Post-Op Update

Dad had his first post-op meeting with the head surgeon (Dr. Edwards) today, and the news was positive: according to him, dad is about two weeks ahead of most patients following an operation of this magnitude. Of course, the road to a full recovery remains a long one, and dad isn't out of the woods yet. For those of you who'd like to visit, we're home pretty much 24/7... Well, dad is, at least!

The Battle Wound

And it's not the only one he's got (just the biggest and baddest)!

Update # 5: Home at Last

He's baa-aack! It's hard to believe, but not even a week has passed since the operation, and already the fine folks at St. Peter's have decided my dad is well enough to return home. We had a bit of an incident yesterday when the thermostat in Progressive Care went haywire, causing the temperature in many of the rooms to plummet; staff were forced to cover my dad and several other patients in hot blankets until the problem could be fixed, but it was somewhat unnerving to think that such a thing could happen in a ward housing "freshly-sliced" folks. Unfortunately, dad is experiencing a very slight bout of pneumonia, but it's apparently slight enough that he could be released into our untrained care.

Anyway, though there will be many trying weeks ahead as dad continues to recover, we can at least take comfort in this bit of good news. Visits would preferably be sparse and pre-announced. For fun, I'll leave you with this song by Steely Dan — Home at Last.

Update # 4: New Digs

Amazingly, less than 24 hours after going under the knife, dad is well enough to be moved to his own room out of the ICU. He's happy to have his phone back, so you might be able to send him a Facebook message or email — no calls, though. Here are some photos from the new room.

Update # 3: The Awakening

My dad woke up at the stroke of midnight — fitting news considering he's so magical a guy. I got the news this morning from my uncle John, who communicated with Dr. Edwards and received the news, via SMS, that the first thing my dad said to the doctor was, "he's happier to see me [Doc Edwards] today than yesterday."
Mike and I went in at a little after 10 to see him, and I'm happy to report, he looks and seems to be doing very well! He and Mikey P exchanged a number of jokes (he's exceptionally lucid, considering he's on morphine), and he squeezed my hand with the strength of Thor, or maybe the Hulk. However, because they had to break open his sternum for the procedure, it hurts for him to laugh or cough; because of this and other pain, he's on a morphine drip, which surprisingly has not dulled his mental faculties to any significant degree. My uncle John and cousin Andrew have come from Queensbury to visit, which they'll do after we get some much-needed lunch.
Anyway, the news is good, and pops looks great — I think he may give that photogenic girl a run for her money!
Currently, they're removing many of the tubes from him, so when we see him, he should look less like a cyborg and more like the man-bear-pig we all know and love!

-Lucas

Update # 2: Good News

It took about eight hours, but the operation is finally over! Mike and I just met with dad's chief surgeon, Dr. Niloo Edwards, who informed us, much to our relief, everything went smoothly: after three bypasses, one aortic replacement (dad is now part pig), and something done to his aortic root, dad is resting (technically he's still under the effects of anesthesia) and will be under close observation for the next 24 hours to check for any bleeding and/or strokes. At 18:00 (6pm) I will place a call to the CVICU to find out if I can visit my dad in the post-op room. I will, of course, record my own observations and share them here. Let's hope for the best!

-Luc

With Dad on Lake George

Update # 1

I just received word from the head nurse in the cardiology center that dad's surgery should conclude at around 16:00 (4pm), maybe 17:00 (5pm). This is about when I was expecting it to end, so it seems things are going according to plan as of now. More to come.

-Luc

Beardless in St. Peter's

Because he'll have a number of tubes and things attached to his face, my dad was instructed to shave off his long-lasting and very virile beard, though he could, thankfully, keep the 'stache: this is only the second time in my twenty-two years I've seen my dad's bare cheeks (not counting his tush, which I've seen more times than I'd care to say), and the first time, I didn't even recognize him! I think you'll find, as a few have already pointed out, he's got kind of a Tom Selleck thing going on, and he's actually pretty damned handsome for an old Brooklyn dinosaur! Here's a picture he took of himself with is iPhone:

Ladies...?

I've got some higher-resolution pictures of him on my Nikon; I'll put them up when I get home on Thursday. That reminds me: along with my dad's old friend Mike Pyatok (they've known each other for fifty-five years), I'll be staying in a lovely little place across the street from St. Peter's called Becky's House: the staff at Becky's House seems very friendly, and it seems to be a really a great service for patients and family members alike. We got up early today (3am), so I'm pretty tired right now...

More to come soon!

-Luc

P.S. The beard was only the first of dad's hair to be removed, as his entire body needed to be shaved smooth for the procedure. Talk about bare cheeks!