Well, I'm back from Kansas City - we didn't have a funeral after all. Yipee!
Monday night, Grandpa had a massive heartattack - he coded at the hospital, and was without a pulse, and without air (I was told he was blue from head to toe) for quite a while. They got his heart beating, and got him onto several life support systems.
I got there Wednesday afternoon, and they took him off of the sedation. Every doctor he had (which was 4 of them) said individually that he most likely would not wake up after the sedation medication stopped, and that he would remain on life support from now on. The chances were not good.
Well, they stopped the sedation medication, and low and behold, he started to wake up. He couldn't talk because he had the breathing tube down his throat, but he was able to respond to commands, etc. Following that, they took the breathing tube out (again, the doctors said the chances were slim to none that he would be able to breathe on his own without it - but we needed to try and see.) He held his own, and was OK after a little bit of Oxygen. By Thursday, he was sitting up in a chair - hurting, but holding his own.
Everything seems to be working OK - except for his kindeys. They never worked correctly following the attack, so today (Saturday) they were going to start Dialysis. We're hoping that just a session or two will "jump start" his Kidneys and get them going in the right direction.
They need to do 2 things to him before he can leave the hospital, and neither one of them can be done until his Kidneys start working. 1) They need to do a "dye test" on the heart to check for dammage, etc. 2) They want to put in a pacemaker/defibulator for his heart - they don't want him to go home without it.
So, he has a long way to go - he's still not out of the woods, but at least he's out of the "deep woods" . . . . . I felt good that I got to see him, and I know he has some tough days ahead of him, but he's not hanging on by a thread - so I felt safe to come home.
I'll keep everyone posted.
On a side note, I have my "LAST" treatment (for now) on Friday . . . . then I have Radiation.
Until next time !
CHRISTY
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Jan 29, 2005