Should Have Been a Doctor

Well, my dad had a follow-up visit with the doctor who implanted his defibrillator this week. I'm happy to report the following:

• Almost all the bruising and swelling is gone from the area of his surgery
  
• My dad's vitals are good
• My dad is reporting no more pain

My dad still has to be careful with his left arm in that he can't raise it above his shoulder for the next 4 weeks, but the news from this visit was very encouraging.

I do want to share a few photos that I took of the waiting area in the doctor's office.



Obviously, the doctor is doing well. Maybe I should have heeded my parents' advice and been a doctor instead. It certainly would have taken me out of my current work environment.

Defibrillator Implanted!

Well, August 27th finally arrived!

I woke up bright and early to take my dad to the hospital to have the procedure of implanting a defibrillator. We got to the hospital around 8:40am where we proceeded to spend the next 40 minutes filling out paperwork. After that was completed, it was on the surgery preparation which took about an hour. Before we knew it, it was 11am and my dad was rolled off to surgery.

My mom and I were told that the procedure would take roughly 2-3 hours, so we decided to wait in the waiting area. Well, that 3 hour wait turned into a 5 hour wait. Because my dad had had open heart surgery (a quadruple bypass), it made the defibrillator procedure a lot more complex. As you can imagine, I started to get concerned when it hit 4 hours and we still had not seen the doctor. A nurse finally came out to let us know that it was taking longer than expected, but that my dad was doing well.

The doctor finally came out when it was all done and told us that everything went well. The defibrillator was implanted and everything was functioning properly. He said that my dad should feel better as the defibrillator helps synchronize his heart rhythm and should also help minimize the fluid build-up in his lungs that caused his last cardiac episode.

After speaking with the doctor, the nurses told us that my dad would be taken to Recovery ICU and then would be taken to a room where he would spend the night. Well, that process took another 4 hours as there were no rooms available for when my dad was ready to be moved. (Note: if it took 4 hours to get a room in a private hospital, I can only imagine what the wait would be like when the Feds take control of health care in the US.)

My mom and I got to see my dad while he was in Recovery ICU. When we first saw him, he did not look well at all. He was still groggy from the anesthesia and his face (particularly his cheeks) had no color at all. He was completely white. We were quite concerned, but the nurse assured us that he was fine. After about 30 minutes from that initial visit, color did return to his face once he woke up and was given some food.

We watched as the nurses measured his vitals - his temperature was fine, heart rate looked good and EKG came back strong. If this continues, I believe we'll be in good shape! My dad will stay in the hospital overnight and we'll take him home tomorrow.

Obviously, we still have to be careful for the next 6 weeks as my dad isn't allowed to raise his left arm above his shoulder as doing so could pull the defibrillator wires out of position. However, I'm optimistic my day at the hospital was well spent.

Defibrillator Procedure Scheduled

As you have probably noticed, my blogging has been few and far between the past 30 days. With everything that's been going on with my father's health, I haven't had much time or energy to devote to blogging. I'm hopeful that this will change over the course of the month as I have plenty of items I would like to blog about.

My first blog entry of Aug 2009 is related to my father's health issue. I took a half day off from work to accompany my father to consult the doctor who will be performing the procedure to implant the defibrillator. It was a mid-afternoon appointment, but like most doctor appointments, they are never on time. We waited an hour past our appointment time before we finally were seen by the nurse. The nurse did her thing and checked my father's vitals (which included an EKG) which took about 15 minutes total.

After that was done, we were told to sit tight as the doctor would be right with us. Well, we waited for another 20 minutes before the doctor came in. He basically told us that he had consulted with my father's cardiologist and agrees with the assessment that my father would benefit from a defibrillator. After a brief discussion, my father gave his approval to have the procedure and we had it scheduled.

Unfortunately, the earliest they could do it was late this month. I was hoping to have it done sooner, but the doctor's schedule was already booked for the next 3 weeks. He said my father should be fine in the meantime as long as he gets plenty of rest, continues taking his medication, and takes it easy for the next few weeks. I asked my dad to do just that and to minimize his activity.

As I stated before, I'm going to be anxious between now and the day of the procedure. Here's hoping to no emergency room visits or additional health-related drama. I've had my fill of them.

Dark Clouds Have Returned

The dark clouds have returned and may be with me for a bit....

I received another scare with my dad this past week. I got a call from mom one evening where she told me that my dad had weakness and numbness in both his arms and legs. Obviously, I rushed over and had him taken to the hospital emergency room.

It wasn't a heart attack, so we feared that it may be a stroke. At the hospital, they performed a CT scan and a neurologist checked him. The neurologist ruled out a stroke (much to our relief). The cardiologist, however, believes the weakness my dad experienced was a result of his weakened heart from the cardiac episode 3 weeks back. With that said, the cardiologist highly recommended that my dad get a defibrillator. He stated that my dad is susceptible to sudden death due to his weak heart and having the defibrillator could prevent that from happening.

My dad was hesitant to get it. He's regained feeling in his limbs and isn't keen on undergoing further surgery. However, the cardiologist explained to him that this procedure isn't open heart surgery. The procedure for the defibrillator is a 1 to 2 hour procedure which can be done on an outpatient basis for most people. Being that my dad is in a weakened condition, the cardiologist said that they would keep him overnight at the hospital just to ensure that everything is okay. He would get to go home the next day.

We're now setting up a time to have the procedure. Between now and then, I'm going to be a bit anxious and hope that we'll be able to weather the dark clouds that are upon us.