Monday, October 09, 2006

Short and Sweet

Here's an update:

My mom had double bypass surgery on Friday afternoon. After much monitering and testing and a night in the scariest hospital I have ever been in, they found she had some significant blockage in a main artery and apparently some sort of hereditary malfunction, which is most likely what killed all her siblings as well. We wanted her moved back to Houston, to the finest heart hospital in the country, but they were afraid she wouldn't survive the transfer so, obviously, she stayed in small town hospital for the procedure. She is doing pretty well right now. She is still in ICU, but they expect to move her to the regular floor this evening. We are home, my mom insisted that Jacob miss no more school, so I grudgingly obliged. My dad is there and my sister will be there through today and we will take it one day at a time from there. She will need a lot of care for the next two or three months, apparently cracking your chest open is pretty painful and can lead to all sorts of complications, so she is homebound for a while. We haven't figured out all the logistics, she can't go back to West Virginia for at least a month, but at this point we are all just so thrilled she is still alive we will do just about anything they ask us to do.

This was one of the worst things I have ever had to deal with. The four hours my mom was back in that surgery were the slowest and most painful of my life. I think I cried about as much those three days as I ever have in my whole life put together. The worst part was that one of the tests required shooting some radioactive dye into her heart...that is how they found the blockage. As a result, me being knocked up and all, I couldn't go within ten feet of her for SEVENTY TWO hours. I could not hug my mom before they wheeled her into that OR, I couldn't even hug her good bye last night. It was so cruel. All I could think in that little room with the big green phone was "What if....and I didn't even hug her" Soooooo........for all that, this little dude better be my best behaved yet....he owes me!

Thank you all for your prayers and good wishes. You don't even know how much it means to me to know that people I have never formally met took the time to pray for my mom in her biggest time of need. I am forever grateful and glad to "know" everyone of you.

7 comments:

Beck said...

Oh Andria. What an awful week you've had! Your mother is in good hands right now, as frightening as this has been. Still - that's so awful that you couldn't be with her during the testing period.

Shane H. said...

Thanks so much for the update. I've been checking your blog every day to see how your mom is doing. I know it's an extremely scary thing to go through. I went through it with both of my grandparents. We'll continue to lift your mom up to the Lord in prayer. Keep us updated.

Lori said...

((((hugs)))) Andria! How horrible that you weren't able to hug her!

I'm so glad that she is doing well though, and I trust she is getting the best possible care that they can give her.

I'll continue to keep all of you in my prayers. Update when you can!

OneHungMan said...

That sucks. Let's hope the Big Man upstairs is right with the whole 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger' line.

We'll all be thinking about you and your family.

tracey.becker1@gmail.com said...

Oh, Andria. I am sooo happy to hear she's out of surgery and coming through it. My brother in law went through quadruple bypass a few months ago and it is a long, slow recovery... I can't imagine what it is like to not be able to hug your mom, but I had my best friend in the ICU and having her last rites read to her and I couldn't go visit either, because of pregnancy. I can't imagine what it would have been like if she had been my MOM.

Please, take it easy. Get your rest. And let us know how she's doing.

kelly jeanie said...

I'm so glad things went as well as could be expected! I hope your mom's recovery goes well. I can't imagine how hard it must have been, especially with not being able to hug her! I'll be continuing to pray for a her recovery.

Michelle said...

Thanks for the update on your mom; I've been thinking and praying about her! sorry to hear she had to have double bypass surgery, but thank goodness she is doing as well as can be expected in recovery. I can only imagine how frustrating that must have been for you to not be allowed near her for 3 days - especially to not give her a hug before the surgery! My heart aches just thinking of being in that situation with my own mother! I will keep your mom in my prayers for a continued recovery.