Bypass done, Dad's home

Sorry for the delay...it was such an exciting and busy few days I completely forgot I hadn't posted how Dad's bypass went.

Wednesday morning we all got to the hospital very early to spend some time with Dad before surgery. He was scheduled for 7:30, and we were told they would take him to the OR for prepping around 6 AM. Well, they didn't actually take him until closer to 7AM. Then we waited until 8AM when the surgeon finally came. We all said a prayer, gave hugs and kisses and went to the waiting room to wait. They told us they would keep us updated every hour. At 9AM we got a little anxious since we hadn't heard from them. They called a little after 9 to let us know they just got started at 5 till nine. 10AM came and they were done with the robotic portion of the procedure and the surgeon was sewing the vessel in place. At 1040 we got a call they were done and to go the the waiting room outside the ICU, they were transferring Dad there for recovery. The surgeon said everything went very well, Dad was awake and doing good. We were able to go see him, the breathing tube was out. He did have several new tubes, one of them a line going into one of the large vessels in his neck and a chest tube that was taking out any blood that had oozed or any air from the surgery. He gave the thumbs up and we left so he could get some rest. The remaining part of the day he tried to rest while we visited briefly.

Thursday all of the tubes came out. Dad was feeling a little short of breath so they put him on some oxygen overnight. They moved him from the ICU, or should I say, he moved himself. He walked from his ICU bed to his new room down the hall in the step down unit. Friday morning they took him off the oxygen. He was hoping to be discharged on Friday, but no such luck. Instead he worked with physical therapy, met with the dietician and worked on his breathing exercises. Today they gave him his walking papers. He is home again and looking great. The incision in around 3 inches long sealed up with dermabond, which is like superglue for the skin. He has a small stitch still in place where the chest tube was, that will be removed this week.

Thank you all for the prayers and support while Dad was in the hospital and in surgery.

Angiogram done

Dad has his angiogram this morning to look at his arteries. They wanted to make sure nothing changed since last May. He had IV fluids this morning, then they took him to the cath lab. He was gone for less than an hour and the end result is the same. It looks virtually unchanged from the last angiogram. There was a small change in one of the vessels, but when he compared the two studies, it was the same. We were waiting to hear from the surgeon to see if he would correct this one too. He will stay overnight in the hospital, then early tomorrow morning they will take him for his bypass. They think this will be around 6AM to get him prepped.

Keep dad in your prayers.

Its a date

So Dad got work from the surgeon for his bypass. On Tuesday Feb 17th, Dad will have an bolus of IV fluids to prepare him for the contrast they need to give. Then he will have an angiogram--which takes a picture of the vessels feeding his heart to make sure there are no new blockages. If everything looks good, then he will have his bypass on the 18th at 0730. The surgeon is ready with his team at Dad's usual hospital to do the bypass. Remember, this bypass is non-invasive, meaning Dad will not go on the bypass pump, they won't have to cut his breastbone and pull his chest open. They will make a small incision between the ribs and with fiberoptic/robotic scopes they will perform the procedure. The reason for this is the faster recovery time with the least invasive measure necessary. The surgeon wants for Dad to wait at least 4-6 weeks to make sure he is fully recovered before he has his transplant. Then we go in with the big guns to knock this myeloma into remission.

In the meantime, Dad has stayed busy at work, spending most of his time at the main branch. He visits the satellite stores twice a week. Inventory went well...always a busy time. He loves being at work, motivating the staff and handling business. It was frustrating for him to coach from the sidelines while he was working remotely from home. For the time being, keep sending encouraging thoughts and prayers and be thinking of Dad in around 2 weeks.

Wonderful news and sad news.

Dr. Kazhdan is back from her much deserved vacation, and apparently quite tan! She had wonderful news for dad---all of his labs look great. She didn't have the comparisons ready, but was very optimistic and pleased with the results that were available. She is such a worrier--she told Dad that she wanted to call him while she was on vacation just to check on him. She just can't help herself. In the meantime, the boutique is having separation anxiety from Dad. He went a whole week without any visits, labs or followups. For now, they will just monitor Dad monthly to give him his bone strengthening medication. In the meantime, the cardiologist, surgeon and lung specialists are following with him this week.

We did get some sad news. While undergoing treatment, we have made some wonderful friends also undergoing treatment at the boutique. The ladies we have met are wonderful kind hearted individuals and have been such a welcome relief for us all while Dad gets chemo. Sadly, we lost one of them last week. She was a wonderful lady with a beautiful smile. Unfortunately making friends in an oncologists office comes with its fair share of heart ache. We were all saddened to hear she lost her battle to cancer. Our thoughts and prayers go to her husband and family.

One of dad's other friends from chemo is also getting sick. We are thinking and praying for her and her family.

Most surprising, a member of Dad's cancer team was just diagnosed with cancer. The shock of it all is too much to bear. E if you read this....we love you and are praying for you daily. You have been such a blessing to us as we have struggled through this journey and to hear that you are starting this journey when you have helped so many is very upsetting. The positive thing is that we are praying for you and we have seen the power of prayer work on Dad. I am posting this so that all of our family and friends can include you in their prayers. I know you will get through this, but just know we are thinking of you.