A Double-Whammy -- can you believe this???

[njean]

My eldest brother (70) underwent heart by-pass surgery this morning. They did a quadruple bypass...he pulled through the surgery nicely. Now we just pray that all goes well the next few days. If all progresses well, he'll be home by Tuesday!

Now the other part:

My middle brother (66) found out about 5 or 6 months ago, that he has a leaky aortic valve and will need surgery probably within the next year or so. Because he is asymptomatic at the moment, the doctors have decided to watch him until symptoms develop.

Well, for the last two months, he's been complaining about sweats, chills, fever, blood in urine, no appetite and weight loss and a yellowish tint to his skin. He's had several blood tests that depict a high white blood count which clearly means that he's got an infection somewhere but they don't know where it's coming from. He has been on oral antibiotics but the infection continues....

Long story short.....he was admitted into the hospital today, in fact, into the same hospital that my other brother was having the surgery!!! So all day today, we were alternating between visiting him and waiting for news on my other brother!!!! It was Crazy! :eek2:

The scary part.....the doctors are beginning to think he may have the infection in his heart valve....endocarditis! Yep! The have started giving him some heavy duty intravenous antibiotics and they will be doing a TEE tomorrow morning.

I hope that the doctors are wrong but I have a strong feeling that the infection is in his valve and this has been the source all along!

So I would appreciate your prayers for both of my brothers! Gosh, what in the world is going on???

 

[Eva]

Oh my dear. Lots and lots of prayers starting now that both of your brothers will be in good hands and treated properly. Was there any mention about jaundice with regards to your younger brother?

Please keep us informed :angel:

Ps: I will try to call you tomorrow.

 

[Mom2izzy]

Good thoughts heading your way!

 

[D.C.]

Prayers to you and your brothers. Speedy recovery.

 

[Rachel]

So very sorry to hear this.

I'm sending lots of prayers going your way.

Rachel

 

[DavesMom]

Oh dear! Plenty of prayers and positive vibes going up from here. Keep us posted and hope things improve very, very soon.

 

[selma]

Oh, no -- that's really hard to deal with. Sending lots of healing vibes from Woodstock, New York, the wellspring of healing vibes!

 

[Duffey]

Norma, I had you and your brother in my prayers as he underwent the bypass surgery. Now I know that I should have included your entire family. I will start NOW!

 

[njean]

Norma, I had you and your brother in my prayers as he underwent the bypass surgery. Now I know that I should have included your entire family. I will start NOW!

Ha, ha....ain't that the truth!

I'm happy to report that my bypass brother, is progessing well. I talked to his son on the phone about two hours ago, and he said that the nurses had gotten my brother to sit on the recliner for a few minutes. He's pretty out of it still, looks very weak, but his vitals are good. Told my nephew not to expect him his dad to be cheery or talkative or too much of anything right now. Recovery is very hard especially on us older people....so appreciate the baby steps.

My other brother....they are not going to perform the TEE on him until Monday which I anticipated due to the weekend. However two of his doctors were in to see him and said they are almost 95% sure that the infection is coming from his heart valve and have put him on even stronger antibiotics. They will be performing the TEE pretty much to confirm their suspicions. (I could have told them that!)

So for now the waves are calm and hope that they remain this way.

Thank you all for your prayers!!!!

P.S. I do not plan to visit them because I know what they need right now is their rest, not all the traffic and the endless questions.

 

[Guest]

Offering prayers for you and your family Norma.

 

[Lily]

Hoping your brothers both recover well Norma

 

[piglet]

Hope both brothers are doing well. My doctors suspected (correctly) endocarditis but the TEE did nothing to confirm nor deny. They identified it finally at surgery time and were able to remove all vegitations. Now that they have him on killer IV antibiotics I'm sure he'll be feeling much better real soon. I wouldn't be surprised if they decide to do the surgery sooner than later. Best wishes on thier speedy recoveries.

 

[DanielB]

Wow, what a stressful time it must be for you. Sending out positive vibes your way for a speedy recovery for everyone.

 

[guyinva]

I will certainly be keeping your brothers and your entire family in my prayers.

 

[Bina]

NJ, will continue to push the good vibes for your two brothers. Hope the diagnosis is made on monday and action taken.
((hugs))

 

[nngbwh]

Sorry to hear about your brothers. Prayers to the family.

 

[Greg a]

N-J, Prayers and positive vibes being delivered

 

[Gary Miller]

Our hope and prayers are always there for our on line family and friends. I hope everything turn out well for your family!

 

[Mike59]

Prayers and good wishes for both brothers from the UK!

 

[queenie]

when it rains it pours! I'm sorry your family is pulled in different directions now. You can be a big help to them with your experience! Take Care