it was higher up in the neck than usual, and there was more things that he had to work around than for most people. One thing that they were worried about was that, because of the high location, they might have to get into muscle and nerves that affect the tongue and jaw. In some cases, around 5%, a patient has a temporary problem with talking and swallowing afterwards. However, in this case, Lynn appears to have sided with the 95% majority (for once) and their physical tests show that she can move everything well and without any problems. He also noted that there were no blood clots along the plaque area. Evidently, when they are present, there is a much greater chance of stroke later on. And, of course, her heart held up fine, and there were no issues there.
Lynn will be spending the night here, and then, according to what they said in the prep area, will be able to head home around noon. Susan called Jo and let her know what was up, and I called Gary, Christa, Rhonda and my Mom. Hopefully between them and this blog, the word will get out. She is sleeping right now, and, since she slept just a tad the last few nights, she hopefully will saw logs all night long. I'll fill everyone in more later if there is anything else to pass on =
Latest
5:40 - Lynn is now in recovery! Dr. Blossom has not come up yet, but I expect him soon. Operation is done, though.
Latest - 5:20
The front desk reserved a consulting room - they are closing on her now. Whatever the situation, surgery is winding down. Will talk to Dr. Blossom and fill everyone in as soon as he gets up here.
Latest
5:03 - Monitor shows Lynn still in surgery. There are some people who man the front desk. Occasionally, they call out a request for a family member to come up there, then a phone rings in the waiting area, and they go over and answer it. I suspect that the surgeon is calling them, letting them know that something has gone wrong or that there is some kind of unforeseen complication, and they need to fill them in on what to do, or to ask them if they will grant them permission to do something drastic or whatever. Every time they call out "Family for...", I flinch, thinking that the last word will be "Christian"
Latest
4:45 - still in surgery. I looked over the list of other operations - saw that very few went less than 90 minutes. Many went on way longer than that. I also recall that someone said something about Dr. Blossom taking more time than most with his surgeries, because he does a very thorough job. I'll take my being on pins and needles over a rush job any day.
April 3 - continued
Lynn's carotid surgery finally go underway at 3:15. This was about 2 hours later than what we were told, but this is not unusual, I hear, when the surgeon has heart operations scheduled. Dr. Blossom came in and initialed her neck...I guess there may be circumstances where more than one surgeon may be involved, so they have to "tag" their turf. The anaesthesiologist also came in and talked to her. She had problems with nausea with her first surgery back in 1991, and he wanted to hear about that. Susan came in and sat with us for a while. She finally left so she could sit with Dale, and then called back just as Lynn was on her way out the door.
Now, it is almost 4PM. She is still in surgery. Procedure should take about 1 hour. After that, there is some time where they get her into recovery. One of the nurses said that it might be quite a bit longer than that, since the hour time line only applies to the surgery itself. The waiting room here has a number of monitors scattered around that keep people apprised of the patient's status. Each patient gets a number. Lynn's is 59229. When she gets out of surgery, hopefully they will update the monitor and I'll know that she is done. Then, it will just be a matter of hooking up with Dr. Blossom and hearing how things went.
One of the things I really pushed was that I wanted them to know that Lynn is deaf in her right ear. They will wake her in the operating room, and will ask her a series of questions to answer that will help them tell if she has had a stroke. If something in there is up against her good ear, and she can't hear them, they could think that something is wrong, when it really isn't. Of course, our big joke is that, with all the increased blood flow, wouldn't it be weird if she got hearing in that ear back after all these years???
4:03 - still in surgery, according to the monitor
Now, it is almost 4PM. She is still in surgery. Procedure should take about 1 hour. After that, there is some time where they get her into recovery. One of the nurses said that it might be quite a bit longer than that, since the hour time line only applies to the surgery itself. The waiting room here has a number of monitors scattered around that keep people apprised of the patient's status. Each patient gets a number. Lynn's is 59229. When she gets out of surgery, hopefully they will update the monitor and I'll know that she is done. Then, it will just be a matter of hooking up with Dr. Blossom and hearing how things went.
One of the things I really pushed was that I wanted them to know that Lynn is deaf in her right ear. They will wake her in the operating room, and will ask her a series of questions to answer that will help them tell if she has had a stroke. If something in there is up against her good ear, and she can't hear them, they could think that something is wrong, when it really isn't. Of course, our big joke is that, with all the increased blood flow, wouldn't it be weird if she got hearing in that ear back after all these years???
4:03 - still in surgery, according to the monitor
April 3rd - Surgery Prep
Right no it is about 1:15. Lynn is still waiting to get in for her surgery. She has the IV in and will be next in line for Dr. Blossom. He'll come by to see her just before he takes her in.
Neither of us got much sleep last night. However, the morning went well. Kids got up and were in a pretty good mood. (Lynn's friend Rhonda is going to have them stay at her house tonight, along with her kids Jami and Evan.) We got Lynn all ready to go, plus packed the kids stuff. Then, we took Mac to the bus stop, and then we took Carlee to day care. She was very upset when we left, and didn't want Lynn to leave. We called daycare later, and found out that she was back to her usual gregarious self a few minutes later, though. And, since Lynn had not had anything to eat or drink since 10PM last night, naturally, we went grocery shopping. We had about 2 hours to kill and we couldn't think of anything else to do! Finally, it was time to head off to the hospital.
We got her in and registered, and they got her into surgery prep. Putting the IV in turned out to be pretty hard. Lynn's veins are already pretty small, and since she was dehydrated, they were really shrunk down. Had to put it in her wrist which they hate to do. She'll be in overnight and the wrist setup makes it harder to sleep, since it is such an awkward position.
I'll write again soon - still waiting to get started. Although the surgery itself will only last an hour, with all the prep and such, it will be between 2 and 3 hours from the time I leave her until I hear how things worked out from the surgeon. So, if she gets in at 2PM, it could be 5PM until we hear how things went.
Neither of us got much sleep last night. However, the morning went well. Kids got up and were in a pretty good mood. (Lynn's friend Rhonda is going to have them stay at her house tonight, along with her kids Jami and Evan.) We got Lynn all ready to go, plus packed the kids stuff. Then, we took Mac to the bus stop, and then we took Carlee to day care. She was very upset when we left, and didn't want Lynn to leave. We called daycare later, and found out that she was back to her usual gregarious self a few minutes later, though. And, since Lynn had not had anything to eat or drink since 10PM last night, naturally, we went grocery shopping. We had about 2 hours to kill and we couldn't think of anything else to do! Finally, it was time to head off to the hospital.
We got her in and registered, and they got her into surgery prep. Putting the IV in turned out to be pretty hard. Lynn's veins are already pretty small, and since she was dehydrated, they were really shrunk down. Had to put it in her wrist which they hate to do. She'll be in overnight and the wrist setup makes it harder to sleep, since it is such an awkward position.
I'll write again soon - still waiting to get started. Although the surgery itself will only last an hour, with all the prep and such, it will be between 2 and 3 hours from the time I leave her until I hear how things worked out from the surgeon. So, if she gets in at 2PM, it could be 5PM until we hear how things went.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
April 2nd
One day to go before the first surgery. Lynn wrapped up (or tried to) things at work. Might not be back for a few months...unless she sneaks in and does some under-the-radar programming out of sheer boredom. She was told the time for the procedure, and it ran into Carlee's doctor's appointment. We had thought that she would have to report to the hospital late afternoon. Well, they told her to come in at 9:30. So, she changed Carlee's appointment to later next week, and, of course, you know what happened... the doctor's office called and changed Lynn's time again. This time it was for 11:20am. Instead of changing Carlee's appointment back, we just decided to leave it where it was. No sense in rushing around right before she has to go in.
Right now, like I said, Lynn will go in at 11:20. They estimate the procedure will begin at 1:20. It is supposed to last an hour. Of course, I am sure it will run longer. I'll be taking the laptop in with me, and will catch up on the blog as soon as I can get time to write. The first part of it will be the trickiest - the surgeon will need to close off the bad section of the artery. But first, he has to provide a bypass for the section that will be worked on. Then, he has to close off the damaged section of artery, so he can work on it. The trouble is, he doesn't know how stable the blockage material is. It could be possible that parts of the plaque could break off, migrate into her brain, and then get lodged into place, blocking arteries providing blood flow to parts of her brain tissue. When that part of the brain is damaged by this, she will be having a stroke. Of course, this is not a good thing. However, the surgeon was obviously well aware of this situation, and mentioned that he was going to have to take a great deal of care handling the artery during that part of the operation. So, at least he knows what that he has to deal with it.
Lynn and I are going to run around taking care of chores after Mac heads off to school at 9am. Of course, she cannot eat ahead of time, so a meal is out of the question. As convincing as I can be, even I don't think that I can swing a brunch at "First Watch" with her in a purely observer's role!
Right now, like I said, Lynn will go in at 11:20. They estimate the procedure will begin at 1:20. It is supposed to last an hour. Of course, I am sure it will run longer. I'll be taking the laptop in with me, and will catch up on the blog as soon as I can get time to write. The first part of it will be the trickiest - the surgeon will need to close off the bad section of the artery. But first, he has to provide a bypass for the section that will be worked on. Then, he has to close off the damaged section of artery, so he can work on it. The trouble is, he doesn't know how stable the blockage material is. It could be possible that parts of the plaque could break off, migrate into her brain, and then get lodged into place, blocking arteries providing blood flow to parts of her brain tissue. When that part of the brain is damaged by this, she will be having a stroke. Of course, this is not a good thing. However, the surgeon was obviously well aware of this situation, and mentioned that he was going to have to take a great deal of care handling the artery during that part of the operation. So, at least he knows what that he has to deal with it.
Lynn and I are going to run around taking care of chores after Mac heads off to school at 9am. Of course, she cannot eat ahead of time, so a meal is out of the question. As convincing as I can be, even I don't think that I can swing a brunch at "First Watch" with her in a purely observer's role!
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
April 1st
Not much new to report. Neighbors have been over to hear about what is going on. Lynn tried to talk to her family physician to see what he thought of her surgeon. Dr. Conaway was not available, but the receptionist said that she heard he was excellent. Now THAT is a referral! Lynn signed up for 12 weeks of short term disability. Hopefully, she will not be out that long, but the word was that you can always overestimate and then come back early, but extending is pretty near impossible. Sounds like Lynn's sister Susan will be down along with Dale for the Friday event. We're still hoping Lynn can come home the next day, and we can start to get ready for the big one two weeks later. I have no doubt that the carotid artery cleaning will go fine...what still worries me is that some nasty chunk of plaque will bust loose and will give her a stroke. Once the section of artery causing the trouble is closed off, the rest will be relatively easy...well, for a surgeon, that is.
Carlee has been picking up that something is wrong. She woke up at nap time at day care today and was crying. Guess she had a dream that something bad happened to her Mommy. She was also pretty quiet all day. Fortunately, she perked up when she got home...and it certainly hasn't changed her appetite.
Carlee has been picking up that something is wrong. She woke up at nap time at day care today and was crying. Guess she had a dream that something bad happened to her Mommy. She was also pretty quiet all day. Fortunately, she perked up when she got home...and it certainly hasn't changed her appetite.
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