Monday, January 25, 2010

Hellacious Fortnight

I think a fortnight is two weeks. Two weeks ago tomorrow my dear one went into the hospital having a small heart attack and dodging the really big one. He had a heart cath which showed 5 blockages, one complete on the front of the heart. He stabilized in the hospital for a couple of days then was sent home to rest and wait for Tuesday morning op0en heart surgery. I am sure it was annoying to him as I would creep in the room during the day just to listen for breathing. He was to do nothing and he stick to that. On Tuesday he had a quintuple bypass (CABG). He donated lots of good veins to himself and the two small arteries were big enough to be bypassed so he had all five done. This is a point in my life where watching the discovery channels may not have been the best as you have an image of one you love flayed open on a table and it is hard to shake. His recovery has been nothing short of amazing, His color was good well before he regained consciousness, the swelling from the IV fluids left quickly and this morning he says he feels normal. He looks normal, too. The final chest tube will come out today and then he will be home in 24 hours.
This past weekend while my husband is in the hospital, my 5 month old grandson had to be admitted to a different hospital 2 1/2 hours away with RSV, bronchitis, and a double ear infection. He has had to stay 48 hours and my poor daughter is exhausted. They are being released this morning. It just killed me to not be able to go to them. Mrschicken went, though, and I thank her. Son-in-law has the 5 year old during this unnerving event. I do not remember RSV from the days I was parenting, nor do I remember so many babies having to go in the hospital. Maybe it is that there was no social media and I was a stay at home mom in those years with little contact with the outside world. I cannot imagine that it is a new disease. By the time my children were in a school setting they were over 2, which I understand now RSV simply seems to be a cold after the age of 2.

My husband's wounds have no staples or stitches on the outside. isn't that interesting? Glue, I suppose and the incisions are healing so fast!. I have had support from the interwebs and from everyone I know and many people I don't know. It has been so helpful and I am so grateful to not have that isolation of the early years with children. Thank all of you who might read here. We have had prayers from the nearest and farthest reaches of the earth and Larry really was amazed by that.

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