Post by pixydust on Nov 25, 2011 22:15:10 GMT -5
My dad has been in and out of the hospital the last few weeks, culminating in a major surgery on Wednesday. He insisted we have Thanksgiving without him, but it was difficult.
It started with him passing out--that landed him in the hospital while they did tests. It came to light that his heart was stopping for 15-20 seconds at a time, basically killing him and then restarting. They put a pace-maker in and he went home. Three days later he was back in the hospital, fluid around his heart. It was assumed his membrane was irritated by the nodes. He was given anti inflammatories and sent home.
He ended up back in the emergency with shortness of breath five days later. It turned out his whole chest cavity was filled up with blood that his heart had been pumping through a hole that was made from the pace-maker electrode. The surgeon had to crack him open to fix it all--by then it was a BIG mess. And it's a miracle he's alive (PRAISE GOD!)
But the whole thing has been more than hard on everyone. I'm very close with my Dad and so are my kids (my youngest daughter, 11yrs-old, tells everyone that her best friend is her grandpa). My oldest daughter, 14yrs-old, went to visit him yesterday and cried all the way home after seeing him like that, with all the tubes and wires.
We also lost my father-in-law to cancer three years ago and it really effected the kids.
Then there was my two year battle with cancer...
My poor kids have seen a lot of turmoil and trials over the last four years. In a way it's been a blessing--they don't take much for granted--but as a mom I want them to have an innocent childhood.
My dad seems to be recovering well, but we thought the same thing a week ago. Please pray that the Lord will keep his in His hands and that the family will rest and not allow stress to overwhelm us all.
Thanks, all! I really appreciate it.
It started with him passing out--that landed him in the hospital while they did tests. It came to light that his heart was stopping for 15-20 seconds at a time, basically killing him and then restarting. They put a pace-maker in and he went home. Three days later he was back in the hospital, fluid around his heart. It was assumed his membrane was irritated by the nodes. He was given anti inflammatories and sent home.
He ended up back in the emergency with shortness of breath five days later. It turned out his whole chest cavity was filled up with blood that his heart had been pumping through a hole that was made from the pace-maker electrode. The surgeon had to crack him open to fix it all--by then it was a BIG mess. And it's a miracle he's alive (PRAISE GOD!)
But the whole thing has been more than hard on everyone. I'm very close with my Dad and so are my kids (my youngest daughter, 11yrs-old, tells everyone that her best friend is her grandpa). My oldest daughter, 14yrs-old, went to visit him yesterday and cried all the way home after seeing him like that, with all the tubes and wires.
We also lost my father-in-law to cancer three years ago and it really effected the kids.
Then there was my two year battle with cancer...
My poor kids have seen a lot of turmoil and trials over the last four years. In a way it's been a blessing--they don't take much for granted--but as a mom I want them to have an innocent childhood.
My dad seems to be recovering well, but we thought the same thing a week ago. Please pray that the Lord will keep his in His hands and that the family will rest and not allow stress to overwhelm us all.
Thanks, all! I really appreciate it.