Tom's Mountain has been climbed!

[JudithD23]

Tom climbed Mt. Everest tonight. He was wheeled into ICU about an hour ago after a very long and complicated surgery. When I emailed before I had suggested that Tom may have a unicuspid and that Dr. Miller would be doing an "island" procedure. I was wrong on both counts. Tom had an extremely calcified bicuspid aortic valve, dilated or aneurystic (is this a word) aorta, and compromised aortic arch. So Dr. Miller who is wonderful, so far, did something that can be described as a "peninsula" procedure. After the operation he came out and drew us a picture of what he did, and it was elegant. He said we were so right to come down to Stanford; Tom's aorta was like tissue and definitely needed to be replaced and it was all a very complicated surgery.

Obviously I'm wired and have lots of adrenaline coursing through my mind. I'll end here and say that you all helped us make the right decision. We were lucky enough to have an opportunity to look around, do research, etc. and we were encouraged by all of you, to not compromise if we didn't have to. We were blessed that we didn't have to; Tom was critical but damage had not been done.

I don't want to get ahead of myself, Tom is just now in ICU not out of the woods. His blood pressure will be very high initially since he now has a normal sized valve. They'll be staying by his side steadfastly through the next day to keep things under control.

I've got to stop here. Thank you all. And I really may have my husband's life, thanks to you all. (yes, I'm so tired......)

Judith

 

[EireCara]

*Great to hear that Tom is over the mountain. Best Wishes to him for a smooth uneventful recovery. Now while he is sleeping and being watched carefully try to get some rest for yourself.

 

[Phyllis]

Relieved to wake to this news this morning, Judith. Hope you finally got some sleep and that today, although hard, will be the start of a complete and uneventful recovery.

 

[dan777]

Great news.... please accept my wishes and prayers for Tom's speedy and uneventful recovery.

 

[netmiff]

Judith, that is great news; now get some rest while he is in good hands (and hopefully blissfully unaware of what is going on) 'cos he'll need you in the next few days. Best wishes to both of you for an uncomplicated recovery.

 

[Guest]

What a great first post to read this morning! Positive thoughts and prayers to you and Tom. Rest easy.

 

[Blanche]

Judith:
It's so good to know that Tom's surgery went well. Now is the time for new beginnings. Please remember to take good care of yourself.
Kindest regards,
Blanche and Al

 

[Nancy]

Wonderful to hear! Congratulations to both of you!

 

[marie]

That is great news. I'll echo what others have said try and get some rest while he is being watched so closely. You will need it in the days to come. Thanks for keeping us posted
Earline

 

[WayneGM]

Glad to hear Tom is on this side of the mountain. Best wishes continuing for a smooth, and speedy, recovery.

 

[lieb2101]

Sounds like we were in a similar boat. I had a uni-cuspid and had to have my aorta replaced into my arch.

It's so good to hear that he's on his way to recovery! He'll be up and causing trouble in no time.

Best Wishes,
Brian

 

[Lionheart]

Judith,
"Tom climbed Mt. Everest tonight."
That's GREAT news. You and Tom are both Troopers!
Take care and keep us informed.
John

 

[Superbob]

Judith,

Wonderful news to hear! Hope you can get some rest and that Tom's recovery now proceeds smoothly. All best wishes,

 

[EVELYN]

Judith

What wonderful news. SOOOOO glad everything went well. My best to you both for a speedy recovery for Tom. Now, just take a deep breath and remember you, too, have to relax and gather strength for yourself.

God Bless.

Evelyn

 

[cp172]

Judith,

Great news! I hope Tom has a smooth recovery. You are in our prayers.

 

[Jkm7]

What wonderful news, Judith. You and Tom have been on my mind. Thank you for sharing with us.... we worry!

Big hugs go out to you both for climbing that mountain together.

Please check in when you can.

 

[shellyb]

Judith....your post is bringing back a lot of memories. My husband had AVR on Oct. 3 2007. We traveled to the Cleveland Clinic to have it done after I did considerable research (my husband put me in charge of it LOL). VR.com was the most valuable source of info I could find. I remember the day of surgery well. My son and I waiting and getting the news the surgery was done. Seeing my husband in ICU the first time was the most difficult part for both my son and I but afterwards we went back to where we were staying and felt confidant that we had left him in good hands I had told the ICU nurse that I would call during the night to see how he was doing and fell asleep with my cell phone on my pillow. I woke up to sunlight streaming through the window. IT WAS MORNING..I had slept through the night! One of the first times in several weeks. I called the hospital and things were fine. Hopefully you'll have a good rest...you'll need it.

Take care and God bless!

shellyb

 

[Plumber1]

This is great news and a very tender story. I am glad your Husband has pulled through on this tough procedure. Take care, make sure you get rest. It sounds like he will be walking around in no time.

Mark

 

[Susan BAV]

I'm glad to read your update. For you now Judith, be sure and pace yourself. Get your rest. And be sure you eat particularly healthy right now and drink extra water. Take care.

 

[JudithD23]

A bit of an update since they're very strict here with visiting hours, at least Tom's nurse is, and I have a little down time.

Tom just had his breathing tube taken out so that's good and he's rather loopy because of the pain med he just received via his IV. And he's really quite talkative even though his throat hurts. Other than that the nurse said he's making great progress.

So far so good, and I just hope it will continue.

Take care everyone.

Judith