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Post by tink80 on Jun 11, 2009 8:13:07 GMT -5
well, my boyfriend is having open heart surgery on the 17th.
they are going to remove an aortic annuerysm and his ascending aorta and aortic valve need to be replaced with mechanical ones.
because of the severity, they will need to not only arrest his heart but also cut off blood circulation to his brain for at least fifteen minutes. they are going to "deep freeze" him so his brain does not die in the process.
needless to say, i'm a wreck but i'm not showing it because i want to be strong for him.
on a brighter note, my mom who i rarely get to see is traveling here to be with me for at least the few days of and after the surgery.
he will be in ICU for a week. then eight weeks to recover. he will return to work on light duty about three or four weeks after the surgery as he's worried about the bills. his work was nice enough to change his position to night security for that time but still pay him the same and return to his normal position when he is ready (head milwright at a saw mill).
anyway, just tying up loose ends around here. his last day of work is tomorrow. trying to do all we can think of before the 17th to be prepared for him to be immobile and recovering for awhile.
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Post by bigsis7 on Jun 11, 2009 8:18:18 GMT -5
Oh man. I would be a wreck too!! I hope all goes well! You and your boyfriend are in my thoughts and prayers!
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Post by tink80 on Jul 6, 2009 14:15:26 GMT -5
Well he was discharged two weeks ago and prayers are needed again. Things took a turn for the worse and I rushed him to the ER last night. Spent most of the night in there and then was transferred to ICU. Going back into surgery in two hours. Good thoughts needed please. Will post more details later. Have not slept at all and a bit braindead. I will just say he is in critical condition for now.
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Post by tsslilsis on Jul 6, 2009 22:51:49 GMT -5
Oh, hon.. Is he alright?? How was surgery??? *Hugs* I hope he is alright. I cannot imagen how upset you much be.
-~Ketlin
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Post by tink80 on Jul 7, 2009 15:33:14 GMT -5
Well, a million things have happened since I last posted so I'll try to sum it up and keep it to the point (plus I'm functioning on very little sleep and if I get caught up in details this post could get squirrely).
This is what we know: He has tested positive for a staph infection at the incision area of his heart surgery. He was brought into the operating room and the surgeon had to make some decisions about how deep to go and clean up being that an infection like this could easily spread to other places once he's opened up and it could make things worse to go poking around in there.
What it comes down to is they made the decision to detach his sternum into two for the time being (he is laying there with his chest literally wide open right now with what looks like saran wrap and iodine over it).
We DON'T know if it's spread to the heart. We are going to have him taken to the OR every few days for a week to go in and clean. After that, we will guage if we will risk going even deeper into the chest cavity and seeing what we will discover. This will be based on his clinical signs.
His sternum will heal spread apart like that. Eventually he'll need reconstructive surgery or a metal plate put in to hold his chest together..but that's in the future.
Everything is day by day. We don't have all the answers. He is in a lot of pain and being given pain medication every five minutes and continuously sedated.
This morning he began coughing up blood and they made the decision to remove the ventilator as it was aggravating this. He is now on a BiPap machine which stabalized him and helped him greatly last time he was in.
Things are touch and go. It's just wait and see.
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Post by tink80 on Jul 8, 2009 14:38:02 GMT -5
K was able to stand and sit for brief periods twice since I last posted.
Bad news is his right lung is collapsed and today they are going to induce coughing which is excruciating when your chest is cut open. He is still coughing up a bit of blood. They may need to put him back on the ventilator in order to do this but are going to avoid this at all costs if possible as it truly makes him miserable to have that tube down his throat.
They are doing an ultra sound today on his lung to see if there is fluid causing the collapse and also the painful spasms/cramping in his chest area that have been non stop since sunday night. If so, they will aspirate with a needle or small tube and send it to the lab to be tested for infection as well. Let's hope this area of his body has not been infected yet.
Tomorrow they will be taking him to OR to clean out the chest cavity again and see how things look.
He's realizing he's going to be hospitalized for quite awhile and his spirits are a bit low.
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Post by suds on Jul 8, 2009 18:18:57 GMT -5
my thoughts are with you both
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Post by tink80 on Jul 13, 2009 13:52:28 GMT -5
thanks ...well they let me watch him get opened up today...looks like another week before we can get the okay that the infection is gone and start reconstructive surgery.
i am strong in front of him then i go home and i let myself cry by myself.
the money is running out and i'm trying to find ways to be resourceful and keep everything up and running while he's in there.
things are just tough right now and i'm on a rollercoaster of emotions.
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