Out of Surgery

It took a long time to get this posted because the surgery took twice as long as anticipated and I was away from the house when I got word. Aaron is in his room now and my parents are with him.

The reason the surgery ended up taking so long is that there was a leak once the repair was in and they took him off the bypass machine. The surgeon said they had to take out the repair and put Aaron back on bypass so they could fix it. Because Aaron was on bypass so long he retained a lot of fluid and is very swollen in the face and lungs.

Everything is looking good right now. Aaron is awake and his breathing tube is out. He has asked for water, but he can't have any right now. All they can do is swab his mouth. My parents tell me he's looking pretty good and is responding to questions. If Aaron doesn't talk you know something is really wrong. :) I'm quite surprised that he's already awake and has the tube out. Dad didn't get his out until the day after surgery. Aaron is on pain meds and that seems to be keeping things under control. I don't expect that he'll remember anything about today.

The doctor also told my parents that the damage to Aaron's heart valve was more extensive than they originally thought. The endocarditis (infection) had left holes in his already weak aortic valve. We're so thankful that they moved the surgery up from the beginning of September to the beginning of August. A few days ago Aaron asked me if we had all noticed him getting weaker. I gave him an emphatic "YES" and he told me how glad he was that he had not ignored what he thought was only noticeable to him. I'm glad he's learned that he can't ignore anything having to do with his heart.

I know Aaron will welcome visitors when the time comes and I will let you know when that is. The only thing I can base my guesses on right now is my dad's surgery almost two years ago. Visitors weren't a good thing for Dad for the first couple of days. We'll see how Aaron reacts and if visitors help or hinder his healing. Aaron has fewer complications and other considerations than my dad did. Please continue to keep Aaron in your prayers.

Dad took a picture of Aaron after surgery, but before his breathing tube was removed.  I'd forgotten how much bigger ICU rooms are than regular rooms on the cardiac floor.  I guess they need space for a lot of nurses if the situation calls for it.  From this picture Aaron already looks better than I expected.  It's good that he's young and can recover so quickly.