Houston - Day 2

Surgery:

Today started early. We left for the hospital at 5:30 am and headed up the road with Laurie and Ted. On the way, Ted got a phone call from a tenant informing him that his building in Lynn with 22 tenants total was completely without power. More phone calls were to follow and Ted gave the keys to the valet and we checked in and then he and Laurie began to unravel the electricity problem with National Grid in Boston. By 6:30 all was well and Jimmy was wheeled down to his angioplasty hospital room. (Tired already, we had a jump start on the day).

Pre-Op Chest Photo

We waited with Jim until they took him for his procedure at 7:00. Everyone at the hospital was pleasant and helpful and very friendly. The nurses are very open and willing to share any information they can to answer everyone's questions and put the patient at ease. When Jimmy went down the hall, his nurse Kim said God would bless him and she would see him soon. Laurie, Ted and I went to a new waiting room where Ms. Bonnie Sue had a smiling face and fresh coffee waiting in her kitchen. By 8:00 we spoke with Dr. Jain who let us know that the stent put in last June was still in place with very little blockage in that artery. (Whew!).

So that meant waiting to see what would happen next. Back to the day-stay room and Nurse Kim to recover from the cath procedure and await the next step. At 10:00 Kim let us know that Jim's bypass surgery would be scheduled for sometime this afternoon. While we were waiting, Oliva came in to check Jim's incision and take his vitals. Nervous, but more than ready, we spent the morning together in a cheery hospital room together. (They even close the door to guard your privacy and keep noise to a minimum.) We were informed at 11 that the surgery would be sometime after 12:30 depending on how long Dr. Ott's first cases would take. And again we waited.

Nurse Oliva


At 1:30 we traveled down to the Operating suites and Laurie and Ted checked us into another waiting area. I got to stay with Jimmy in the holding area while they prepped him and got everything ready for his surgery. (He kept telling me it wasn't too late to get up and go home and I asked him to close his eyes and choose a bike to ride down to surgery on.) And...off he went telling me he was truly a lucky man.
Holding Area

Waiting Area





We all waited together and the nurse liason visited each family about every hour with updates on loved ones. Jim's surgery was going well and things were pretty routine. We saw Dr. Ott at 5:00 and he reported that Jim had off the pump surgery, one by-pass and that he noticed Jim had a large heart. He thought things couldn't have gone better.

When I saw Jim the first time at 6:30 I couldn't believe how great he looked. Although asleep and hooked up to every tube known to man, he looked peaceful and had a wonderful rosy colored complexion that I haven't seen in well over a year. The nurse said he was doing great and because he was so healthy, she was going to try to pull the breathing tube asap. And at 8:15 when I got to return, the tube was out and Jim was sitting up and breathing with an oxygen mask. He is in incredible pain but is working hard to breath deeply and make it through until he can have pain meds when his breathing stabalizes. I am always amazed at Jim's determination and will power to push through really challenging physical obstacles and this was no exception. When I left, he was awake and alert and wanted me to stay, but he will have a very busy night with his private nurse and all his fluids, both entering and exiting his body.

I'll be checking in with the CICU nurse during the evening and will be back with L&T in the am.

Sleep well and thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.

XOXO Deb