Monday, June 17, 2013

More catch-up...

My grandfather whom I love more than anything on this planet, Sweepie, had triple heart bypass surgery a couple of weeks ago, after going in to the ER for an EKG when he noticed he was having an irregular heartbeat.  That turned out to be PVC, but the EKG showed what could've been some arterial blockage, so they decided to do a heart cath to be sure.  There ended up being three blockages - one pretty major, and the other two problematic but not too terrible - so they scheduled him for triple bypass, after determining that the major blockage couldn't be fixed by a stent.  The surgery went very well, and the doctors said he was doing great for a patient his age (he turned 82 in April), but then he started having stomach pain.  At first it looked like they were going to need to do laproscopic surgery and possibly remove part of the intestine (because they thought part of it may have stopped getting bloodflow altogether, in which case the tissue would've died), which would have been really dangerous for him.  But, they did some type of scan first, and they found out that one of the arteries going to his intestines was really calcified - something that's likely been building up for a while, and may be at the root of a lot of his digestive issues over the last few years.  So, they were able to go in and stent that calcified artery and get his intestines the proper bloodflow again.  In fact, the doctor said once he heals completely from the heart surgery and from being in the hospital for so long, he'll probably feel like a new man! 

He's home now and recovering slowly.  My stepdad and mom have been staying at my grandparents' house, because my grandmother is still working on regaining her full strength since going through chemo and radiation for breast cancer, so she's not able to help him get up in the middle of the night, or do many of the household things he's always taken care of.  He is still feeling sort of confused when he wakes up in the middle of the night, so they need someone there to help him.  Wesley's also taking care of the lawn, grocery shopping, etc.  It's during times like these that everyone is so grateful that our family all lives fairly close by!  I mean, Mama and Shannon are in Austin, but they have the flexibility with their jobs to come and stay here for as long as they need to.  It's also kind of perfect that, if this had to happen, it happened right at the beginning of summer, so Mama and Shannon don't have to worry about taking their girls to school, or, for Mama, having to take time off suddenly from her job at the school.  The universe really takes care of us. :-)

Josh and I can't wait to go see him, but we're waiting a while longer, until he's stronger and ready for company.  He and Grandmommy are home bodies and pretty much just prefer the company of one another, and the comfort of their routine.  They need to get that familiar feeling back before we all go crowding their house and showering them with love and affection. :-)  That's OUR need to fulfill, not theirs, so it can wait.

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