Mom's Second Bypass

Mom had bypass surgery today. She came through it well. She is a feisty little woman so that's not surprising. I only hope she learns the lesson and gives up smoking. This is her second bypass. The first one was two months after Jeff's - August, 2001. She quit smoking for about a year but I think she took it up again when Uncle Dennis' health started to fade. I find that kind of ironic since he was dying from lung and throat cancer from smoking. You would think she would learn but what do I know, it's not something I was ever addicted to so I can't judge her.

During her first surgery they did four bypasses. She came through it quickly and efficiently, ready to walk out soon after the surgery. Her recovery was quick. She felt so much better with a great surge of energy post-surgery. Today she had three bypasses, two of the original grafts were 100% blocked and a new one had to be grafted. The problem this time was the amount of arterial material available in her body. The doctor had to do some vein mapping to make sure she had enough for him to use. Once she qualified, the surgery date was set for today. He said her heart was very strong for her age so she should come through this without too much difficulty.

After surgery, Dr. Bahlky came out to speak to me and my sister. He said she was doing well and explained the three bypasses he just completed. He kept using the term "stuck" to explain why this surgery took so much longer than the last one. He would say, "We had trouble with the scar tissue and everything was stuck." I finally asked him what that meant and he explained that when they do bypass they separate the chest wall from the rib cage and separate the rib cage from the heart. When the patient heals, scar tissue forms between these layers sticking them all together so they have to literally peel each layer off of each other and separate them. So now when I hear that surgery takes longer because they have to go through scar tissue I will understand why.

We got to see mom late in the afternoon. She went in to surgery at 7:00 am and we were talking with her at 4:20 pm. She was trying to open her eyes and I just whispered to her to stay sleeping so she can relax and heal. I doubt that she will remember and I hope she won't.