So much to be thankful for

While Monty and I cheered when October was over, it left us with so much to be thankful for. We came home from the hospital last Wednesday, so we have been home a week and Monty is doing so well. Our experience the last few weeks is not one I would even wish on my enemies, but we have survived, and more importantly Monty survived. When we found out he had to have surgery his surgeon said that it needed to be taken care of but that there wasn't a huge rush. Later they realized that wasn't the case. The aneurysm looked a lot worse than they had expected. It was so big it was displacing his heart. We have some amazing pictures the surgeon took but I'll spare you the blood and gore. His surgeon told me that after they opened him up they all held their breath until they were able to get him onto bypass and there wasn't blood running through his heart anymore. The valve that they thought was leaking a little bit because it was stretched was actually not stretched but leaking heavily because it was so deteriorated.

This is a piece of the actual graft that now makes up the first few inches of Monty's aorta.

The graft itself is the same size as a normal aorta. The top rim of the cup that it's in is how big Monty's was. The typical aorta is a little bigger around than a quarter and the portion they removed was about the size of a soda can. Very scary. They figure he only had a matter of weeks before it would have ruptured. I can't even begin to explain how grateful we are that they found the aneurysm when they did and that they were able to repair it and the valve so quickly. He now has a St. Jude mechanical valve. He ticks like the second hand on a watch and it is the sweetest sound to me now.

I had to throw this picture in. This is what kept us busy during Monty's 5 hour surgery. They had a few puzzles in the waiting room and we thought this one was fitting for Monty. It took me, my mom, and Monty's mom almost exactly as long to finish it as his surgery was. It was something to numb my brain as I waited for the phone to ring with the next update on how surgery was going.

The evening after surgery was very rough. because of previous lung surgery, Monty's lungs don't function at a normal capacity. While he does just fine like this, it took some convincing of his ICU nurse. They didn't want to take him off the ventilator until his lab work looked good. The problem was he was completely awake and conscious, breathing through a tube for hours on end and his labs were not improving. Poor Monty was awake on the vent choking and gagging for about 6 hours. It took some heavy persuasion, a persistant respiratory therapist, and getting the doctor to come in before they finally pulled the breathing tube. Monty says this was by far the worst part of the whole thing.

This is a picture 2 days after surgery. It's the first one we took in the hospital. While Monty debated whether or not he wanted to see himself right after surgery, after seeing him, I decided it was something I didn't want to remember and so I avoided the camera. Other than being very tired, he was already doing remarkably well. The dressing for the chest tubes looked worse than the actual surgical incision. He recovered very quickly and was ready to come home on Monday, however, because of the mechanical valve, he is now on blood thinners and they had difficulties getting his blood therapeutic. Finally Wednesday morning we had the number we needed to go home.

Since being home he ended up with an abnormal heart rhythm that landed us in the ER Monday night. However, the medications he was already on protected him from any serious complications from the rhythm. Yesterday we had another blessing in our lives. His cardiologist prescribed a med to convert his heart back to a normal rhythm. It can be pretty toxic to the body and is a 3 month course. However, by yesterday evening he felt and sounded so much better. Another trip to the cardiologist today showed that he had converted himself and he won't need the medication. While on our visit yesterday, the cardiologist said that he normally sees patients a few weeks to a month after surgery and they look like they've been run over by a truck. He said Monty looks like he's been run over by a Schwinn bicycle. and he might have to send him back to work early. Not bad for 13 days after surgery.

So this may not be the cutest picture ever but for two weeks after open heart surgery I think it looks excellent. We are so grateful for Monty's continuing recovery. We contribute it to all the thoughts and prayers given on his behalf. We have truly been blessed through this experience. I have learned to appreciate every day with Monty so much more than I ever did before. When you realize how close you were to losing someone you love, you see what a gift each and every day is.