Cardiac Catheterization Procedure Done

10:00 AM: Dad has been ‘on the table’ for an hour now. The cardiac unit has given us a beeper – exactly like the ones given at Olive Garden – which will alert us to when Dad’s procedure is finished. We were all able to hug and kiss Dad before he was transported in an ambulance to this hospital. Hopefully all is going smoothly …

12:00 Noon: Dad is finished with the cardiac catheterization. The doctor who did the procedure showed us the results. The five grafts from Dad’s open heart surgery over 10 years ago are all blocked. In addition, the doctor showed us two more blockages. He said that open heart surgery is out of the question. The doctors will wait until Monday or Tuesday to make a decision on how to move forward – Dad’s body needs to recover more. Most likely the doctors will insert stents.

4:00 PM: Dad has now been placed in isolation. Visitors and all hospital personnel must wear a gown, gloves, and mask to enter his hospital room. This is being done as a precautionary measure. Two years ago when Dad was admitted at this same hospital for pneumonia, he contracted a staph infection (MRSA). These staph infections are usually hospital-associated, and make a patient’s recovery time almost three times as long. Please continue to pray for Dad - that he will not pick up any infections from being in the hospital, and that his spirit continues to be positive while his body recovers.

Darrell, Beryl, and I have decided that we always want to have at least one of us with Dad at the hospital. The hospital has strict visiting hours, and when it isn’t visitation time, one of us can always be in the waiting room. Darrell and Mom will get a hotel room and stay tonight. Of course, Mom will try as much as possible to stay every night.

The boys: The boys got up at 6:30 this morning, even though they only got 4 hours of sleep. They have done well with having to stay in either a hotel room or a waiting room for hours at a time. They’re going with the flow most of the time – especially for not having any routine at all. We take it hour by hour as to what we’re going to do. Their latest enjoyment is playing computer games on Uncle Darrell’s laptop.