straightshooter1
US Veteran
I posted the post below a couple of weeks ago. I'll add a couple of things to it and wanted to say that, tomorrow, at 5:30 AM, I report to Haley VA in Tampa for my Open-Heart Surgery. I will be in Intensive Care for two days, then in a Step-Down Unit for about five more.
After discharge, no driving for 6 weeks, have to ride in the rear seat (real bad things would happen in a crash with an airbag going off into my chest) and they say about 8 weeks before I start to feel better.
Here's the original post with a couple of additions:
"I have become short of breath over the last several weeks and went to my cardiologist at the VA (a fantastic doctor) and she immediately ordered a heart cath.
Everyone I talked with figured the same thing, a little blockage caused the shortness of breath, so a little clean out, stints, add another med, take it easy for a while and feel great again. But that wasn't quite the way it happened.
Went in for the cath, lay there listening to the docs talking, and, all of a sudden, they were whispering. Then the main surgeon came up to my head and said they had some not-so-good-news for me and would explain it all when we got outside the OR.
I 'bout had a cow.
Outside he told my wife and I that I had had a heart attack sometime in the past. But the worse problem was the widowmaker (the left anterior descending artery), was 50% blocked. 50% is not bad for a nondiabetic, but, of course I am an insulin shooting diabetic and he said that the widowmaker being that blocked in me was real bad.
Further, I had somehow "torn" my widowmaker, at some time, and it had repaired itself to some degree.
Further, two other vessels were 100% blocked.
I need open heart surgery to fix the widowmaker (stints won't work because of where the blockage is) and to fix the "repair" it did on itself. (Edited to add: They can't get to the area of blockage without opening up the chest).
Then they'll bring me in, after a couple-three weeks, clean out the two vessels that are completely blocked, put in stints and add Plavix to my meds.
But, the widowmaker needs to be fixed first, then the other vessels. (Edited to add: They will do a bypass on the widowmaker to fix it and on one of the other vessels which they can get to since my chest will be open. Then, in a few weeks, just one stint-I think.)
Problem is, VA Bay Pines doesn't do open heart surgery, they send their patients to the VA (Haley) in Tampa or to a big public hospital, Morton Plant, in Clearwater for that.
Nothing unusual about that. No reason to duplicate specialized treatments when there are two huge VA hospitals only 20 miles apart. Bay Pines does certain medical procedures that Haley sends its patient over to receive here just like Bay Pines sends patients (like me) over there for other procedures. (Edited to add: For example, Haley does not do knee replacements, and Haley patients can come over to Bay Pines VA for that procedure)."
That was the old post with a couple of edits.
I would appreciate your prayers for the discernment and skill of the doctors, nurses, techs and staff, for my wife's health, strength and safety during all this, and for a positive, good outcome to this surgery.
Thank you,
Bob
After discharge, no driving for 6 weeks, have to ride in the rear seat (real bad things would happen in a crash with an airbag going off into my chest) and they say about 8 weeks before I start to feel better.
Here's the original post with a couple of additions:
"I have become short of breath over the last several weeks and went to my cardiologist at the VA (a fantastic doctor) and she immediately ordered a heart cath.
Everyone I talked with figured the same thing, a little blockage caused the shortness of breath, so a little clean out, stints, add another med, take it easy for a while and feel great again. But that wasn't quite the way it happened.
Went in for the cath, lay there listening to the docs talking, and, all of a sudden, they were whispering. Then the main surgeon came up to my head and said they had some not-so-good-news for me and would explain it all when we got outside the OR.
I 'bout had a cow.
Outside he told my wife and I that I had had a heart attack sometime in the past. But the worse problem was the widowmaker (the left anterior descending artery), was 50% blocked. 50% is not bad for a nondiabetic, but, of course I am an insulin shooting diabetic and he said that the widowmaker being that blocked in me was real bad.
Further, I had somehow "torn" my widowmaker, at some time, and it had repaired itself to some degree.
Further, two other vessels were 100% blocked.
I need open heart surgery to fix the widowmaker (stints won't work because of where the blockage is) and to fix the "repair" it did on itself. (Edited to add: They can't get to the area of blockage without opening up the chest).
Then they'll bring me in, after a couple-three weeks, clean out the two vessels that are completely blocked, put in stints and add Plavix to my meds.
But, the widowmaker needs to be fixed first, then the other vessels. (Edited to add: They will do a bypass on the widowmaker to fix it and on one of the other vessels which they can get to since my chest will be open. Then, in a few weeks, just one stint-I think.)
Problem is, VA Bay Pines doesn't do open heart surgery, they send their patients to the VA (Haley) in Tampa or to a big public hospital, Morton Plant, in Clearwater for that.
Nothing unusual about that. No reason to duplicate specialized treatments when there are two huge VA hospitals only 20 miles apart. Bay Pines does certain medical procedures that Haley sends its patient over to receive here just like Bay Pines sends patients (like me) over there for other procedures. (Edited to add: For example, Haley does not do knee replacements, and Haley patients can come over to Bay Pines VA for that procedure)."
That was the old post with a couple of edits.
I would appreciate your prayers for the discernment and skill of the doctors, nurses, techs and staff, for my wife's health, strength and safety during all this, and for a positive, good outcome to this surgery.
Thank you,
Bob
