My mom had her angiogram on Wednesday, they discovered multiple blockages and a not-so-great mitral valve, so they placed a balloon pump in her aorta and sent her to ICU to await surgery, which was hopefully going to be the next morning (Thursday).
But the surgery didn't happen Thursday. And when Friday rolled around, my mom was still "stable" in ICU on the balloon pump, so they pushed back her surgery until the following Monday!
I totally understand that there are other patients who were in need of surgery, and that their surgery schedule was pretty full, but my mom will have ended up spending more than 4 needless days in the extremely expensive ICU as a result of this postponement of the surgery. It gets a little frustrating. And my mom has been doubly frustrated because she's been flat on her back since Wednesday, unable to bend her right leg because of the balloon pump and all the monitors. Her heart's been able to rest during that time, but she's become a little restless herself.
But at least we're nearing the time when they're actually going to be doing something for her. Bright and early tomorrow morning (Monday) they should be taking her into surgery. The expected surgery will be a quintuple bypass as well as a mitral valve replacement or repair, but you never know what's going to happen once the surgeon actually gets into the operating room. My dad went in expecting to have five bypasses and ended up with six, so we'll know what actually happened sometime tomorrow afternoon.
This should be an interesting operation as my mom's surgeon is an expert in "off the pump" bypasses. In other words, a bypass without having the heart/lung maching. I'm still amazed that's even possible, but apparently it is, and the recovery time following an "off the pump" bypass is supposedly a little faster than the normal byspass surgery like my father had.
I only have internet access this afternoon and then I'll be heading back into town, an hour away from here. We've been blessed to have been able to stay at a fully-furnished 3-bedroom house while my mom's been in the hospital. It's helped us avoid spending 2 hours a day driving to and from the hospital from my parents home. Unfortunately, there's no interent access there, so I'll probably be able to blog next when I return home Wednesday night.
Thank you all for your prayers for my mother's health.
I know it can be so frustrating waiting around. Glad you could update. I have been checking a few times a day. I will continue praying for you and your family.
What a blessing the house is for you.
I'm praying for your mom this morning. That all will go well and that God would work through her surgeon and give him wisdom in whatever he encounters once the surgery has started.
Prayers that God will guide the hands of the surgeons and also give your mom a fast recovery!