After Surgery

Well the surgery went very well. They did NOT have to go down the traeh nilreb route, thank goodness.  He has several IVs for pain, a little bit of Oxygen, and that is it. They have 5-6 IV drips on stand by in case he needs them but so far they are just sitting there. He sleeps most of the time, but when he does wake, he wants a drink of water or ice chips.  Pain is still pretty high, but they are managing that pretty closely.  Stacy and I are preparing for a long night as the sleepy meds continue to ware off.  

So this new devise he has does NOT improve the heart, or make it beat any stronger.  His heart disease is still slowing progressing.  The devise paces the heart as needed, and delivers a shock to the heart in the event of a V-tach, or irregular heart beat.  We need to be educated as to how this all works. How will the devise know there is an irregular heart beat? How big is the shock? How long does the shock last?  How will Gage react? What do we do if it 'goes off'? How long will the battery last?  Katz said they tested the devise in surgery.  To do that they induced his heart into a V-tach to see if the devise would detect the rhythm and shock it back, which it did, so that is good. So now we just need to learn how and when it will work.

For now, Stacy went to the RMH to regroup and rest and I am here with Gage.

Thank you all for your love, support, prayers, concern and comments.  We value each one. This morning was pretty rough on Stacy and I as we were trying to prepare for worse.  We both know his heart is getting worse, and we are just not ready yet to start this all over again,  That will be a story for another day...

In other news, I am blown away by the fires going on back home.  Crazy stuff.

till next time,
Jason