Drive Through Surgery

Friday we got up at 3:30 am, to leave the house an hour later.  At that time of the morning it was very easy to find a parking place in a handicapped stall for the entire day. 

Go here, go there; everything was done with so much precision. Even the day before with pre-surgery check in, everything went so smooth and the protocol was followed to the T. Then we helped him get ready; only me really, Faith kept her eyes closed. They whisked him away and Faith and I went to breakfast. Back to the waiting room, his doctor came out soon and said everything went great and he'd be in recovery for about 3 hours before we could see him. We assumed that he'd be admitted to the hospital section, so we moved our car around to that area. But he really stayed in the CARA unit so we had a lot more walking to get there. The hospital campus is so large and confusing, in my opinion. Faith had to lead me around more than once. I think I need a leash, my brain turns to mush when she's with me and I just let her take the lead. It's kind of funny really. 

He had to lie still for 6 hours so the incisions wouldn't open. We left about 1:00 and he called us later after he was sitting up and had dinner. More blood tests and an echo Saturday morning, confirmed he was able to leave. 

This is the valve, part mechanical and part bovine that folds up like a little umbrella then pops in place. At that exact moment, his heart has to be sped up so fast, it almost stands still so they can place it. 

We got home on Friday at 1:00, and he took a very long nap. After that though, he walked around the block with us in tow. He feels great and is back to his normal household stuff and only has a few restrictions for about a week. 

In a few weeks, he'll get a call from cardiac rehab to start some gentle exercises at their location. I hope the craziest part of this is over with, because I have to get back to work!