The short update at this point is that from a cardiac perspective my heart surgery was quite successful and my recovery is progressing on track!
| Cardiac Event Timeline | Days post-op | |
| 13 | Days since surgery | |
| Date | Event | Days |
| 2024-01-15 | Cardiac pre-op meeting in person | -15 |
| 2024-01-22 | Dr. Fagan phone consult with OR date (Jan 25th) | -8 |
| 2024-01-25 | Dr. Fagan call to cancel surgery (#1) but still check in | -5 |
| 2024-01-27 | Fords visit at the Asper Center | -3 |
| 2024-01-28 | Des & Eric visit at Asper Center | -2 |
| 2024-01-29 | Dr. J Hong cancel surgery (#2) | -1 |
| 2024-01-30 | Dr. Michael Raabe surgery | 0 |
| 2024-01-30 | Fords Visit on day of surgery | 0 |
| 2024-01-31 | ICU – Des visits | 1 |
| 2024-02-01 | Moved to Cardiac Ward from Cardiac ICU | 2 |
| 2024-02-01 | Eric visits, Mandy & Boys Facetime | 2 |
| 2024-02-01 | Blood Products – ICU | 2 |
| 2024-02-02 | Blood Products – Ward | 3 |
| 2024-02-02 | David, Merrill, Scott & Boys visit | 3 |
| 2024-02-04 | Discharged home at about 5pm | 5 |
| 2024-03-20 | Cardiac Clinic w/ Dr. Raabe for a follow-up | 50 |
Getting to Day 2 and the Cardiac recovery unit.
When you leave the Operating Room you are connected to a lot of stuff, most of which is removed before you get clearance for the move. In no particular order a chest tube needs to be pulled out. This is like a 3/8” clear plastic tube you could buy at Home Depot. It’s draining blood and gunk from inside my chest into a plastic box at bedside.
A similar tube with a much difference function, a Foley Catheter, is also removed. Don’t worry guys it’s not bad and going in, you’re unconscious in the OR. 😜
At some time during the surgery two wires are attached to my heart and come out of the left side my chest and are connected to an external pacemaker. It’s programmed to kick in if my heart rate gets too low.
Serious stuff happens here in the OR as they harvest veins from my left leg between the knee and ankle to form the cardiac bypass graft material. I‘m unconscious for about 5 hours. 100-120 minutes of that time my heart is stopped and I’m on the bypass machine.
I wake up in the ICU recovery room and Shirley is there 😍 As I regain consciousness, the breathing tube is removed.