My mom and I spent most of this afternoon and evening with my dad, and had a really great visit.
On first glance, I was surprised how great and almost "normal" he was- his colour was great, his short term memory is nearly back to normal, and his jokes were worse than ever! It does not take long, however, to see that he is still in a significant amount of pain from the strong chest compressions that were needed to restart his heart (and that seem to have cracked a few ribs) and he is pretty weak. However, his spirits are high and we all feel confident about the recovery plan the medical team has put together. The care has really been excellent.
My dad is scheduled for bypass surgery at 8am tomorrow morning to address what now looks like four blockages in his heart. The surgery is expected to last about four hours; I'll post an update when we get home from the hospital tomorrow night.
There are some other concerns about my dad's heart rhythm (which has been irregular since his heart attack). A specialist in this area met with us today to share a plan to address this in coming months. For now however, the first step is addressing the blockages and recovering from surgery.
My dad read through many of the emails that friends and family have sent over the past few days, and was really moved. The support and love has been overwhelming and for this, we thank you. We know you'll be thinking of us tomorrow.
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