745pm Update:
We got to go back and see Maw for a few brief moments. I'll be honest, it was really hard seeing her in that condition, although I was expecting it - as much as I could.
She continues to be on the ventilator and has tubes everywhere. She is on medication to ELEVATE her very, very low blood pressure and is also on an external pacemaker. Our understanding is that without these two things she would have no blood pressure or heart rhythm.
The nursing shift is changing now and the new nurse will begin weaning her off sedation within the hour. With that, they will also begin trying to wean her off the ventilator. However, as the doctor said previously, her accelerated lung disease (due to many, many years of smoking) is a big factor in how well she will respond to the decreased level of the vent.
Visiting hours end at 9pm EST and at that time we will be asked to leave the ICU and we cannot return until 9am tomorrow morning. We can, however, call at any time for an update.
Unless there is significant improvement or a significant decrease in her condition, I won't update again until tomorrow.
Thank you all so much for your prayers. Right now we are just praying for her to be strong enough to be weaned from sedation so that her body can begin to regulate itself. We appreciate your thoughts and prayers so very much.
5:00pm Update:
Surgery began about 5 minutes before 8:00am. Maw came through surgery well. The surgeon met with us about 1.5 hours ago and said that they bypassed 4 arteries and replaced her aortic root and valve. He commented that she had more lung disease than we originally thought (due to 60+ years of smoking cigarettes). Additionally, that getting her lungs and airways to dialate properly so that she can get adequate oxygen is going to be important.
We are waiting outside of the ICU now to go back and see her for the 1st time since surgery. I'll try to update again later tonight.
We've got a long 48 hours ahead. Thanks again for the prayers.
Original Post:
Today is surgery day for my Maw. If you're visiting my blog today, please offer up a prayer for her, the surgeons, the doctors, the hospital staff, the nurses and all involved in the surgery.
I will try to update throughout the day via my twitter account, if you'd like to know how things are going.
Thanks for all your support friends. It's going to be a long day and I appreciate your thoughts and prayers more than you know.
We got to go back and see Maw for a few brief moments. I'll be honest, it was really hard seeing her in that condition, although I was expecting it - as much as I could.
She continues to be on the ventilator and has tubes everywhere. She is on medication to ELEVATE her very, very low blood pressure and is also on an external pacemaker. Our understanding is that without these two things she would have no blood pressure or heart rhythm.
The nursing shift is changing now and the new nurse will begin weaning her off sedation within the hour. With that, they will also begin trying to wean her off the ventilator. However, as the doctor said previously, her accelerated lung disease (due to many, many years of smoking) is a big factor in how well she will respond to the decreased level of the vent.
Visiting hours end at 9pm EST and at that time we will be asked to leave the ICU and we cannot return until 9am tomorrow morning. We can, however, call at any time for an update.
Unless there is significant improvement or a significant decrease in her condition, I won't update again until tomorrow.
Thank you all so much for your prayers. Right now we are just praying for her to be strong enough to be weaned from sedation so that her body can begin to regulate itself. We appreciate your thoughts and prayers so very much.
5:00pm Update:
Surgery began about 5 minutes before 8:00am. Maw came through surgery well. The surgeon met with us about 1.5 hours ago and said that they bypassed 4 arteries and replaced her aortic root and valve. He commented that she had more lung disease than we originally thought (due to 60+ years of smoking cigarettes). Additionally, that getting her lungs and airways to dialate properly so that she can get adequate oxygen is going to be important.
We are waiting outside of the ICU now to go back and see her for the 1st time since surgery. I'll try to update again later tonight.
We've got a long 48 hours ahead. Thanks again for the prayers.
Original Post:
Today is surgery day for my Maw. If you're visiting my blog today, please offer up a prayer for her, the surgeons, the doctors, the hospital staff, the nurses and all involved in the surgery.
I will try to update throughout the day via my twitter account, if you'd like to know how things are going.
Thanks for all your support friends. It's going to be a long day and I appreciate your thoughts and prayers more than you know.