This isn’t the first time I’ve had to spend time waiting for
a loved one in a waiting room while they undergo a major surgery. And the
feeling of hopelessness is almost always apparent as everyone waits for the
surgeon to come out and deliver the outcome. Anxiety and self-reflection often
follow this feeling of hopelessness as we try to find solace and comfort in
each other. We almost always put our faith in the almighty, praying often and
asking priests to provide blessings for the sick. We become overly spiritual in
times like these and would be nice if we kept this level of enthusiasm
regularly. It is understandable however and in addition to our increased
spirituality, we also question our own mortality. We ask what we would do
differently in our lives to avoid the same fate. We promise to take better care
of our health, to exercise more often, to eat well, to get a health checkup
more often, to love and take risks, to have no regrets, and more importantly,
to be at peace with ourselves.
My mother is the one undergoing an operation right now. She
has a heart disease, a penetrating ulcer in her aorta. The doctors say
it’s like a “ticking time-bomb” just waiting to go off so a second open-heart
surgery is her best option. Her first open-heart surgery was in 2009 to bypass
some blocked arteries and two years ago to insert stents on some smaller
arteries. She also has renal failure and has been on dialysis now for 8 years so
she is no stranger to hospitals. These two diseases and her frail body make for
a very risky surgery. The medical team however is very good and I have full
confidence in their skills. When combined with my mother’s mental will to live,
it improves the statistics significantly that this will be a very
successful operation.
The anesthesiologist or the “sleep doctor” explained the
procedure earlier in the day when we dropped my mother off in the operating
room. He said the he will be putting the sleeping agents intravenously and then
she will be asleep at that point. Then, he will insert tubes through the veins
on her neck to monitor her heart. He will also use a ventilator to help her
with her breathing. This whole process should take an hour up to 2:15 pm at
which points the cardiologist comes in to start lowering her body temperature,
open up her ribcage, connect her to a heart-lung machine, and to prepare her
for the actual operation. The preparation should take 3 hours to complete he
said, bringing us to about 5:15 pm before the actual operation takes place. The
patching of her aorta only takes 45 minutes to complete and the doctor said
that they will use cow pericardium for the patch. That means that they will be
done by around 7 pm. If they have to they will also redo the bypass work done 4
years ago which will delay the work. We may be looking at about 11 pm before we
hear anything. After that, she will be moved to the ICU to lower her body
temperature back to normal but will probably still be heavily sedated and may
even be in a medically-induced coma. The doctor said that whenever the body is cooled
and then warmed, liters of blood transfusion is required. I know I'll be donating blood when all this is over.
For now, we wait.
It’s 10:45 pm before the surgeon walks out of the operating
room to tell as the good news. He said with a smile (and a can of coke for his
sugar high) that everything went according to plan. They were able to stitch
the cow pericardium around the calcified
parts of her aorta and seal off the ulcer, which he said has grown to the
size of a quarter. They gave her plenty of blood, about 5
liters and only time will tell if there’s any bleeding after her body is warmed
to normal levels. He said that they will be moving her to the ICU now and we
will be able to see her in a bit.
Again we wait.
It's 12:15am before the ICU nurse let's us into the ward to see my mother. The ICU nurse just finished taking blood samples and she said that everything looked good. She was still hooked up to ventilation machines which the nurse will be removing around 3 am and will be examining my mother for any brain damage. She said that anyone who goes through an 8 hour operation like this could have side-effects, possibly caused by stroke, etc. The nurse will know more when she wakes up my mother. We have all left the hospital now and will likely be back to see her in the morning for more news. The first part is done now and we can expect her recovery to take some time. We will no doubt be spending more time in the waiting room which is looking a little bit more inviting and passable to me now.
It's 12:15am before the ICU nurse let's us into the ward to see my mother. The ICU nurse just finished taking blood samples and she said that everything looked good. She was still hooked up to ventilation machines which the nurse will be removing around 3 am and will be examining my mother for any brain damage. She said that anyone who goes through an 8 hour operation like this could have side-effects, possibly caused by stroke, etc. The nurse will know more when she wakes up my mother. We have all left the hospital now and will likely be back to see her in the morning for more news. The first part is done now and we can expect her recovery to take some time. We will no doubt be spending more time in the waiting room which is looking a little bit more inviting and passable to me now.
Take your mother some real food. the stuff served in most hospitals is horrible. familiar foods well prepared will do wonders for her cheerfulness and will help her heal more quickly. I was in Royal Jubilee.Hospital in Victoria, all the food came from Calgary.
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