So, we were feeling completely at peace with the visit from the eagle. It never ceases to amaze me the way the Creator reaches out to us....
The next step was to get trained on the LVAD and what life would be like with it. There were two training sessions we were required to attend before surgery. Now I feel I should mention that we were told there are only 2 hospitals in NY state who do the LVAD surgery one is Strong Memorial Hospital & the other is NY Presbyterian Hospital in NYC. We went to Strong Memorial Hospital & spent our first Sunday afternoon with a great nurse named Matt learning all about the pump. He had an actual LVAD pump just like the one that was going to be put inside my husband Dean & that really helped us visualize the process and understand what was going to be assisting his heart beating. Also, we talked about the controller and batteries he will have to carry around for the rest of his life and practiced how to change from plugged in power to batteries. You would not believe the alarms when the power is being changed over!! Holy cow - they would wake the dead....which is a good thing cause I have a tendency to sleep thru just about anything. Matt made the training fun and casual and because of that the whole prospect of the unknown of the LVAD and everything that goes with it a lot less scary. I am extremely impressed by this program at Strong. They truly made us feel like a part of the family, as much as a hospital can - which when you are facing something as serious as open heart surgery - means a great deal.
Dean's surgery was scheduled for the following Tuesday. They brought him into the hospital on Sunday so they could do more testing...blood cultures, urinalysis, ect... We had our second training session, which consisted of more practice changing over from power to batteries. I was at the hospital Sunday until 11:00 pm & back up there at 7:30 Monday morning because we just didn't want to spend anytime apart. Even thou we were both feeling very positive about the surgery & Dean surviving, I barely slept.
Monday was intense. Lots of prayer, hugs and kisses & just truly enjoying each other's company. That evening Dean had to scrub his body with a chlorhexidine soap several times to kill any bacteria that may be hanging out on his skin. Also there was a oral and nasal rinse to do the same thing. He was so cute...we tried to shower together (our usual ritual) but the hospital shower is a little too small - plus he had an IV running in each arm so that pole posed some problems. After the shower he listened to some Native American spiritual music to meditate and go to his mountain to stay calm. I was able to stay with him until midnight & then, because he had a semi-private room, I could not stay the whole night so I went down the hall to the education room to lay down on the couch for a while. I dozed on and off for a couple of hours when I got a call from Dean asking me to come back to his room. I did & unfortunately his roommate had an intestinal problem so we relocated to the education room & he was able to sleep on the couch for about an hour. Then the nurse came in to start the IV that would be used in surgery and do 1 more chlorhexidine scrub. I had the strangest feelings swirling around inside of me watching them prep him for surgery...there was a feeling of excitement because this is what we had been waiting for and preparing for many months, and this was going to give my honey his quality of life back...but then there was the little girl in me who wanted to burst into tears because I was terrified he might die, and then the spiritual side of me was completely serene and at peace with our decision and lastly there was the Sicilian side of me who is the tough bitch with big shoulders who can handle anything (yeah, right.) In the end my spiritual strength won...with a few tears every now and again. After the prep, we headed back to the room because it had been sanitized and before we knew it they were coming to get him. They let me come down to the recovery room to spend the last few minutes before surgery with him...he was listening to his spiritual music and was amazingly calm. Our friend Betty was with us and the three of us prayed and the we met all the anesthesiologists and the team of different physicians who would be involved...then they came for him. We kissed and said our I love yous and then he was gone. I was so calm and strong while we were together but as soon as Betty & I exited the unit I hugged her and just lost it for a few minutes. I was grateful to have her there to share my emotions with.
We went up to the room to grab our belongings & then to the lobby to hang out and meet up with another friend Doreen who had come into town to support us for the surgery. Also we were waiting for my Dad who was driving in too. I am so grateful that my Dad made the trip in. It was very calming for me to have family there. I loved my friends being there to support me too but there is something very soothing about having a parent with you....its like I felt like a kid again & Dad was gonna make everything alright. Over all the day passed as slowly as you might expect when you are waiting....but the great advantage I had was that the office was getting updates from the OR & they would call me every time they had an update....to let me know that they had made the first incision, and then when they had the pump installed. The longest part of Dean's surgery was getting down to the heart. He had a massive heart attack and emergency bypass surgery 10 years ago so there was quite a bit of scar tissue to get thru...but once the pump was in they watched it work for about an hour to make sure there were no leaks. Boy, when I got that call I cried tears of relief and thanked God about 1,000 times in a row. I called Dean's Mom to give her the good news & she came up to the hospital & our friend Vic came up too. Once they had him sewed up the surgeon came in to talk to us all. Dr. Massey said that Dean did really well & he was able to repair his sternum.
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