Dad’s Cardiac Cath procedure went well Wednesday and they placed no stents into his heart’s arteries. The recovery thereafter was difficult and I have to applaud the staff at the Medical Center Cardiac Cath Center in Bowling Green for doing a great job handling my fathers confused state. Trust me, it warn’t pretty.
My brother Mark has been here since last Wednesday and I can’t say how much that is a help to me. I’ve been so stressed for the last period of time and sometimes my German nature comes out and can be a bit “direct” at times. So I am grateful for his patience and forgiving nature. Mark understands what it is like to be the patient and so that wisdom is so valuable to Dad because frankly, Dad ain’t a great patient. But, of course you all already know that my brother is a truly good guy. (I wonder sometimes if they got me at the corner drug store or something or dropped me on my head as a kid.)
Dad had difficulty getting settled into his ICCU (Intermediate Cardiac Care Unit) bed with all of the bells and whistles, wires and tubes attached to him. But, eventually he got comfortable and proceeded to have his best night’s sleep in months.
The following morning, today 4/9/2020 he was much better and looked a lot better and his appetite is coming back. He had most of the uncomfortable things detached as well.
The docs are holding him until he has all of the fluid buildup off of his body and he has come a very long way today. It is likely he will come home tomorrow, 4/10 but may need another night to get down to zero fluid. Then it will be us here at home trying to keep him in shape until next Wednesday.
Wednesday, 4/15 he will have the Trans-catheter Aortic Valve Insertion/Replacement procedure done to bring his blood flow back to normal. He was at around 30% capability and that ain’t much. He will then be at the hospital several days I think, and then be transferred to a rehab unit to heal up.
We suspect he will feel like a “new man” after this procedure, but as the Doc says, he doesn’t believe that he will get out of Congestive Heart Failure 100% as the heart has too many things that aren’t working right and that it may be possible to fix other issues later on as well.
They may place a pacemaker during this procedure if they determine it is needed but as they said, they hope it will not be needed and that they easily determine if it will be necessary.
All of this is done through the blood vessels. It is NOT open heart surgery.
Again, this is a procedure that absolutely cannot wait so it is NOT an “Elective” procedure.
Mentally he is confused and “dreams” a lot. He says crazy things and really can’t do much in holding a conversation. He is still very tired. So he won’t be able to talk for a while, or better said shouldn’t. There are two reasons for this, one is that he is confused and forgetful so what you tell him and what he says will be messed up, two when he talks his oxygen levels drop dramatically and immediately. I am keeping him out of mental stimulation as much as possible.
Bottom line, he needs rest, quiet, and peace during this week.
If you have questions call me. Your cards and letters will be shared with him when he gets home and is in a strong enough state to enjoy them. They are greatly appreciated.
Of course he wants to talk with everyone, but I am being mean and not going to let him. As usual, I am the bad cop!
Thanks for your love and support. I tell him that everyone is concerned and thinking about him.
Timothy Simpson
"Being creative is enough."