Update on Marie's mom

Mom sounds like the Energizer Bunny.... Keeps on going, and going!

Lol! Yep! And she's a morning person.... But I love her anyway....

@AtlantaMarie wrote:Lol!  Yep!  And she's a morning person....  But I love her anyway....

lol! Sounds like Katie and I.

@AtlantaMarie wrote:Lol!  Yep!  And she's a morning person....  But I love her anyway....

@countrynaturals wrote:

@AtlantaMarie wrote:Lol!  Yep!  And she's a morning person....  But I love her anyway....

lol! Sounds like Katie and I.

I am definitely NOT a morning person, lol. Give me my 24 oz mug of coffee & leave me alone for a couple of hours.......

@AtlantaMarie wrote:

@countrynaturals wrote:

@AtlantaMarie wrote:Lol!  Yep!  And she's a morning person....  But I love her anyway....

lol! Sounds like Katie and I.

I am definitely NOT a morning person, lol.  Give me my 24 oz mug of coffee & leave me alone for a couple of hours.......

I've been up since six, waiting for the sun to finish its coffee, so I can go outside and play.

Suz, lol! Oh, I'm up early enough! For some strange reason I've been waking up at 3, 4, 5 am for the last several months.... Doesn't mean I'm ready to start my day though... ;-)

Dr said she thinks everything looks good on the heart, but she wants to check ekg & echocardiogram before releasing her. Makes sense....

We're scheduled to go down in a year. Yea!

And I'm home! Yea!

I am a morning person as well, right now it is 5:33am here in British Columbia, Canada.

@Kelejan wrote:I am a morning person as well, right now it is 5:33am here in British Columbia, Canada.

And you're 3 hours behind me... THAT'S do-able, lol!

So.... Mom's surgery is SUPPOSED to be Tuesday. She had pre-op on Friday afternoon. The anesthesiologist STILL has some concerns.

Apparently if mom's heart procedure had been open, it would be a year before they could do this one. Understandable. The TAVR is such a new procedure, they just don't know the best protocols yet. So even though the heart folks have cleared her for this surgery, he wants to look over the records to ensure this is the best time.

But wait... There's more! His other (BIG) concern is that if something bad happens during surgery, there's not a cardiac surgeon within 50 miles. So they'd have to airlift her to either Emory in Atlanta or possibly Erlanger in Chattanooga. So the question here is: Is this the best hospital?

I'm going up Monday afternoon regardless. I could be there for 1 night or 2 weeks.

Needless to say, everyone's stressing. Positive thoughts & prayers appreciated.

Prayers onging, Marie.  xxx

Just got off the phone with her. The head anesthesiologist called her. It's off. He just doesn't feel this is the right hospital given her medical challenges.

We're going to try to get in to see the doctor in the next couple of days & make arrangements to have it done at N GA, which is only about a half our from here. They've got a good women's health department & a great heart department, so it should be a good mix.

Marie, it sounds like the right call. Women's heart health is different from men's.

@sanderson wrote:Marie, it sounds like the right call.  Women's heart health is different from men's.

Yes, sanderson, and it has only been a relatively short time since they figured it out.

Boy, Kelejan, isn't that the truth?

We agree, Sanderson. And I'd much rather be safe than sorry! (Know I'll be thinking about you on your trip as well...)

You are lucky that your  anesthesiologist is a cautious person and doing his/her best.

Still in my thoughts, Marie,

It's critical to take heart functioning into consideration prior to surgery.

My own recent example:

I had an echocardiogram prior to Achilles tendon surgery, but despite my own efforts, the results weren't transmitted to the surgeon until minutes AFTER the scheduled start time.

He and the anesthesiologist scurried around, worried that my EF (ejection fraction) had decreased to 35-40.  They decided to lessen the amount of anesthesia required and gave me a "cocktail" of different painkillers, etc. and said that they would anesthetize me gradually.  That seemed like a good idea to me.

I was fine until the evening of the next day, when I had some difficulty breathing and noticed some crackling in my lungs.  My immediate thought was pneumonia.  However, I couldn't catch my breath the next morning while dressing, so I yelled for the friend who was staying with me to call 911.  

Long story short:  A lot of fluid had built up in my lungs, they loaded me up with IV Lasix, and I went home from the hospital three days later.

That is so scary.  Glad you are still with us and I hope you have had no trouble since.
Hugs.

Thanks.

I haven't had any such trouble and now am in cardiac rehab to gain strength and enhance my heart functioning.  I'm grateful that a childhood friend drove 120 miles each way to spend a week with me to assist in my post-op recovery.  I was so out of breath that I don't think I could have reached the phone or gotten any words out if I had.  Someone at the hospital said I lost 8 - 10 lbs. of fluid overnight.

Take it a bit at a time and do not try to do  too much.  All the best for your final recovery.

I had that surgery nearly a year ago, and I'm pretty much fine now.  Still, I wanted to share my story to illustrate the importance of deferring to anesthesiologists in such situations.

@donnainzone5 wrote:I had that surgery nearly a year ago, and I'm pretty much fine now.  Still, I wanted to share my story to illustrate the importance of deferring to anesthesiologists in such situations.

Happy to hear that. 

Oh, good heavens, Donna!  I had no idea all of that was going on....  I'm glad you're okay!!!!!

And we totally agree.  He brought up things neither of us had considered in our eagerness to get this over & done with.

Right after I got up here yesterday afternoon, she got a call from the "new folks" setting up an initial appointment in mid-Jan.  We're compiling a list of questions, concerns, etc.

Donna,  Your story is a prime example of why it's good to be cautious about surgery.  I'm glad your friend was there to help.