This is Redjeb all ready to go into surgery. Don't you like his blue "beret"?I'll start at the end of today's saga to tell you that the surgeon said all went well.
He said that Redjeb is really "remarkable" for his age. (I like that "for his age" part--really.) In any case they said his heart is strong and if he didn't have that bum valve, he'd be fine.
So they replaced the valve, but did not do a bypass. So that made the surgery less stressful on him. They said he has some blockage but "for his age" (there they go again) they felt it was only a moderate blockage and best not to do the bypass. So that is good news too.
Redjeb may be disappointed when he finds out he did not get a pig valve (porcine), as he was expecting. I think he sort of liked the idea. They gave him a cow valve (bovine) instead. Don't ask me the difference. The doctor said it was better in this case, but maybe it was what they had. Who knows?
I think the surgery was about 3 1/2 hrs. I saw him after surgery but he was fast asleep. He is in the Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit and may be there for 2 or 3 days till they get him stabilized from the trauma of the surgery.
I planned to spend the entire day there, but the nurse said they planned to keep him doped up (I don't think a nurse would use the term doped up--my word not his--but you get the idea.) So I was told, though I could stay, that I may as well go home. I can call them once in a while for updates. The last time I called he was doing fine. Had woken up briefly. Was told I had been there but that I was told to go home. Then he went back to sleep.
I don't know how long they'll keep him in the hospital, depends.... Maybe this week or maybe into next, don't know yet. They say the first 2-3 weeks of recovery are really difficult, painful, weak, etc. But they try to get you up and moving almost from day one. So Dec will be difficult and he will be home bound mostly, I think. Jan should be a bit better, and by the end of Feb he should be feeling much better (3 months), However, given the seriousness of the surgery, it will take time, and he will continue to get stronger over the next year or so.
It is a rather long challenging ordeal, but we are manning the battle stations. His daughter Taris hopes to come up from Virginia, once we figure out what is what, and friends have offered whatever support they can.
And I say: God bless adrenaline.
3 comments:
Hi,
This is absolutely the BEST NEWS that I have received in a long time! So glad that Redjeb's surgery went well and hope that he is resting comfortably.
You must be exhausted and relieved.
Please give him my love when he is up and about and that I look forward to visiting with him when I return home from Vienna on Dec 15I love the unique photo of Redjeb. Thanks so much for creating this blog so that I can check in without baraging you with emails or phone calls. Take very good care.
Love, Donna
We are so relieved that surgery is over and Redjeb is beginning recovery. He is good at that and will probably impress the docs with his strength and ability to recoup so fast. Don't want to bug you so will let you call when you can. Thinking about both of you. Lots of love, Jeanie, David and Lief Anne
Ah, yet another photo of Redjeb in some kooky get-up! The blue plastic beret may not be as picturesque as a dead raccoon from the Caucasus, but it looks pretty good to me!
Yes, the doctor was partially correct: Redjeb is remarkable, period! And so are you, by the way, Peggy... I am sure that all your positive energy has had a very beneficial effect in all this. Congratulations on the first step of this and keep it up... I guess it will be a long ride.
Dominic
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