Sunday, July 17, 2016

Posts from the week of hell Part I

Pat had a major heart attack during surgery, blocked artery is open with a stint, lots of damage. Went into pulmonary edema, fluid backed up into his lungs, he is being treated for that and is on a breathing ventilator. It will be touch and go the next 3-5 days. He will be lighted sedated, and in ICU. Please pray. We are not ready to lose him.

Update: Three hospitals, two life flights and we are at the best cardiac unit in the state. Pat will be having a very special procedure done in an hour in the cath lab, his third. A pump will be placed up inside his heart to do the work so the heart muscle, which is barely working half way, can rest & heal. The doctors/nurses at every hospital have been kind, informative and genuinely compassionate. Pat is very strong & he is a fighter. We have been blessed by your prayers and appreciate the love and concern so very much. We ask that you would keep lifting him up.
A big thanks to Pastor DavidFred & Beth Green, and Frank Pignaloso who came to watch and pray with us. God has given us such a wonderful church family.

Update: Pat's state of the art Impella pump is installed. A representative from the manufacturer is here and helps calibrate it just right. It has like a vacuum that spins 40,000 times a minute & throws the blood from the LV to where it is supposed to go. This rests the heart so it can heal. This team of doctors & nurses is clearly the best. His kidneys, so far, have been doing what they should. He is heavily sedated but could respond to simple directions when they lightened it to test. The girls went home for the night. There are men here doing laps with their IV poles that I was told looked like him him a few days ago.
James 5:14-15 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working

Where's Miracle Max and a chocolate covered something to bring my husband back from the brink of mostly dead for true love? We still have castles to storm & I always need you to rescue me.
"Sonny, true love is the greatest thing in the world - except for a nice MLT - mutton, lettuce, and tomato sandwich, where the mutton is nice and lean and the tomatoes are ripe"

Quite possibly the most uncomfortable "lounge" chair ever. I did sleep a little bit but wow! Woke up with various body parts tingling and numb.
5 July at 09:34 · 
Update from the team of doctors: 
-Still critical. 50% of patients in his condition don't make it, 50% do. Only time will tell. However, because of certain progresses they are cautiously optimistic. 
-A pulmonary team is now involved because he is intubated but is requiring a lot of oxygen. He is being treated for pneumonia (probably developed when he coded & had to be resuscitated). The goal is to get him off all that oxygen and eventually off the ventilator. 
-His heart suffered major damage. He will likely have a weakened heart that cannot fully recover. However, I'm hoping his heart surprises us and fights to recover.
-Dependent on how things go over time, there are already Plan B & Plan C such as transplant 

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