So, I wake up this morning to the pitter patter of big feet heading down the stairs for breakfast! By himself! Unassisted! On Percocet! Any friends who want to call and yell at him, FEEL FREE! I think I need a nail gun to staple him to the floor!
But that IS an indication of how incredibly well he is doing. His pain is so minimal, and he really only took one good nap today. Now he's just bored, so DO feel free to come visit him. He can carry on a pretty good conversation and then just may nap for a bit afterwards. After only 6 days....just amazing. Even he, my beloved "glass-half-empty" fella, is quite pleased and surprised at how well he's doing.
So with that being said, I think we'll sign off on this blog, at least for now. Thanks for staying in touch and praying. We love you!
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Monday, October 31, 2011
We're home!!!
Amazing...just 4 1/2 days ago, my true love went in for his surgery, and now we are home and resting! I'm not sure which one of us is more exhausted. Ok, he wins in the physically exhausted arena, but I might be running him a close second in emotional exhaustion.
He made it up the stairs to his recliner, where he'll be sleeping for awhile, with a little help from his friend Ed. Then he gave Ed a weak smile and said, "thank you and good bye - you were just leaving." Ed got a big kick out of that. So Tom has no trouble letting us know when he is tired and needs to rest, which is most of the time. I think we'll hold off on most visitors for a few more days anyway.
I'm thankful to my friend Joyce that brought dinner over (it didn't even occur to me that we would need to eat) and picked up some groceries. Friends are indeed a blessing, as all of you have been.
That's all I can muster for now. Time for another nap. LOVE YOU!
He made it up the stairs to his recliner, where he'll be sleeping for awhile, with a little help from his friend Ed. Then he gave Ed a weak smile and said, "thank you and good bye - you were just leaving." Ed got a big kick out of that. So Tom has no trouble letting us know when he is tired and needs to rest, which is most of the time. I think we'll hold off on most visitors for a few more days anyway.
I'm thankful to my friend Joyce that brought dinner over (it didn't even occur to me that we would need to eat) and picked up some groceries. Friends are indeed a blessing, as all of you have been.
That's all I can muster for now. Time for another nap. LOVE YOU!
Saturday, October 29, 2011
More than we could ask or think
Dear friends, my sweet husband is a walking answered prayer! There are hardly words to describe. First, they said today would be his most painful day - he was dreading that. You know that 1 to 10 scale? He never ranked his pain above a 1 today! The nurses couldn't believe it - so they gave him the pain meds anyway! How in heaven's name do you get your breastbone filleted and ribs and all that stuff and not experience pain, except by the grace and mercy of the Lord!
THEN Dr. Swanson, the surgeon came in. I asked why Tom had TWO pacemakers hooked up - all the nurses wanted to know why, they'd never seen that before. He said that (as well as I recall through the fog) "well, you know when I said his ekg was a little slow after surgery when I came to you in the waiting room? It was actually zero. We could not get his heart to beat after we took him off the heart-lung machine, not a single beat. So we quickly hooked him up to a pacemaker. My mentor in France had a saying I live by: "when life hangs by a thread, use 2," so I hooked up a second pacemaker to back up the first! So for Tom to go from THAT to where he is now, I am just thrilled! Tom, your heart is doing fabulous. I may even send you home Monday." YAHOO!!!!!!!!!! PRAISE GOD!!!!!!!!!
Then he sent in an Electro-physiologist to see if Tom would need to have that second procedure and have a defibrillator/pacemaker put in. Dr. Garvey is a kind-hearted doc that took a ton of time to study Tom and answer all our questions, then gave his conclusion: "Tom, I see no indication whatsoever that you will need a defib. put in. You are at a very low risk of having any problems from here on out. As a matter of fact, you're going to live a good long life!" Dr. Garvey seemed to know exactly what to say to assuage any of Tom's fears. He said that he, as a matter of fact, was at a VERY low risk of ever having a heart attack AND that the work Dr. Swanson had done had taken so much tissue out that Tom could expect to feel so much better (it had been one of his big fears, that he'd get to the end of all this and not feel any better). It just hit every one of Tom's "hot buttons" - he is sleeping quite peacefully tonight.
This has been an experience where we have palpably felt the prayers of the saints. THANK YOU so much for being one of those praying friends. I know it has SO motivated me to be faithful in prayer for others. We love you! We thank you!
For those of you who want to come celebrate with us Sunday, please come at either 2pm or 7:30pm so he can rest the rest of the time. He'd LOVE to see you - you know how social he is - and have you sign his pillow (wait 'til you see what HE wrote on it). If he is released Monday, it will be in the morn. Give us Monday to get settled and then check in.
Blessed is the heart that hangs its hope on God!
THEN Dr. Swanson, the surgeon came in. I asked why Tom had TWO pacemakers hooked up - all the nurses wanted to know why, they'd never seen that before. He said that (as well as I recall through the fog) "well, you know when I said his ekg was a little slow after surgery when I came to you in the waiting room? It was actually zero. We could not get his heart to beat after we took him off the heart-lung machine, not a single beat. So we quickly hooked him up to a pacemaker. My mentor in France had a saying I live by: "when life hangs by a thread, use 2," so I hooked up a second pacemaker to back up the first! So for Tom to go from THAT to where he is now, I am just thrilled! Tom, your heart is doing fabulous. I may even send you home Monday." YAHOO!!!!!!!!!! PRAISE GOD!!!!!!!!!
Then he sent in an Electro-physiologist to see if Tom would need to have that second procedure and have a defibrillator/pacemaker put in. Dr. Garvey is a kind-hearted doc that took a ton of time to study Tom and answer all our questions, then gave his conclusion: "Tom, I see no indication whatsoever that you will need a defib. put in. You are at a very low risk of having any problems from here on out. As a matter of fact, you're going to live a good long life!" Dr. Garvey seemed to know exactly what to say to assuage any of Tom's fears. He said that he, as a matter of fact, was at a VERY low risk of ever having a heart attack AND that the work Dr. Swanson had done had taken so much tissue out that Tom could expect to feel so much better (it had been one of his big fears, that he'd get to the end of all this and not feel any better). It just hit every one of Tom's "hot buttons" - he is sleeping quite peacefully tonight.
This has been an experience where we have palpably felt the prayers of the saints. THANK YOU so much for being one of those praying friends. I know it has SO motivated me to be faithful in prayer for others. We love you! We thank you!
For those of you who want to come celebrate with us Sunday, please come at either 2pm or 7:30pm so he can rest the rest of the time. He'd LOVE to see you - you know how social he is - and have you sign his pillow (wait 'til you see what HE wrote on it). If he is released Monday, it will be in the morn. Give us Monday to get settled and then check in.
Blessed is the heart that hangs its hope on God!
More good news!
Good morning! Mom asked me to post this morning with the morning updates. Dad is out of the cardiac recovery unit! Great news! He's moved up to a new room this morning on the 6th floor and got some really good rest last night and is feeling pretty good. The electrophysiology team didn't stop by yesterday, but when the surgeon stopped by last night he said there was no consult needed - dad is doing GREAT!
He may be up for visitors later today, so if people wanted to stop by around 2:00 or 7:30/8:00, those might be good visiting times to stop by and say hello today in his new room. Just call mom at (503) 351-8928 if you need the room number.
Thank you for all the prayers and well wishes for our family. Keep them coming!
He may be up for visitors later today, so if people wanted to stop by around 2:00 or 7:30/8:00, those might be good visiting times to stop by and say hello today in his new room. Just call mom at (503) 351-8928 if you need the room number.
Thank you for all the prayers and well wishes for our family. Keep them coming!
Friday, October 28, 2011
Another good day
My true love looks fabulous today! He's quite tired but looks good and is sitting up and eating and talking - for a few minutes anyway!
This afternoon, a team of docs will come in to work with him and assess whether he will need the pacemaker/defibrillator or not. Pray for wisdom for this team!
His doc this morn told him that what they removed from his heart was one of the biggest chunks they'd ever seen. No wonder he got winded so easily! That certainly removed any doubt that he indeed did need the surgery.
Thanks again for the many prayers and well wishes. Keep 'em coming! They're hoping he might be able to move to a regular room tomorrow, but we'll see. I'll keep you posted. The girls and I are doing quite well. Hoping Danielle can muster the courage to come see her dad tomorrow.
This afternoon, a team of docs will come in to work with him and assess whether he will need the pacemaker/defibrillator or not. Pray for wisdom for this team!
His doc this morn told him that what they removed from his heart was one of the biggest chunks they'd ever seen. No wonder he got winded so easily! That certainly removed any doubt that he indeed did need the surgery.
Thanks again for the many prayers and well wishes. Keep 'em coming! They're hoping he might be able to move to a regular room tomorrow, but we'll see. I'll keep you posted. The girls and I are doing quite well. Hoping Danielle can muster the courage to come see her dad tomorrow.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
How quickly things can change
Oh God is so good!!! Of course, He still would be GOOD even if the news was bad, but it wasn't!
As I was about to head for bed tonight, I went in to see my beloved one more time, and just "happened" to go in right when the surgeon was in there! Dr. Swanson had been working on him for about 10 mins when I came in, and I heard him talking to Tom about a pacemaker as I walked in the door. I asked, "So he is going to have to have a pacemaker/defibrillator put in?" He said, "NO! We just took him off our mechanical pacer and his heart took off pretty well on its own! I'm very pleased with his progress - he's turned a huge corner in the last hour or two and I'm pretty sure he won't need one after all!"
Needless to say, we are greatly relieved and thankful for answered prayer. Tom's been surprising them all day long!
So if you want to come and visit, we just ask that you call me first and see how he's doing and what his energy level is like and what he wants to do that agrees with what his docs want him to do! You can reach me at 503-351-8928 or 503-201-8205. Now I am going to CRASH and sleep in the peace that passes understanding. Thank you, Lord!
As I was about to head for bed tonight, I went in to see my beloved one more time, and just "happened" to go in right when the surgeon was in there! Dr. Swanson had been working on him for about 10 mins when I came in, and I heard him talking to Tom about a pacemaker as I walked in the door. I asked, "So he is going to have to have a pacemaker/defibrillator put in?" He said, "NO! We just took him off our mechanical pacer and his heart took off pretty well on its own! I'm very pleased with his progress - he's turned a huge corner in the last hour or two and I'm pretty sure he won't need one after all!"
Needless to say, we are greatly relieved and thankful for answered prayer. Tom's been surprising them all day long!
So if you want to come and visit, we just ask that you call me first and see how he's doing and what his energy level is like and what he wants to do that agrees with what his docs want him to do! You can reach me at 503-351-8928 or 503-201-8205. Now I am going to CRASH and sleep in the peace that passes understanding. Thank you, Lord!
Not so fast
Well, our "best possible news" took a downturn. When we went in to see Tom in ICU, the nurses informed us that his heart will not beat on it's own. It seems to be rather messed up. They currently are providing a mechanical heartbeat for him through temporary pacemaker type wires. When we first went in, it looked pretty scary. Why oh why did I put mascara on this morning, the Mary Kay lady asks?
Then they called a CODE BLUE IN ICU and everyone sprang into action. 5 minutes later,one of the volunteers came out to get a family and headed in our general direction - no biggie. Another woman grabbed her and said, "Was it my daughter?" "No", said the volunteer, "I came for this family", and pointed straight at us. All the blood drained out of us as she came our way... and then passed to a family right behind us. As we resumed breathing, we also breathed a prayer for that family. How very terrifying.
Our second trip in to see him in ICU, he wiggled his fingers at me (Lynne) and squeezed my hand. More tears. The cardiologist said that it looks like he will now be in ICU for at least 3 to 4 days, so those Saturday and Sunday visits will have to be coordinated or held til later. They can't move him until his own ticker takes over, and if that doesn't happen by Saturday, then they will have to do a 2nd procedure and implant some version of a pacemaker.
I'd best sign off for now and get this posted. Please don't stop praying! We appreciate you all so very much!
Then they called a CODE BLUE IN ICU and everyone sprang into action. 5 minutes later,one of the volunteers came out to get a family and headed in our general direction - no biggie. Another woman grabbed her and said, "Was it my daughter?" "No", said the volunteer, "I came for this family", and pointed straight at us. All the blood drained out of us as she came our way... and then passed to a family right behind us. As we resumed breathing, we also breathed a prayer for that family. How very terrifying.
Our second trip in to see him in ICU, he wiggled his fingers at me (Lynne) and squeezed my hand. More tears. The cardiologist said that it looks like he will now be in ICU for at least 3 to 4 days, so those Saturday and Sunday visits will have to be coordinated or held til later. They can't move him until his own ticker takes over, and if that doesn't happen by Saturday, then they will have to do a 2nd procedure and implant some version of a pacemaker.
I'd best sign off for now and get this posted. Please don't stop praying! We appreciate you all so very much!
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