Less than 24 hours since she came out of surgery, Hazel is doing AMAZING! She is off of the ventilator, her heart is sustaining its own rhythms and she is sitting up in a chair. We just went into the ICU to see her and she was eating some applesauce and threatening the nurses!
Just like the same 'ol Hazel! She walked to the end of the hall and back this morning and is really, really progressing. The Surgeon is taking extra precautions and keeping her in the ICU again tonight but this is purely a precaution since she did have major surgery in the last 24 hours.
The nurses and staff have all been wonderful and informative and as long as she is in the ICU she will have her own nurse who stays with her at all times.
We are hoping that tomorrow she is moved to the step-down unit.
God has been so good, blessing us and Hazel with excellent surgeons, doctors and nurses. But mostly, His blessings have been most evident in the peace we've all felt throughout this process. Thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
Surgery Day: Update
745pm Update:
We got to go back and see Maw for a few brief moments. I'll be honest, it was really hard seeing her in that condition, although I was expecting it - as much as I could.
She continues to be on the ventilator and has tubes everywhere. She is on medication to ELEVATE her very, very low blood pressure and is also on an external pacemaker. Our understanding is that without these two things she would have no blood pressure or heart rhythm.
The nursing shift is changing now and the new nurse will begin weaning her off sedation within the hour. With that, they will also begin trying to wean her off the ventilator. However, as the doctor said previously, her accelerated lung disease (due to many, many years of smoking) is a big factor in how well she will respond to the decreased level of the vent.
Visiting hours end at 9pm EST and at that time we will be asked to leave the ICU and we cannot return until 9am tomorrow morning. We can, however, call at any time for an update.
Unless there is significant improvement or a significant decrease in her condition, I won't update again until tomorrow.
Thank you all so much for your prayers. Right now we are just praying for her to be strong enough to be weaned from sedation so that her body can begin to regulate itself. We appreciate your thoughts and prayers so very much.
2:00 Update:
The OR called out and said that they would let us know when the bypass portion was finished. We're not sure, but we think that means that they've finished the open heart part of the surgery.
Hopefully, the next update will be that she is in recovery!
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8:30am Update:
We just got an update from the OR that surgery began about 5 minutes before 8:00am. 8ish hours to go.
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Original Post:
Today is surgery day for Hazel. Please be in prayer for her body, the surgeons, the doctors, hospital staff and our family.
It will prove to be a long day, I'm sure.
I have a twitter account that I will be updating where you can check for brief updates. Click here to visit that site.
Also, we will try to update this blog as much as possible. However, we are unsure of internet access at the hospital.
Thanks for the thoughts and prayers.
- Jessica
We got to go back and see Maw for a few brief moments. I'll be honest, it was really hard seeing her in that condition, although I was expecting it - as much as I could.
She continues to be on the ventilator and has tubes everywhere. She is on medication to ELEVATE her very, very low blood pressure and is also on an external pacemaker. Our understanding is that without these two things she would have no blood pressure or heart rhythm.
The nursing shift is changing now and the new nurse will begin weaning her off sedation within the hour. With that, they will also begin trying to wean her off the ventilator. However, as the doctor said previously, her accelerated lung disease (due to many, many years of smoking) is a big factor in how well she will respond to the decreased level of the vent.
Visiting hours end at 9pm EST and at that time we will be asked to leave the ICU and we cannot return until 9am tomorrow morning. We can, however, call at any time for an update.
Unless there is significant improvement or a significant decrease in her condition, I won't update again until tomorrow.
Thank you all so much for your prayers. Right now we are just praying for her to be strong enough to be weaned from sedation so that her body can begin to regulate itself. We appreciate your thoughts and prayers so very much.
2:00 Update:
The OR called out and said that they would let us know when the bypass portion was finished. We're not sure, but we think that means that they've finished the open heart part of the surgery.
Hopefully, the next update will be that she is in recovery!
-------
8:30am Update:
We just got an update from the OR that surgery began about 5 minutes before 8:00am. 8ish hours to go.
-------
Original Post:
Today is surgery day for Hazel. Please be in prayer for her body, the surgeons, the doctors, hospital staff and our family.
It will prove to be a long day, I'm sure.
I have a twitter account that I will be updating where you can check for brief updates. Click here to visit that site.
Also, we will try to update this blog as much as possible. However, we are unsure of internet access at the hospital.
Thanks for the thoughts and prayers.
- Jessica
Friday, January 15, 2010
Surgery Date Scheduled
Hazel's surgery is scheduled for Monday, February 8, 2010. Surgery should begin roughly at 7:30am, however Hazel will have to check in at 5:30am to be prepped.
The surgery is scheduled to last approximately 9 hours. The surgeon, Dr. "M" will have two assistants as well as a pulmonary (lung) team and an anesthesiology team present the entire time. She will be intubated (put on the ventilator) for the surgery and should continue on the ventilator for 12 hours post-surgery, thus the need for the pulmonary team.
She will be in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for the first 36-48 hours as those are the most crucial. She will remain in the hospital for the first week after the surgery, then be discharged and need to have weekly out-patient rehab.
So far, that's the general idea of all that we know. Please feel free to ask questions in the comment section or leave Hazel a note or two of encouragement.
- Jessica
The surgery is scheduled to last approximately 9 hours. The surgeon, Dr. "M" will have two assistants as well as a pulmonary (lung) team and an anesthesiology team present the entire time. She will be intubated (put on the ventilator) for the surgery and should continue on the ventilator for 12 hours post-surgery, thus the need for the pulmonary team.
She will be in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for the first 36-48 hours as those are the most crucial. She will remain in the hospital for the first week after the surgery, then be discharged and need to have weekly out-patient rehab.
So far, that's the general idea of all that we know. Please feel free to ask questions in the comment section or leave Hazel a note or two of encouragement.
- Jessica
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Purpose of this blog
Hello friends and family! The purpose of this blog is to keep everyone up to date with what is going on with Maw's (Hazel's) heart surgery. Please feel free to sign up for a FREE google account so that you can leave comments for Hazel.
As she is in the hospital and going through recovery, I'm sure your words of encouragement will be a blessing to her. Thanks for reading often. Jessica and Treva will update as often as possible and necessary.
- Jessica
As she is in the hospital and going through recovery, I'm sure your words of encouragement will be a blessing to her. Thanks for reading often. Jessica and Treva will update as often as possible and necessary.
- Jessica
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