My mother is going to have a minor heart procedure (not full fledge surgery) tomorrow at 9:30 AM EST. They are going to drain fluid from around her heart & install a valve to drain any further fluid buildup into her abdomen. Procedure should take about 20-30 minutes and she should be feeling positive results almost immediately. Purpose for the procedure is to get her well enough to have gall bladder surgery in a week or two. Docs think gall bladder may be contributing to health problems that cause heart to build up fluid but are not 100% sure. Regardless of that, the bladder has to come out. This should be micro-invasive surgery so there is an excellent chance she will be back home with my sane brother & his wife by mid-January.
Prayers for her will be deeply appreciated.
Update Jan. 4, 2013:
Good news! Mom came thru the procedure okay. She's a bit groggy but that's understandable considering her age & medical history. Thanx to all for the prayers of support!
Update Jan. 6, 2013:
Not good news today: Mom's kidneys are failing, more fluid is building up in her lower lungs. Heart rate is high & irregular, blood pressure 91/61. Gall bladder surgery has been put off. She is not lucid or cognitive on where she is or what's going on around her. I spoke w/her Saturday; she sounded very tired, her speech was slurred, and she lacked her normally sharp focus. A palative care physician has been assigned her.
My brother Robert says the consensus is that it is unlikely she'll live out the month. Please pray for her peace and comfort in these remaining days.
Thank you.
Update Jan. 7, 2013:
Mom will be moved into hospice care tonight around 8pm EST. Everything that can be done for her has been done for her; she is no longer capable of participating in decisions about her own care and treatment. The doctors are puzzled as to why she didn't recovery speedily from her heart drain but I think the answer is simply that she was 87 years old, she was tired, she misses my father, and she had one last good Christmas with her son Robert and his wife Kim and their family. She's ready to go.