Let me start at the beginning (for anyone who hasn't been following this on Facebook).
My mom has has been having bouts of A-fib for a couple of years. Her heart rhythm would get erratic and funky and they would have to shock her heart to get it back in rhythm. She has always had an irregular heart beat. Finally, after she was still having A-fib on meds, they did some imaging of her heart and found that she had a pretty badly leaking mitral valve.
So on Nov 16th (last Friday), she had routine open heart surgery to repair her leaking valve. This has a 98% recovery rate. My mom is trying to edge her way into the 2% it seems.
They had to repair the valve twice during the initial surgery. The second time they used a collar. It did the trick and they took her off the heart and lung machine. Her heart didn't start. They immediately started CPR and put in an ECMO machine. This machine did all the work for her heart, pumping the blood out to be oxygenated and then back to her body.
That same night they also put in 2 stints thinking maybe the found the cause of the arrest...but her heart still didn't kick back in. This surgery ended just before I landed in SLC on Friday night. The doctor told my dad that it was about a 50/50 chance that she would make it.
All week we watched the red line on the monitor that showed how much her actual heart was doing. At first it was very little. Her heartbeat was erratic and small.
It seemed like most afternoons we got good news of some sort. So we would leave the hospital encouraged by progress, only to come back in the morning to see a backslide--or no increased progress. Frustrating isn't a strong enough word. Devastating?
 |
| This was her heart on Nov 17th. See the red line? |
 |
| This is her heart on Thursday afternoon. So much better. |
All the siblings and grandkids gathered. We got a grandkid picture. We played games on Thanksgiving in the waiting room. We ate at Chuck-A-Rama nearby so we could stay close. And on Thanksgiving her heart settled into a regular rhythm. Friday morning they were able to remove the ECMO machine (there is about a 7 day limit on this machine). Her heart is now beating on its own. But she is still "sick" the doctors say. They are keeping her on pain meds and sedated because her sternum is still open.
 |
| Chuck-A-Rama, the Kid's Table. So thankful that my cousin Shelley and her sister Cindy brought their mom, Aunt Sissy to see my mom and be with us too. |
 |
| My mom bought these outfits and sent them to all her 1st Thanksgiving Grandbabies. |
 |
| All 11 grands. A pretty amazing bunch. Spending all this time with babies this week made me SO thankful for older children. |
I had to come home. It made the most sense. But I was awake at 4 am thinking about my mom. How much I love her. How much I want her to heal and be happy again. How much I want her to be able to hold her new grandbaby Reagan, and all 3 other babies that were born this year.
Love and support has been flowing in through FB, meals, flowers, hugs, visits from family and friends. I am so thankful for the faith and prayers of those who love my mom. It has been amazing. Thank you for your love and continued prayers.
Before I left my sisters and I decorated a Christmas tree in her room. The decorations are the hearts that people put on the doors of the house. The sweetest notes of love and encouragement. Today I am praying that she'll be able to see them. If that is God's will.
No comments:
Post a Comment