An Update on My Dad

On Thursday, July 10, 2008 my dad suffered from an unusual heart attack which presented itself with symptoms resembling food poisoning or flu. He was admitted to the hospital on Saturday, July 12 on the verge of going into diabetic shock. After a series of tests done over the weekend and the early part of the week starting July 14, my father’s heart condition was revealed and he was scheduled to undergo a quadruple bypass surgery on Friday, July 18.

A patient is typically given 48 hours to wake up after surgery, but this was not the case with my father. Due to extreme spasms which occurred while he was waking up, the nurses in the Intensive Care Unit heavily sedated my father and injected him with significant amounts of morphine. Over the course of five days, my family and I waited for my father to wake up. He officially woke up on Thursday, July 24. It was then that everyone realized something was terribly wrong.

At some point during or after the surgery my father suffered from a slight stroke in the parietal lobe. It affected his vision, tactile senses and some communication skills. He has regained most of his vision back and has stopped having hallucinations. Communication is still difficult at some points and I think his tactile senses are back to normal functioning levels. My father remained in the ICU until Tuesday, July 29. Several inept incidents occurred during his time there involving the nurses/aides on duty and these incidents have created further stressful issues for my family. For example, one of the “aides” shaved off my father’s beard! He has had a beard for 40+ years and they trumped up some really sketchy excuses as to why they shaved it off and just left a mustache. They have also, last I heard, lost all my father’s clothes and things that he had when he was admitted.

On Thursday, July 31 he started physical and psychological therapy. He is suffering from Post-perfusion syndrome (a neurocognitive impairment and side effect from the surgery). I was doing research on my dad’s condition to find out what was related to the stroke and what else was going on and I found the condition. No doctor has actively confirmed this condition due to it being a rather recent discovery in heart surgery patients. I urge you to read the entry on the disorder to get a full grasp of what my dad’s current condition is.

As of today, August 2, my father is still in the hospital. His condition is hopeful, but still unsettling. His date of release will be evaluated every Monday until his social worker feels that he is free to leave the hospital. He is continuing with therapy and is showing signs of progress. He is very anxious to leave and with his body getting much stronger than his mind, this is becoming more of a problem. I do feel that once he gets back home his recovery will go even faster. If you know my dad, you know how much he HATES being away from his home.

That is, for all intents and purposes, the long and short of it. If you would like a more detailed log of events, please feel free to e-mail me. All of your prayers and support are a blessing to us at this time and I know my mom and the rest of the family appreciates it.