This has been a stressful week, in my immediate and extended family. My father had emergency triple bypass heart surgery this past Wednesday. He has been dealing with growing heart issues for several years now, with blood thinners for his arteries, three heart catheter procedures in the last two years, a stint put in one artery last summer. He has been experiencing chest pain and shortness of breath again since before Christmas, so my mother drove him to the VA hospital in Augusta, where his heart procedures have all been done before. They did blood tests, determined they needed to do another heart cath, then decided to send him to the hospital on nearby Ft. Gordon Army base. All this time, I and my brothers had been on the phone with Dad & Mom, keeping up with all that was going on. When they were informed that Dad would need a triple bypass, and it was scheduled for Thursday, I took off from work, packed a bag, and started for Augusta on Wednesday, so I could be with them that night and there as he left for surgery the next morning. Mark and Rick did the same, all arranging our schedules so we could be there.
While driving, my got a frantic phone call from my mom, sobbing heavily, unable to speak. I immediately thought the worst, that Dad had a heart attack before the surgery, or had died suddenly. But she said, "As soon as we got here, they took him right away into surgery. They didn't want to wait until tomorrow." I said, "Mom, that's a good thing! They are doing this BEFORE he has a heart attack." It had just caught her offguard, and none of us were there yet to be with her. I assured her that all three of her boys would be there, within a few short hours.
I arrived early afternoon, Mark about an hour after me, and we picked Rick up at the airport by 5pm. All of Mom's boys were with her now. As we all waited and talked, the doctor came out and informed us the surgery went fantastic, they would be sewing him up and calling us back soon. Within another hour, we were all allowed back to see him. He was still out, with wires, tubes, IV's, etc. all attached to him. He looked worse than he was, they said. His heart was beating strong on its own, he would be coming to and breathing on his own before the night was over, and likely ready to eat and sit up by the next day.
We all spent the night at local hotel, enjoying some much-needed laughter and downtime. The next morning, Thursday, we were back at the hospital, and he was conversant, but only a little. We took turns sitting with him and talking with him, until the nurses wanted to get him up and moving. We all took a late lunch, roamed a local mall, and when we arrived back at 4pm, he looked like a new man! Sitting up, eating on his own, joking with the nurses and doctors. What a change in just a few hours! It was good seeing him looking better.
Mark and I had to leave Thursday night, but Rick would stay until Saturday. Every day, I've been calling several times, to talk to Mom, and now even Dad, out of ICU and in a private room. They say he will likely go home Monday, and that he is recovering like a man half his age. He's a tough old turkey, and he has taken good care of himself over the years- eating right, exercising, staying active, and avoiding tobacco and alcohol abuse. Clean living has its benefits!
His mom, my Grandma Brooks, died of a heart attack at his age, 72, so Dad has beaten the odds. God is not through with him yet, as he and my mom touch many lives for Christ, everywhere they go. I'm not ready for him to go yet either- too much life left to live together, too many roads yet to ride together. And with this past him, and after what will be a painful recovery at times, the docs said his heart should be good for another 25+ years. I jokingly told him, "Your heart will outlast your mind now!" Not sure he thought that was funny.
Now, if we can just get everyone in my own immediate family well...
