Dad is home

Dad had his surgery on Tuesday, on Saturday he was ready to come home. Dad came home on Saturday afternoon. Amber and I showed up at the hospital at 9:30 a.m. to pick dad up, we got him home between two and three o'clock. Dad had to get an ultrasound of his heart, the doctor had to review it once he gave the approval, dad was good to go! We met with the surgeon for a while to go over dad's discharge information. The doctor said that dad was doing wonderfully and that he was "the new poster boy" for heart surgery. There are quite a few short term limitations on dad. (He can't lift more than a gallon of milk, he is only allowed to go up/down stairs two times in a day, walk short distances - working up to one mile in 4 weeks, etc.). The limitations will be lifted in about 4 weeks or after we meet with the surgeon and cardiologist for dad's follow up appointments.  Dad will follow up with the surgeon on July 3rd and his cardiologist on July 7th.

Dad is doing well. He is happy to be back at home again. His biggest complaint is that he is having a hard time sleeping, other than that he doesn't have too many complaints. His pain is under control and not too bothersome (he hasn't had any pain meds since 11:00 a.m. on Saturday).

Please continue to keep dad in your prayers!! Thank you!

Heart surgery was a success!!

Today we showed up at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital at 5:45 a.m. 12 hours later we got the GREAT news that Dad's heart valve REPAIR was a huge success!  The surgery took a little longer than we anticipated, but dad did not lose a lot of blood (he did not need a blood transfusion), and there were no complications. They did not have to put a new valve in, the repair seemed to hold. :-)

In just a few hours we will get to see dad!!

I will keep the blog updated on dad's recovery.

DaVinci? or Traditional Surgery?

Today we met with Dr. K, the man who will operate on dad's heart. Today definitely tested our patience! Our appointment was for 2:00, we did not see the doctor until 4:00 p.m.

All that being said, here is the update:

• Dad's Mitral Valve has severe leakage.
• Even though there is severe leakage, dad does not exhibit any of the typical symptoms associated with having a ruptured valve. This leaves us with two options:
• 1. Hold off on getting surgery until the heart weakens and dad starts to exhibit symptoms; or
• 2. Have the surgery soon to repair the valve (we went with option #2).
• The goal of the surgery is to repair the heart valve. Once the doctor is in and operating, if he is unable to repair the valve, he will have to replace the valve. We need to decide which valve replacement we would want BEFORE the surgery. There are two types of valve used in valve replacements:
• 1. Graphite Valve
• Pro's - It would never have to be replaced again, he would have it forever.
• Con's - Dad would have to be on heavy blood thinners the rest of his life. He would have to get blood work done every few months. He would run the risk of getting blood clots that could travel to his brain. If he was cut he could run the risk of bleeding too much if his blood didn't clot.
• 2. Pig/Cow Valve
• Pro's - Dad would be on an Aspirin regimen and that is it. He wouldn't need blood work done all the time, etc.
• Con's - These valve replacements only last on average 12 years (this means it would need to be replaced in 8 or 15 years). 
• DaVinci vs. Traditional Surgery
• Dad will be going to Saint Joseph on April 26th to have a CT scan done of his pelvic area, abdomen and chest. If everything looks clear, then dad will be approved to have the less invasive DaVinci surgery. 
• DaVinci Robotic Surgery (This is the surgery we are hoping for):
• The surgery will last all day.
• The risk of dad dieing on the table is the same as the traditional surgery.
• Dad will still be put on a heart/lung machine. The heart and lung machine will be inserted the same way a heart catheter is (in the groin area).
• The robotic arms will be inserted in 4 different spots between the ribs (so no bones would have to be broken)
• Recovery time is DRAMATICALLY shorter than with the traditional surgery.
• Traditional Surgery:
• Dad gets his rib cage cut open
• Recovery time is generally 6-9 months
• Regardless of the type of surgery dad has, it can be expected that he will be in the ICU for 24 hours after surgery; he will then be downgraded to a general hospital room for 5-7 days before being released to go home. 

On May 1st we will meet with the surgeon to find out which surgery dad will receive. Dad's surgery will most likely be in the first week or two of May. Dr. K's office will call us with a date. 

Something else that needs to be considered before jumping into surgery is the state of dad's brain recovery. The surgery is going to be hard on the brain. Dr. K, suggested that the surgery not be done until we are certain that dad has fully recovered.  Before the surgery, Dr. S. (dad's brain doctor) is going to do a lot of neurological tests on dad's brain (12 hours of testing total). This will tell us exactly where dad's brain is at. Dr. K. wants the testing on his brain to be complete before the surgery. The date has not been set for dad's day of neurological testing, but I will let everyone know as soon as I know. 

I hope that this answers all of your questions about how dad is doing.

Things to be praying about:

1. That dad will be cleared to have the less invasive surgery.
2. That dad will be able to do well on his Neurological Testing
3. The surgery will go well, there will be no complications, and that Dr. K will be able to repair the heart valve instead of having to replace it.

An update on dad's progress and heart.

Therapy: Dad continues to improve in therapy. He only has two weeks left of outpatient therapy at Chelsea. Dad is very excited to be done with therapy. Dad's reading and comprehension continue to improve. He is currently reading at the 10th grade level (approx. 140 wpm).

Driving: Dad has been cleared to start the process of getting his license back. Dad is extremely excited to gain this freedom and skill back! He is currently waiting on a permit from the state of Michigan. Once he gets his permit, the doctor has recommended that he takes some classes to help prepare him for the road and paper test. Once he completes all of those things, dad will be road legal again.

Heart: On Friday, Amber and I took dad to a cardiology appointment at Saint Joseph Mercy Hospital. Dad's doctor was very impressed with dad's progress (the last time he saw dad, he was at Allegiance Hospital). He mentioned that dad was the main topic of conversation at the last cardiology conference he attended. My dad's healing and progress has all of the doctor's stumped. Dr. S. is amazed that my dad is alive (he said repeatedly that my dad shouldn't be alive) and amazed at how well my dad is doing. The doctor mentioned multiple times that dad was a "lucky" man. However, we know luck had nothing to do with it. God put the right people in place to help keep him alive at the farm (from getting CPR from Tom to the fire department who shocked dad's heart 9 times before getting to the hospital!), He had the right doctor's working the afternoon dad was brought into the emergency room (the hypothermia therapy that was done saved his brain), and He brought us Dr. M (who helped wake my dad up). Ultimately, the healing power of God has EVERYTHING to do with my dad's recovery and success.

In listening to my dad's heart, the cardiologist was concerned with how loud it was. The doctor could hear my dad's heart beat through three layers of clothes (including a sweatshirt). My dad thought that this was a good thing (loud = strong heart). However, Dr. S. said that it was not a good thing to hear his heart beat so loudly. We then talked about dad's upcoming surgery. On Thursday morning, I will take dad up to Saint Joseph for the first test on his heart. Dad will be getting an ultrasound of his heart to get a clear picture of what his heart valve looks like and what it is doing. The surgeon (Dr. K.) will need one day to look over the ultrasound pictures, and then he will meet with dad probably the following week. As of right now Dr. S does not believe that dad will qualify for the less invasive surgery (using the Da Vinci robot), at this time Dr. S. sees my dad needing open heart surgery. Ultimately Dr. K. will make that decision after he knows more about the state of his heart valve.

Dad has not been cleared to lift weights or go back to the YMCA to work out. Until dad's heart has been fixed, they don't want my dad to put too much strain on his heart. He is allowed to walk, jog, run, bike, and swim, however dad cannot focus on building muscle at this time.

I will update everyone as soon as we know more. Until then, please pray that:

• The tests will go well on Thursday
• Dad won't be too nervous or scared on Thursday (he is going to have to be sedated and he is not looking forward to that).
• Dad will continue to improve even after therapy is done (March 29th). 
• The doctors working on my dad's heart will have the wisdom and skill to do what is best for his long term health.

Dad's latest assessment...Getting closer to driving!!

Nathan took dad to Speech and Occupational Therapy today. Today was spent assessing dad's progress. Dad started with Occupational Therapy. They did the same assessment on dad as the first day of his outpatient therapy. They assessed his eyes and his vision again. There has been improvement in dad's vision. The mid-line in his vision has started shifting back to the center line. They also tested his depth perception, which has also improved.

They did another test (the first test to assess to see if the patient is able to start looking at the possibility of driving). In previous attempts at doing this test, dad was unable to complete the test at all. For this first assessment, dad has to connect the dots in a number/letter pattern (for example: 1 a 2 b 3 c 4 d), and he has to complete the task in 4.5 minutes. Dad scored, "normal" on this assessment. Dad is EXTREMELY EXCITED!!! With only 4 weeks left in out patient therapy, dad is hoping that he will be driving before the end of therapy. The occupational therapist did not put a time line on when it will happen, but she did say that they can start doing more assessments/prep to help dad get behind the wheel again.

During dad's speech time, they assessed his reading and comprehension. Again, thankfully his reading and comprehension has increased! He was reading at a 5th grade level (last time they assessed him) and he now reads at a 6.5 grade reading level.  At one point dad was able to read at the 8th grade level, however his comprehension was at 20%. When he reads at the 6.5 level his comprehension is at 80%. 

We are so thankful to see the continued improvement in dad's progress. Thank you to everyone who has continued to pray for my dad. Please keep praying for his continued recovery! 

What an amazing God we serve!

"Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.'" ~ Mark 10:27

A Celebration of Life!!

On Saturday February 23, 2013 we had an open house to celebrate not only dad's 55th birthday, but also to celebrate the miracle of his recovery. We had approximately 70-80 people stop in to visit with dad from 2:00-6:00 p.m. It was a wonderful day full of food, family, friends, and celebration. Thank you so much to everyone who came out!!

Here are a few pictures from the day:

Maylin and a "Happy Birthday" crown.

Lots of company and lots of delicious food!

We had many very special guests who came out to visit with dad. The Pulaski fire guys came out to the house. Dad was able to meet and thank them for saving his life. (I was going to get a picture of them with dad but they left before I could get a picture). We are so incredibly thankful for all that they did to save my dad.

Dad and Tom Cure are pictured above. When my dad collapsed on December 22, 2012 it was Tom who immediately started CPR on my dad. Every doctor and nurse that worked on my dad said that Tom's actions saved my dad's life. We are eternally grateful for what he did for our family and for my dad. 

Pictured above is Dad and Dr. Murray. Dr. Murray was one of the doctors that over saw my dad's care at Allegiance Hospital. It was such a blessing having him come to our home and talk with dad. Dad does not remember his stay at the hospital and does not remember ever having met Dr. Murray. However, Dr. Murray will never forget meeting my dad. While visiting with us he said that dad's recovery and healing are absolutely without a doubt "miraculous." Many came up and thanked Dr. Murray for all that he did for my dad. He humbly responded every time by saying, "I didn't do anything but sit back and watch the miracle happen." (Of course to which dad replied: "What do you mean you just sat back and watched? I just got a bill for $348,000.00 in the mail!) :-) 

Thank you to everyone who came out and supported my dad and our family. It was a wonderful day and incredible celebration!!

The latest assessment on dad's progress

Today at Therapy they did another assessment on dad. In fact, they did the exact same assessment from dad's first day at Chelsea. They found that dad has made a ton of progress! Every activity dad did was timed, he cut his time in  half across the board. He has improved in every single area in HUGE ways! Reading/comprehension is still a struggle for him, this could be because his eyes are still not working together, I'm honestly not sure. Unfortunately, I don't have the specifics because I was not there to talk with his Speech Therapist. All that matters at the end of the day is that dad continues to get better and better!!