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Post by chewbacca on Dec 17, 2019 9:40:00 GMT -5
A week ago today I took my 75 year old pretty healthy dad down to IU Methodist in Indy to have an elective surgery performed. I definitely wasn't prepared for everything that was about to transpire. My dad told me the plan was that if everything went well his recovery would anywhere from 3-5 days and then he would get released and then he would stay at my brother's house (in Indy) for a few more days until he was comfortable with coming back home. The surgery was an extremely rare situation and it took a lot of research to find a surgeon who would even take this particular case on. All that was known prior to the surgery was that most of my dads digestinal organs had migrated into his chest cavity over many years (at least 20 years) through a lesion in his diaphragm. His stomach was pressed against his heart! The doctor who took on this case told me after the surgery that my dads situation was the worst he's ever seen of it's kind. The plan was to pull everything back in place laproscopically but if he had to he would use his hands to move the organs into place. Well, it turns out 75% of the colon, all of the intestines, the spleen and the stomach were all in dads chest. His right lung was only 20% of it's potential size. The surgery actually went pretty well but the day after the surgery everything went haywire. I as I walked into his room the next morning he was gone and that freaked me out. I was informed that he had been moved to the ICU overnight. Upon walking into the ICU I see a whole team of doctors working on him. They informed me that his condition was declining fast and they weren't sure what was causing the decline. Dad continued to decline throughout the day. The next morning when I get to his room there once again was a team of doctors frantically working on dad. One of the doctors shows me an image he got from doing a scope on dads stomach and the stomach was full of black spots. He was afraid that the stomach was dying. At that point it was decided that they needed to reopen dads gut to take a look. Upon opening his gut they found the stomach to only be bruised but the intestine was dying rapidly. They ended up having to cut out 7 feet of dads intestines. At this point dad was in septic shock and they had him in a medically induced coma. They installed a breathing tube because he was laboring to breathe. It was just awful seeing my dad laying there helpless with all those machines hooked up to him. I couldn't sleep for three days because the anxiety of everything was killing me. I am glad to announce though that he has made a turn around and the breathing tube was removed yesterday. It looks like he is on the road to recovery but it is going to be a rough road ahead. It's definitely going to be much more difficult than him or I ever imagined. There are still several obstacles in the way but I am optimistic he will make a full recovery.
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Post by Sasquatch on Dec 17, 2019 9:45:45 GMT -5
That must have been a terrible shock. My parents are old and I live in fear of the phone ringing. Prayers for your family.
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Post by HighCotton on Dec 17, 2019 10:02:04 GMT -5
So sorry for the plight your Dad and all of you must endure at this time. Prayers out for a successful and quick recovery.
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Post by jman46151 on Dec 17, 2019 10:04:10 GMT -5
My mom had an aortic aneurysm repaired a couple of months ago and like you we were told 3-5 day recovery and then she would be released. That turned into 5 days in ICU and over a week in a regular room. She ended up not even remembering the first few days after the surgery. It was pretty difficult to be in the room and see her struggling and not being able to do anything to help.
On another note, I believe that intestinal surgeries like your dad went through are tough to recover from due to the nature of the fluids in there. Prayers for no further complications and a speedy recovery.
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Post by moose1am on Dec 17, 2019 10:22:20 GMT -5
I pray that your father will recover and be able to have a good life.
My mother has a Hiatal hernia too. But mom is 94 and too old for any operations.
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Post by esshup on Dec 17, 2019 10:26:00 GMT -5
Prayers for your Dad and your family.
In the mid '80's Dad had diverticulitis and a part of his intestine ruptured in the hospital just as they were going to take him into surgery for it. They had to take all his intestines and colon out, wash them and put them back in due to the fluid that was in the body cavity. He was in an induced coma for 3 weeks to allow the connective tissue that holds them in place to grow back. He too was just supposed to be in the hospital for a few days. I believe he was in there for a total of 5 weeks.
He made a full recovery and lived until he was 91.
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Post by nvg on Dec 17, 2019 10:36:21 GMT -5
May God watch over your Dad as he heals. Praying for you and your family my friend.
NVG
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Post by Woody Williams on Dec 17, 2019 11:22:43 GMT -5
Prayers for your dad’s continued recovery May God grant peace, comfort and healing for him and you.
We just never know what is in store for us as we age. I turned 80 in June and have had a few in the hospital episodes. A price to pay for getting old I guess. I am grateful that I have had the opportunity to get old as not everyone does. I’ve lost a lot of friends over the years. Some a lot younger than I am.
My wife spent 6 weeks in the hospital during the summer of 2018.. Through it all we know that we are in God’s hands now and forever.
Cherish each day that God has given us and our loved ones..
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Post by schall53 on Dec 17, 2019 11:53:25 GMT -5
I have never heard of such a thing, you and your family are in our prayers.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2019 12:12:31 GMT -5
Prayers for a great full recovery for your dad and family. My mom turns 89 next month (23rd) and she already told us that this is her last Christmas. Her heart is failing and in bad shape. Not sure if she will make it through winter.
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Post by nvg on Dec 17, 2019 12:27:28 GMT -5
Prayers for a great full recovery for your dad and family. My mom turns 89 next month (23rd) and she already told us that this is her last Christmas. Her heart is failing and in bad shape. Not sure if she will make it through winter. Waynes, Prayers go out to your family as well. Especially for your Mom. May she be at peace while still on this earth. Hate to hear of everyones trying times during Christmas season. May you all be blessed. NVG
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Post by beermaker on Dec 17, 2019 16:31:23 GMT -5
My mom had an aortic aneurysm repaired a couple of months ago and like you we were told 3-5 day recovery and then she would be released. That turned into 5 days in ICU and over a week in a regular room. She ended up not even remembering the first few days after the surgery. It was pretty difficult to be in the room and see her struggling and not being able to do anything to help. On another note, I believe that intestinal surgeries like your dad went through are tough to recover from due to the nature of the fluids in there. Prayers for no further complications and a speedy recovery. My mother went through the same thing. The local ER thought she had acid reflux until a surgeon was able to see the xrays. She was stat-flighted to Louisville and in surgery for 16 hours. At one point, the surgeon recommended calling the priest for her last rights. She was finally stabilized and made it out of surgery. She spent 2 weeks in the ICU, a week of it unconscious. Then two more weeks in the hospital followed by three months in a rehab facility. She had severe depression and no will to live. My brother and I were finally able to convince her to spend some time with friends and family. She finally came around. It was pure hell on my dad and they have neither one been the same since, and that was six years ago. |
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Post by salt on Dec 17, 2019 17:25:44 GMT -5
Sorry to hear this, Chewy. Prayers for you and your father.
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Post by medic22 on Dec 17, 2019 17:47:03 GMT -5
Holy crap. Thats a pretty intense surgery for anyone, especially at 75!
Glad to hear he is doing better. Must be one tough guy.
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Post by parson on Dec 17, 2019 17:50:28 GMT -5
Adding my prayers to all the others. May the Lord grant a speedy, complete recovery for your dad, as well as peace for all concerned.
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Post by iceman10 on Dec 17, 2019 20:33:59 GMT -5
So glad God was watching over your dad , prayer does work ! I.U has been a god send to me & my wife . My wife went thru the anxiety Chewy , don’t be to afraid to ask for help with that as we are all human. Praying for a speedy recovery!!
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Post by stevein on Dec 17, 2019 23:23:04 GMT -5
May the rest of his recovery go well.
Prayers for him and you and all of his family.
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Post by chewbacca on Dec 18, 2019 8:01:48 GMT -5
So glad God was watching over your dad , prayer does work ! I.U has been a god send to me & my wife . My wife went thru the anxiety Chewy , don’t be to afraid to ask for help with that as we are all human. Praying for a speedy recovery!! I met with my family doctor yesterday afternoon because I am dealing with some severe chest congestion and coughing. I also talked with him about my recent anxiety. I now have pills in my possession that should help with that when I need it. Dad is making good progress which is definitely helping my anxiety. If things keep going like this maybe I won't even need the pills. I have a lot to be thankful for right now. It's hard for this Boilermaker to admit it but I am grateful for IU and their advancements in the medical field. I suddenly have a lot of respect for that university even if it is our rival. |
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Post by Woody Williams on Dec 18, 2019 8:44:36 GMT -5
“Anxiety “...
Be careful there.
When my wife was in the hospital for 6 weeks in the summer of 2018 If was a very difficult time for both of us. She had all kinds of problems one after another. I was with her overnight during the trying times and the other times I spent from 7am to 7pm with her.
I was having some issues myself but wrote it off to anxiety. One evening I was leaving and had extreme pain between my shoulder blades. I thought I should just stop st ER and get it checked out. Nah, I didn’t want to muddy the waters more and it was probably just anxiety.
Anyway, after all was said and done and my wife was home I decided to get it checked out. A stress test revealed a problem and a heart cath revealed some partial blockage in my heart. I got two stents placed there.
My cardiologist said I had the typical heart attack symptoms when my wife was in the hospital and I was lucky.
Anxiety can bring in heart attacks.
Prayers continuing for you and yours..
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Post by Huntnfreak on Dec 18, 2019 11:18:32 GMT -5
So glad God was watching over your dad , prayer does work ! I.U has been a god send to me & my wife . My wife went thru the anxiety Chewy , don’t be to afraid to ask for help with that as we are all human. Praying for a speedy recovery!! I met with my family doctor yesterday afternoon because I am dealing with some severe chest congestion and coughing. I also talked with him about my recent anxiety. I now have pills in my possession that should help with that when I need it. Dad is making good progress which is definitely helping my anxiety. If things keep going like this maybe I won't even need the pills. I have a lot to be thankful for right now. It's hard for this Boilermaker to admit it but I am grateful for IU and their advancements in the medical field. I suddenly have a lot of respect for that university even if it is our rival. Prayers for your Father’s continued healing and recovery!! Prayers for your own health also!! My wife has battled anxiety for years and it’s definitely not an enjoyable experience!! Have a Merry CHRISTmas and Go Hoosiers!!! |
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