More smoke and prayers for the Brother-in-law-

MacHete

MacHete

Hair Cropper & Chipmunk Wrangler
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Apr 7, 2000
Messages
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You guys may remember a request for my Brother-in-law Dave from a few months ago. Fought prostate cancer- beat it for a while-it came back-fought it again-think he beat it again-now heart trouble.

Dave lives probably the healthiest lifestyle of anyone in the immediate family. Eats right, doesn't smoke or drink and swims for exercise several times a week. After he finished his cancer treatments and was allowed to start exercising again, he noticed pain in his upper arms. Had it checked out and they found some blockages and told him he'd need by-pass surgery.

He went in for a triple by-pass yesterday morning, and they finished yesterday afternoon after SEVEN by-passes. Everything appears to have gone very well, but we are all concerned for both Dave and his wife Debbie, because they have been through so much this past year. They have both had major health issues, and some pretty heavy heartache with one of their adult children.

Any spiritual support you can offer would be greatly appreciated. :)
 
Smoke and prayers for Dave and family from N.Y.

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Smoke and prayers from Reno
 
Thank you all very much.

We went to see Dave yesterday, and he was in very high spirits. Alert, cheerful and eager to entertain his visitors. They moved him into a regular room from the ICU and he actually ate a little dinner. (Breakfast hadn't gone so well.) Kathy and I ran back to their house to take care of the dogs- two Jack Russels named Frazier and Nilles- and to pick up some overnight amenities for Debbie, who has been staying at the hospital with Dave.

We were all amazed at how well he seemed to be doing, but today had cause to think maybe he was trying too hard. He was exhausted, his BP dropped and he began having irregular heartbeats. A temporary pacemaker was attached (apparently the leads are installed during surgery for just such a contingency) and regulatory meds were administered. We didn't get to visit him today because he was so wiped out, but I'll be going up tomorrow afternoon.

He is very grateful for all your thoughts and prayers, and so are we. I'll post again when I have some more updates. Thanks again. You guys rock!
 
Went to see Dave yesterday and took our mother-in-law along. (Dave and I each married one of her two daughters.) The pacemaker was no longer needed, so it had been shut off that morning. They came and disconnected it later in the afternoon.

He ate a little and was actually able to take a short walk out of his rrom and a few steps down the hall a couple of times while I was there to help him. He was in and out of sleep while we sat with him, but mostly alert and engaging in conversation.

His cardiologist and surgeon both stopped by, and both anticipate that he will be able to leave on schedule, or even a little early. :cool:

This morning, however, he was having chest pains. I would think that this is normal after having your chest cut open, but they ran some tests to make sure it wasn't something more serious. I have not heard the results yet.

Basically, today I am hanging around the house doin' some house-husband stuff while Kathy is at work and waiting for news in case I need to take the Mother-in-law up there or do any other logistical-support kinda stuff. :)

Continued thanks for your continued thoughts and prayers, gang. :thumbup:
 
Man, his recovery has been a yo-yo. Great one day, problems the next. He has periodically complained of chest pains since the surgery, and they've just determined that- at least once- those pains were a heart attack. It probably happened this morning.

Kathy and I took her mother up there as soon as Kathy got home from school. Dave was awaiting a Heart Cath, which is probably going on as I write this, when I had to leave to feed his dogs. I left Kathy and her mother there, along with a few other family members, to wait for the procedure to be done. I'm home now, waiting for news.

The next step is going to depend on how much damage his heart sustained. Man this sucks.
 
They put in three stints last night, but only two stayed open and functioning.
I guess they are still evaluating the damage and looking at treatment options.

Dave reacted badly to the heparin they used during his surgery, and that is the suspected cause of the trouble right now.

Kathy is very upset, and called me with this news crying last night. When she got home, and when she got up this morning, she was still pretty disheartened.

Dave is out of his room and in a ward now, so our visits are going to be more restricted, and Debbie won't be able to stay with him. :(

Thank you all very much for your support through this. It means a lot to all of us.
 
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