NARRATIVES
TALK TO A
ADVICE
Established April 15, 1995
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This picture of Dad was taken last Thanksgiving
after the
bypass surgery in September and 10 days after the AAA repair.
6 October 2004
I am so glad to have found this support group. My Dad, who will be 78 on October 12 just got home from the hospital on Sunday, October 3 from having a triple heart bypass. He went in to our local hospital for a routine colonoscopy after some complaints and being anemic. A colon tumor was discovered and he was scheduled to have surgery for it when his Internist said he wanted a stress test because of a prior heart attack in 1988 and coronary artery disease.
Dad failed the stress test. The colon surgery was postponed for a Cardiac catherization at a large teaching hospital in our state. The catherization showed the 3 blockages, one at 100% and 2 at 80%. Also while we were there, the report came from home that the colon tumor was in fact malignant. So, we were dealing with Colon Cancer also. But that was not the end of the story.
When doing the Cardiac Cath., an AAA was discovered. They did the heart bypass on Monday, September 27th. He had a CT Scan of the AAA on Friday, October 1st and it measured 7.3 cm. He sees the surgeon again on November 1st because they had to allow him time to recover a bit from the bypass.
As of now, we are anticipating the AAA surgery shortly after November 1st and then the colon surgery as soon after that as his health and body will allow. The surgeon tells us he can do it with the stent and through the groin method so it will be easier on Dad.
We are certainly in need of all the prayers that can come our way. My Dad's name is Robert (Bob) and my Mother's is Edna. I have 2 older sisters and there are numerous grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren.
Update: 20 October 2004
We had an additional scare last week from the Dr. and I had to take Dad to have a PET Scan yesterday for possible lung cancer. The Dr. called today and the growth in his lung is benign!!! No lung cancer. The only cancer that revealed itself with this PET Scan was the colon tumor, which we already knew about.
They are going to step up the surgery for the AAA and probably be doing it next week on the 28th. We will know for sure on that date once all the surgeons work it into their schedules. I'll try to let you know. At this time they are saying a "standing stent" through the groin method. We hope so since he just had the By Pass and is recovering from it and has the colon surgery pending. It will be nice for this AAA surgery to be a bit easier on him and not have to have a full incision for it.
Once again, thank all of you for your prayers and they are still needed. I have my concerns about his By Pass recovery. It seems to be progressing at a slow pace and some days he looks and feels better then other days. The colon cancer is an ever present major concern. But this AAA surgery can't come soon enough as large as the aneurysm is.
Update: 2 November 2004
I talked to the Dr.'s nurse today (I hate to go behind Mom's back like this but she just isn't asking the necessary questions) to see why the delay on the surgery on Dad's AAA. I got NOWHERE! I got sick to my stomach when I hung up because she told me it may not even happen this month! He has the colon cancer growing and needed surgery sooner rather then later because of the pending surgery for that. They told us it would have to be last because this AAA needed the attention first. It did not happen the 28th of October as we thought it would. She is the cardiac surgeons nurse and a different Dr. will be doing the AAA surgery because of using the stent/groin method, and the Cardiac surgeon isn't trained in that. The Dr. who is trained in it is only in town 2 weeks this entire month, and one week won't work with the other Dr. that's assisting. She told me there was nothing, as a family, we could do to speed things up. She said she would call the other Dr.'s scheduling nurse again and remind her that Dad has the colon cancer and the AAA surgery is critical for that.
This is a walking nightmare. I don't know what to do. I don't know where to turn next. Saying we will pray sounds so simplistic. I need to DO something to make this happen. I don't know what to do! I don't know why they are delaying. THEY are the ones who told us this AAA was so serious (7.3 cm. at last measurement!). I don't know when I've ever been this stressed and felt this much gripping fear.
Dad is not bouncing back from the triple ByPass of Sept. 27th and it is because these other 2 things, the AAA and the colon cancer are working on him. They are doing horrible things inside his body. My Mother is not pro-active and my sisters and I have to tread lightly with her in this because she wants to be the one "in charge."
Does anyone have any advise or at least words to comfort us and quell our fears.
Update: 5 November 2004
I've only got a few minutes but wanted to update everyone on my Dad. I will be taking him back to Springfield on Monday for his followup checkup on his September ByPass/Open Heart surgery. He is scheduled for the surgery to repair the Aortic Aneurysm on November 29th. Much later then any of us wanted but at least we now have a confirmed date. He is very anxious because of having to wait this long.
Medical people are certainly independent. The Dr. that is doing it is out of town on vacation until the week of November 22 and the Dr. who is going to assist him is out of town on the week of the 22nd and they are both to be there the week of the 29th. I don't begrudge any hard working Dr. a vacation but they are the ones that told us back in Septmeber how critical this was that this aneurysm be fixed as soon as possible. Now, their vacation takes precedence over their original advise. There's just something about that notion that doesn't settle with me the best!!!!
So, please everyone pray that he remains stable until we can get to November 29th. I will be taking him and Mom down to Springfield again the day before and we will stay at a nearby motel because he has to be there very early on the a.m. of the 29th. It is a new surgical method so they tell us he will likely get to go home on the 30th if all goes as expected. I will be there regardless, to keep Mom in Springfield with him. We are hoping to have as nice of a Thanksgiving Holiday as we can. We are thinking in a "thankful" frame of mind.
Thanks everyone for your kind words, prayers and encouragement with all of this long journey with my Dad. I'll keep you posted as things progress. He still has the colon cancer surgery facing him. Please keep up the prayers.
Update: 17 November 2004
Hi everyone. I am now home from the hospital with my Dad again. He had his AAA Repair on Monday the 15th. All went super well. He got sick from the anesthesia but that's all (but big enough I know!).
The AAA Repair want fantastic and the Dr. was super pleased considering Dad had the triple By Pass just 7 weeks ago to the day. At my last post I was so upset because this was being delayed but all the prayers helped because we got the call to be down there Sunday for pre-admit with surgery at 8 a.m. Monday.
It is a "standing stent" that they put a scope through his left arm and that was their "visual" to guide them through both sides of his groin to place and graft the stent. It has legs on it that go down into his legs and circulates the blood that way. They said the blood was flowing through the stent immediately!!
He does have a peculiarity that the Dr. says sometimes a body develops to compensate when it knows something is in error. He has grown an extra artery growing from the aneurysm, circling back into the aneurysm. Dr. says sometimes these will take care of themselves and quit working on their own after these stents are placed, and or otherwise, if it doesn't, they will go in through a catheter in his left arm and clip and cauterize it off of the aneurysm and then it will just dissolve itself and the body will just absorb the tissue. Amazing modern medicine for sure.
So, successful AAA Repair behind us now and he feels really good except for the colon cancer is bothering him. He is going to get it scheduled for the week after Thanksgiving, as the Dr. said he could go that soon after this AAA.
So, thanks for the prayers so far and for the new ones I know you all will be praying for the colon cancer surgery. I'm extremely tired, having just had a total hip replacement myself but just a year ago. Dad is in high spirits now to have the AAA done. We are all breathing a lot easier because of it.
Update: 17 December 2004
Dad's surgery for the colon cancer was yesterday. Everything went well considering at age 78 he had the open heart triple bypass September 27 and the AAA Aneurysm repair November 15 and now this for the colon cancer. He is doing well so far. The results of the additional tissue removal to screen for any possible lymph involvement will be back in 4-5 days but the surgeon felt he got it all. They also took his diseased gallbladder out.
Dad looked good today and has a nice pink color to his skin. His blood pressure is well maintained and the heart is super stable (it should be with 3 new repairs to it). He has excellent pain control so he had a good, restful night last night and had a good day today. Because of his age and all he has went through since September, the Dr. is keeping him in ICU an extra night before moving him to the floor, regular care. That will happen sometime tomorrow if he puts in another good night.
Dad said he really feels good. The AAA Repair was the hardest on him. He was not really fully recovered from it when he went in for the colon cancer surgery, and it really did seem to set him back the most, but they couldn't delay the colon cancer surgery any longer as it was beginning to affect his health in other ways.
We are thankful for all your kind thoughts and prayers.
Update: 18 January 2005
The Bypass seems to be doing great. The colon cancer surgery of December 15 went well as far as the procedure itself.
He had his recheck last week with the Dr. that did the AAA Repair and they did a Baxter's CT Scan on him for the, I think it's called "Endograft leak" where the extra little artery? runs from the AAA back into the AAA. The results are not back on that yet. Dad had some trouble recovering from this AAA even though he had the colon cancer surgery in the meantime. The incisions where they did the "cut down" to place the standing stent got very swollen. Large elongated goose egg swollen. That surgery was 2 months ago and the swelling is still going down. In the meantime he has been medicating for Kidney/Bladder infection.
He saw the cancer specialist today and there was additional bad news on the colon cancer. Four of the lymph nodes tested potentially positive for more cancer. The Dr. gave him his options of starting Chemo in 2 weeks and having those treatments for 6 months and having an 80% cure rate and hopefully insure against reoccurance or waiting until the cancer actually shows back up and having the chemo then and there is a 60% chance they will not be able to cure it. My sisters and Mother are encouraging him to have it now. He is so overwhelmed. I was not able to be there because I am sick myself with a cold/bronchitis.
Please continue to pray for my Dad and family.
Update: 20 January 2005
My Dad's Baxter's CT Scan came back and the Endograft Leak has sealed itself off, thus taking care of itself, since the AAA repair, which is what Dr. Goswami was hoping it would do. He also said the AAA is now stable. This is wonderful news for Dad and our family. He does have to have another scan in April for followup on the shadow on his lungs that they saw earlier but ruled as benign. He is relieved that he "only" has to have 6 months of chemo for the positive lymph nodes and an April CT Scan.
Update: 22 July 2005
Dad is just finishing up his Chemo and has done well as a 78 year old man going through all he did late last fall with the 3 major surgeries. He has lost weight which has been to his benefit. He will be 79 in October.
The doctor wanted him in a cardiac rehab program, but within the first year. He will be at 1 year on the ByPass the end of September. He is determined to do his own cardiac rehab once the effects of the Chemo have all subsided.
He has had an odd complication of the Endograft Aneurysm Repair. He has developed a rather large seroma. He had one on both sides in the area where they did the cutdowns (groin/femoral area) to place his particular stent, the one side having mostly dissolved. The other side however is quite large (the size of a small elongated squash) and has caused discomfort and is visible through his clothes. He's had all appropriate tests and the stent is fine, stable and no leaks. The odd extra little artery I mentioned in an earlier post has sealed itself off and dissolved. So, the AAA repair is well but he has to go the end of September and have surgery to remove this seroma. The Dr said he has on occasion, drained this sac but it tends to fill back up so he now removes them. I saw Dad yesterday and he indicated he hoped this was his last surgery!
Your continued prayers are most welcome as we face this odd surgery for an odd complication. One more surgery that we didn't expect. He is doing well and becoming more active and stomping to get back in his duck blind this year for hunting season since he missed the whole season last year. His attitude is wonderful.
Update: 2 September 2005
Dad has finished his series of Chemotherapy treatments and had to wait 6 weeks before undergoing the surgery for removal of the groin seroma, a complication from his endograft procedure for his AAA. That six week mark is as of the 12th of this month.
His surgery for the seroma is set up for September 20 but as of this week, Mom is trying to get that appointment moved forward to the week of the 12th because I have my own conflicting appointment out of town next week with my Orthopaedic surgeon for my 2 year check up on my hip replacement and can't take Dad any sooner as he and Mom are insisting I not cancel my appointment (I'm starting to have pain issues with the other hip at this point).
He is not feeling well, the seroma has grown and he can't sit, in a sitting position without reclining and it is now hurting him to stand as well. The area is sore and it itches. He will be 79 next month and Bless his heart, is ready to get that seroma removed.
Please say prayers, as here we go yet again and he's another year older then when all of this started.
Update: 8 September 2005
Wow! I have been around the world and back with Dad in the past 4 days!
The seroma that formed at the incision for his Endograft, did not absorb as the Dr. thought it would and in the past week, while waiting for the appointment to have it surgically removed, (which had been moved up to the 12th as we had hoped, from the 19th) it ruptured!!!!!
Sunday evening he was in our local hospital at midnight. By Monday afternoon he had been transferred to the large hospital 2 hours away, to his Cardiologist, that did the open heart last September and the Cut down for the AAA Repair in November. Mom and I got there 5 minutes after Dad arrived by ambulance. His doctor and his nurse arrived 5 minutes after Mom and I. He needle aspirated it, it was full of infection and ready to burst. He said there was no time for an operating room and he did surgery right there in the hospital bed, with Mom and I present. He deadened 5 places around the seroma then incised it. A good pint of infection was drained out of it. Dad was awake the whole time and he has so much grit it is amazing!!!
Remember this in on a nearly 79 year old man!!
They packed the wound and change the packing and dressing 3-4 times a day and will until the readness has resolved then they are putting a "Vac Pump" on it that steadily suctions it and will be changed by a home health nurse every 2 or 3 days at home. I just got home after being down there since Monday afternoon and I am so tired I can't tell you. I have to get up at 5 a.m. tomorrow morning and head the other direction for my checkup with my Orthopaedic surgeon to check on my already 2 year old hip implant and the possibility of a right hip implant in the not so distant future.
Dad is doing well. He is feeling tons better and so far the culture of the infection is "just" a common bacterial infection. They will grow the culture for 2 more days to see what antibiotic they need to keep him on for a few weeks. He is still down there and I brought Mom home tonight as she is 77 and wearing out. Dad had just finished the Chemo about a month ago and the DR. said the Chemo may have hastened this infection because he had trouble during Chemo with his white count (the one that fights infections) going down.
It has been quite a past few days! Thanks for all your continued good thoughts and prayers. I will post more information when I have time, but the Dr. feels very certain this will not happen again because they are letting it heal from the inside out with no sutures to close the wound.
Update: 1 November 2005
Dad has had his final checkup with his Cardiac surgeon on the seroma consequences of his AAA Endograft. He has a reasonable clean bill of health at this time. He is to have another colonoscopy soon and we pray it is clear. He will see his Endograft surgeon on November 9 for what we feel is his release checkup with him. It will be a year November 15 since the AAA repair.
It is of concern to the cancer specialist who administered his Chemotherapy, that Dad has the nodule on his lungs. They are watching it carefully but all tests so far list it as benign. While he's not out of the woods on tests and checkups, he appears to be released from additional surgery.
It feels like a long journey to get to this place. During the course of this time last year, I lost my beloved companion pet, Abby and Dad, who was recovering from open heart surgery was waiting with the time bomb of an aneurysm and colon cancer in his body to be repaired and removed. He is sure made of strong stuff. Additional evidence of that is a couple of weekends ago, while with my son at their duck blind, Dad took a nasty fall. He fell head and face first into a tree. He was cut, bruised and had multiple abrasions, and hurt his knee which has been bad for years. He seems ok and checked out ok with the cardiologist. There is no way we'll keep him from the duck blind and I'd rather see him doing the things he loves and remaining active until his last hours. He told me yesterday when I took him for his last checkup with the surgeon that he knew sometime he would probably have to have the knee replaced but he was not ready to go through that yet. Dad just turned 79!
It's amazing to look back on this past year with him and see him as healthy as he is now. We feel so very lucky to have had him come through open heart surgery, an AAA repair, colon cancer surgery in as many months last year and the emergency surgery on the seroma this Labor Day and that he survived all of it. Now, if Mom can stay healthy which unfortunately is questionable at best, we may get a break.
I'll pop in from time to time to let you know how he is. I am so appreciative to Bill and all of you and this website, for what now seems like, a long time ago, of my calling for support. Thank you so much to everyone for your kindness and support.
I always read the email updates that Bill sends and the new posts by folks with an AAA etc., so you all, always remain in my prayers.
Update: 9 August 2007
After the series of events in 2004 with 3 major surgeries in as many months, and months of chemo for the colon cancer, my Dad's Dr. told him it was inadvisable for him to have any elective surgery now at his age, and emergency surgeries would be iffy. In 2004, Dad had open heart surgery, AAA Repair and colon cancer surgery. Dad will be 81 on October 12.
Well, he had been humming along and was still active for a man his age. He still goes to that duck blind, rides his 4 wheeler, tends a garden and fishes. The fishing recently got him in trouble.
On July 27, my Mother called my husband and I to come to their home, 25 minutes away, and get Dad to go to the hospital for some intense abdominal pain. It scared me because I thought the Endograft for the AAA was leaking. We got him to the hospital and the ER Dr. ordered a CT scan. It showed a blockage in the colon. First thought was cancer again but his tests had been coming through fine. On Saturday morning July 28, his surgeon came in and said it was a medical emergency and he needed surgery within the hour.
When inside the body he saw a tear in his small intestine. When probing it, Dr. found a fish bone. My parents had eaten cat fish the night before and Dad unknowingly swallowed a fish bone which pierced his small intestine and let all that fecal matter and bacteria spill out into his body. Dr. told us Dad was critical and he might not survive. He also said he had concerns for 3-4 days down the road. Dad remained critical and had to have the ventilator put back in a second time after they felt he was ready to be taken off it. My sisters and I were at the hospital 24/7 until August 4th when he showed almost overnight improvement. We almost lost him 3 times in the past almost 2 weeks. After everything he had been through I was having a very hard time accepting that this might be the way he leaves this life.
Thankfully, Dad again survived and I took him home yesterday. He is weak and will have quite a recovery time for an 81 year old man but we marvel at his grit and determination to live longer. Both of his Dr.'s told him he gave them a good run this time to keep him alive. He is humbled and it has really moved him to think this crazy thing almost ended his life this time. Mom will be 80 in March and they keep me hopping. I've a new grandchild due in November and hopefully Dad will now get to hold that new great-granddaughter after all, and see the one that lives in Maine that he has never met.
© Copyright 2004 Juanita
Bainter
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