Dad has a New Zipper

Hey there! For those of you who don't know, my dad recently had a quadruple bypass. Don't worry, he's all good now, but there are going to have to be some changes in his diet and lifestyle.

Last Sunday, Mom called me and left a message on my phone.

Mom: Hey Laura. Nothing to worry about... Dad is in the hospital. Call me when you get this message. Bye.

Of course, I start worrying and I called her back right away. She said Dad had to go to the emergency room because he was having heart burn. While they were there, he had and EKG done (you know EKG's. Those beep-beep things hospitals use to monitor heart stuff.) The ER doctor noticed an old infarct (myocardial infarction) in his EKG, so he ordered a cardiac catheter to check out his heart. Well, it turns out Dad had a blockage in one of the major arteries that feeds the heart. So they scheduled a bypass surgery for the following day.

It wasn't until they started the surgery that the cardiologists realized that they didn't have to do one bypass, they'd have to do four. Scary stuff. They took some arteries from his legs, stuck 'em on his heart, and Dad was out of surgery in five hours. This was Monday.

Noona and I had our plane tickets bought on Tuesday and were supposed to be headed home to Michigan on Wednesday. I made it home as scheduled, after five hours on one plane and twenty minutes on another. Noona's flight, however, was delayed, and she didn't make her connection in D-town. Luckily, Wonka's mom picked her up and took her home. Mom and I picked Noona up Thursday morning.

We went straight to Dad's hospital. Dad was sleeping when we got there. He looked wiped out (which is to be expected). At least his tube was out and he could talk to us. Noona, Mom and I spent a couple hours visiting with Dad, then when he fell asleep again, we went to the cafeteria and talked about Noona's wedding plans. When we went back upstairs, he was still asleep. We waited there until he woke up. We left when the nurse came in and told us it was time to walk him. All in all, we probably spent about six hours at the hospital that day.

Friday, we went back to the hospital. Dad was looking better. We did more of the same. We visited with Dad and we watched a lot of Most Extreme Elimination Challenge (MXC). That show is hilarious, if you haven't seen it already.

Saturday, Noona and I went back to the hospital. Mom's been having gout troubles and it is not always easy for her to get around. So she stayed home. The Direct TV guy was scheduled to come and fix our dish, so someone had to stay home anyway.

Wouldn't you know, the one day that Mom decides not to go to the hospital is the day the cardiologist says Dad can go home. So, Noona and I packed up all of Dad's stuff, listened to any special orders the nurse had to give us (three short walks a day, no lifting anything more than 10 lbs., etc.) and drove him home. We got to see Dad's zipper! That's the nickname for the scar that goes up a person's chest after they have open heart surgery.

Sunday morning at 5:00 am, Noona, Mom and I got up so we could take Noona to the airport (awww!). I won't be leaving until Monday afternoon.

Everything's all okay now. Dad has been watching DVDs and walking around the house. He spends a lot of time on the computer and is trying to eat healthier. I think he'll get used to his no-salt diet soon.

I'll be leaving tomorrow (Monday afternoon). Coming home was nice, but that drive to and from Scaginaw is longer than I remember.

Thanks everyone for all your prayers and well-wishes :) We really appreciate it! The cardiologist said Dad should be back to work in six weeks. I think he'll enjoy his down time :).