Surgery Update: My father-in-law's scope on Monday morning went well and they cleared him for surgery. They moved him down to the surgery wing around 11am and then we were able to visit him in the pre-op before they took him back at 1pm. They said surgery would take 3-5 hours and that they won't wake him up until 4 hours after the surgery ends. So Monday was a long day for all of us that were at the hospital waiting for the good news. We played UNO, took walks around the hospital, checked out the gift shops, watched TV, and just hung out. I served as the family's unofficial spokesperson by providing updates to family/friends via email. Around 5:30pm we were relieved to hear that the surgery had went well and that they were waiting to stitch him back up. The doctor came down to talk to us around 6:30pm and said that Bill's surgery went very well. They were able to fix the 4 clogged arteries and his heart is pumping much stronger now than it was before. We learned that he actually had 2 arteries clogged at 100% and 2 clogged at 70%. After heart surgery, they move everyone to a cardiac intensive care unit. They don't like to wake somebody up right after heart surgery, so we stopped by to see him in the ICU even though we knew he wouldn't be awake yet or remember it. We were prepared for him to be really pale and not look right - but he just looked like he was sleeping. My mother-in-law couldn't believe how good his color looked already. I know we were all quite nervous that day - so it was quite a relief that everything went as well as planned. We got back to my in-law's house that night around 9 o'clock and we all felt like it was midnight! No news was good news that night as my mother-in-law didn't get any calls from the nurses that night. ;)
On Tuesday, visiting hours started at 9:30AM and we took turns visiting with him (2 at a time) throughout the morning. He was alert and very chatty - telling us about what he remembers right up until the surgery and how nice the nurses were and how he can't believe how clogged his arteries were. He said he wasn't in any pain, so the pain meds seemed to be working. Even though he still had some tubes draining his chest at that point - he seemed to be doing just fine! We visited with him until "quiet time" started at 1:30pm - then we headed home (after a quick stop to meet Elizabeth Geiger - such a cutie). He was moved to a private room on Wednesday and went home on Saturday. He will have to go and do physical therapy a couple times a week to slowly build up his stamina, but he seems to be doing great. We are all very thankful that his recovery is going so well and the doctor said that he thinks they just put 20 years back on his life. Thanks to everyone for your support and prayers - they worked!!
Weekend in Charlotte: We were home on Tuesday & Wednesday night and then flew down to Charlotte on Thursday night for a long weekend. With my father-in-law's surgery, my sister-in-law and her husband had driven up from Charlotte to be with us all the previous weekend. So we were with them Saturday through Tuesday and then again on Thursday through Sunday. Lots of quality time! :) As I've mentioned before, they are expecting their first baby ("the boy") in January 2012. Some friends were throwing a baby shower for her - so we decided to come down to help celebrate and visit with them and the Charlotte gang. It was so nice to see everybody and catch up at the shower. My sister-in-law's baby bump looks so cute on her. I was lucky enough to feel the baby kicking in her belly - such an amazing thing! Lots of our friends down there also have little ones so it was fun to interact with the kiddos (Lyla, Rilyn, and Hunter) and meet little Miss Josclyn. We always have such a good time when we visit - our life in Charlotte was a great chapter of our life that we will never forget and we are lucky to still be able to keep in touch with everyone down there and visit from time to time. The next time we go to Charlotte, we will have another nephew to love! :)
Appointment on Tuesday: Last week my hubby was supposed to have his follow-up appointment with Dr. Lowe on Tuesday. As you may have guessed, due to the whole surgery - we had to postpone it since we weren't in-town last Tuesday morning. So as of now, he's going back this Tuesday to talk to Dr. Lowe. We will see what he has to say!