Dad’s headed in to surgery.
While he is there, they will cut open his chest, remove his heart, connect him to an artificial pump, swap out a heart valve with one from a pig, add a reinforced wall to his aorta, restart his heart, put it back, and close him up.
The idea that he will not have a heart in his chest for some period of time is a little freaky, but this is how it’s done. Twelve weeks from now he will be back on his bike, and getting back in shape. Medical science is amazing.
Dad is now in the preop room; Mom is with him. He has about 90 minutes of preop work to do, and then he will go in to surgery. We will go for a bike ride while he’s in the operating theater, and come back in time to meet him when he’s ready to see us.
Heart surgery is a tricky thing. There was an emergency case in the night, and the room Dad was scheduled for is in use. We were told that they will try to get him in as soon as there is a surgical suite that’s equipped for cardiac surgery. He can’t eat or drink anything, and we’re unsure how long the wait will be. The surgeon’s assistant gave an estimate of noon, but we had to promise not to fault him if it doesn’t prove accurate.
We’re waiting in the check-in line at UW Medical Center. The trip over from the house was quick and uneventful, but the check-in desk is surprisingly busy.
We are currently in the car travelling to Seattle. We will be staying at my cousin Meagan’s house. She has generously offered to give a us dog free place to stay. Since mom and I are both allergic to dogs, that is quite a blessing.
Tonight, Mom, Dad, Ashleigh, and I will all sleep at Meagan’s place. Tomorrow we will get up before breakfast and head to the hospital. Checkin time is 5:30, which is going to be pretty rough for some of us. If all goes according to plan, Dad will have some new parts installed while the rest of us go for a bike ride (to keep us distracted). Once Dad’s out of surgery, we’ll meet up with him again. I’ll write more as soon as I know more.
Greetings to all,
Just a note pre-surgery. I’m sitting at the computer on the side of the Elwha valley looking at the snow gently falling and Lake Aldwell enjoying its last winter in its current condition.
I went to The U.W. clinic on Thursday the 6th for pre-op work ups (blood work, chest x-ray, and anaesthesia interviews) and then went in on Friday for the coronary angiogram. The report from all was good so the surgery schedule is still on track. I will be going to Seattle on Thursday afternoon with Carole, Benson, and Ashleigh in preparation for surgery on Friday sometime, hopefully early A.M.
I have received lots of support from friends and family and am confident that everything will work out for the best in the end. I have been told that I could be sailing again in six weeks by the Surgeon but the Nurse Practitioner made that sound a little optimistic. She said that I won’t be able to mountain bike for 12 weeks. One of my good friends said that’s just in time to go to Moab!!!! Time will tell but I will be back on the bike this summer.
Mike