Tim, Ann's hubands surgery cancelled

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A

Ann

Well, the last couple of days have been very interesting and somewhat stressful. Yesterday was to be Tim?s surgery day. We were up at 4:30 AM and to the hospital at 5:45 AM. They checked Tim in, did all the pre-op stuff, and ran his IV. Signed all the forms, had his all hooked up to everything, hair cover, oxygen forehead monitor in place. In came his surgeon. The surgery was cancelled because they did not have the type blood they needed for his surgery. Tim is 0- negative. They need 6 ? 10 units of blood to go ahead with the surgery. I believe they also need 2 units of platelets.

Needless to stay this was distressful, but we feel we have to trust in the Lord and we know he has our best interest in his capable, loving heart. But, this has been hard!

Were we live is having a blood shortage, especially 0-neg. We don?t know exactly when the surgery will be rescheduled, as The Blood Services cannot predict when they will have enough blood on hand. Our surgeon said he feels in the next 7 days to 2 weeks we will be able to go ahead with the surgery.

OK?We need help! Could anyone who has had more than one OHS please let us know how it went? What their experiences were and how long they were in surgery. The anestheolgist really layed it all out yesterday about scar tissue and the calcium hopefully only being on the valve and not other places. This really scared us both. :eek:


Tim & Ann

This is the day that the Lord has made. Rejoice and be glad in it.
 
What a nightmare! I'm so sorry to hear that Tim got all revved up to go and had it postponed. I can't even imagine . . .
 
Ann, I'm sorry.I can't believe they didn't know earlier about the blood shortage. so you didn't have to go today. I know w/ Oneg it's tough, or I'd suggest finding you own donors.
Justin is 17 and just had his 4th OHS and we knew before hand that scarring would be an issue, his cath from 2 years earlier showed his conduit (part of his pulm artery) was fused to his sternum w/ scar tissue. The surgeon had to be really careful when opeong his sternum because of it. When was his last cath? you can email me and I will answer any specific questions you might have. or if you talk on AIM, email me your screenname and we can IM. I know how relieved I was to here they were actually working on Justin's heart and had gotten thru all the scarring. Ithink most surgeons know the scarring can be an issue w/ repeat surgeries and take precautions when opening the chest.
I know it is hard to be ready and have the surgery postponed, Justin's last one was postponed 3 times, I really believe it happened for a reason.
Lyn www.caringbridge.org/nj/justinw
 
Thats just amazing,...

I do like the idea of doing your own personal Blood-drive...arent family members sposed to often share blood-types...?...Have you checked other family members?

My aunt is O neg but sorry she's in Australia...

so sorry they got him all dressed up with no-where to go...


I just cant imagine how dissapointing it would have been.:(
 
So sorry this happened- it must have been a real nightmare. I'm sure others who have had more than one surgery will be along, but wasn't this a discussion you had with the surgeon- really would want answers from him on the scar tissue problem and I'm surprised that they didn't know about the blood shortage before-hand and ask if you had any family members with o-negative. Hope you get a date soon and a chance to talk to the surgeon about your concerns beforehand.
 
So sorry, I cannot imagine what it must have been like to be ready for surgery and then have it cancelled. Hope they can get it rescheduled soon so he can get it over with and on the road to recovery.
 
Guess it's better than finding out there wasn't blood AFTER you needed it.

As far as multiple surgeries, I have had 3 OHS. Scar tissue is the big issue in repeat surgeries. If your surgeon has lots of experience with repeat surgeries than you should be OK. Even tho my surgeon had problems "getting in" during my second surgery, everything turned out well.

I hope things get rescheduled quickly so you are past this very soon.
 
I am so sorry

I am so sorry

Golly!! That must have been awful. I am scheduled for surgery tomorrow morning ..due at the hospital at 6:00 a.m.. I am sitting here with my heart pounding and I cannot imagine getting to the hospital and being cancelled. I would probably just feak out.
I hope he gets another date really soon . I will be praying for both of you.
 
HURRY UP AND WAIT!!!!!!!!!

Tim will understand that saying from his military days. Looks like they should have known long before hand that a shortage existed. I also assume they knew Tim's blood type before the day of surgery. Sounds like they didn't do much planning. I hope y'all can get things back on track real soon. As most of us have found, waiting is the hardest part.

Can't help with the "more than one" question. Only had one and hope it stays that way.

Good Luck and,

May God Bless,

Danny
 
Ann,

As Gina noted, scar tissue is a big issue in multiple surgeries; however, while I've had "scar tissue issues" since my last surgery (January 2003), I'm doing well.

In my case, though, calcification was one of the main reasons why I had my last open heart surgery ... the pig's valve input in me in March 1987 was calcified too much....

Sorry you had to go through that frustration ... thoughts/prayers coming to you and Tim.


Cort, "Mr MC" / "Mr Road Trip", 32swm/pig valve/pacemaker
MC:family.IL.guide.future = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort/
chdQB = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort/quilt.html
"We got mountains to climb" ... Rod Stewart ... 'Broken Arrow'
 
I can't possibly imagine such a letdown. I got called the same day as my surgery consultation (where I knew that finally THE date was going to be set) and was told that my surgeon had to cancel due to a surgery he was in taking longer than planned. I felt like I had been punched in the gut. The funny thing about OHS (there aren't too many funny things) is that it's really just a game of getting mentally prepared for each baby step along the way. I already said it, but remember how I felt as I got dressed, had the main IV put in, and all the other morning-of work. I was slightly nervous, but pretty calm and ready to get everything over with. I can't imagine how I would have felt if they had told me that the surgery had to be postponed.

I sincerely hope everything works out better going forward.
 
So sorry to hear about more WAITING!

So sorry to hear about more WAITING!

That seems like the worst, although I am sure not having enough blood product would actually be worse...Still, I feel for you...Hang in there!

Kristi
mitral repair 11/30/05
 
I wanted to update everyone on what has been going on here with Tim and his postponed surgery.

The problem was a state-wide blood shortage. The hospital had been e-mailing and trying to get enough 0-neg. blood for Tim, however donations have been down. United Blood ask us if we would be willing to do interviews on the local news stations to help bring in donations. This past Thursday there were three of the four major local stations at our home interviewing Tim. The results have been fantastic! :D We did not want to ask for O-neg only as the state was in need for all blood types. The main reason for not wanting to ask for direct donations is whoever would donate to Tim directly their blood could ONLY go to him. Anything not used would have to be disposed of :confused: pretty stupid I agree, but the way it would be done. We are standing on faith that there will be enough O-neg for Tim when his surgery gets rescheduled.

The miracle part of this story is many people have been helped due to an increase in blood donations. We have one friend who scheduled an appointment with United Blood thinking they had O-neg, then found their paperwork that they were O positive. They called to cancel their appointment to be told that there was a person in ICU bleeding internally and they need the O+, and please come right down.

We are now waiting to hear from our surgeon of a reschedule date. Once blood has been donated it takes between 3-5 days for them to process and test it before it can be used. Tim needs 6-10 units and 2 of whole packed platlets.

As far as the scar tissue and calcification issue. I was freaking when I last wrote. Yes, our surgeon had explained to us the problems of second surgeries. However, he is a very calm, non-alarming person. The anthes. really, really laided it all out. Being very graffic and talking about there being
the possiblitity of 2-4 hours of surgery before even getting to the heart. She was not taking about Tim specifically just the possibility. I think she knew the blood situation and was wanting to explain how bleeds were possible due to scar tissue. With that and the surgery being cancelled at the very last minute it wigged me out. I am sorry!

Please keep us in your prayers and thoughts. I will let you all know when we are heading back to the OR.

Ann
 
Wow, bet you never expected to be giving interviews this week, I'm glad you did and were able to help. hopefully you will get his date soon. I think that is such a stupid way to handle direct donations, what a waste. We always released it to the general population after a set time (I worked in Blood bank for 18 years) I can't imagine throwing out perfectly good blood.
Don't worry about getting a little freaked out, I've been there too, Thanks for the update, Lyn www.caringbridge.org/nj/justinw
 
Dear Ann,
Thanks for the update and we hope your wait is soon over. If there is a bright side to all of this, it's all the people you have been able to help by your TV interview.
 
Ann,
People on VR usually say that when a surgery is unexpectedly cancelled, or postponed, something good will come from the wait. In Tim's case, his postponement resulted in your getting the word out that blood donations were critically needed. What a positive thing you have accomplished.:)

I truly believe that what goes around, comes around. The day of Tim's surgery, God will pay particular attention to the prayers to bless and protect Tim.
Mary
 
Ann, I'm so sorry that you and Tim have to go through more waiting, but I too believe that EVERYTHING happens for a reason, although at times, we don't know why. But that's OK because God knows. As far as multiple OHS, I've had two and the surgeon didn't mention anything to me about problems with scar tissue the second time around. If I have to have number 3, I'll be sure and ask about it. I'm happy that you all were able to help with getting more blood donated. What a great gift! You'll probably never know how many people were helped. I will be praying for you and hoping that the waiting is over soon. LINDA
 
Ann,

Sounds like a relatively excellent outcome of the whole situation. Hope you enjoyed doing those interviews ... those results are wonderful!

BTW, no need to apologize ... we certainly understand!
 
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