Rhythm

The procedure went as planned today. Dad's heart is back in rhythm! Yay!
Wanda from my Android

Whatta Day.

At about noon, the cardiologist did a Trans esophageal echo gram on Dad's heart.  This gave him the last bit of information that he needed to do an electrical shock cardiac-convert procedure.  The first shock was successful to restore Dad's heart to a normal sinus rhythm.  Yay!  Dad was awake and laughing during most of the procedure according to the nurses.  The drugs that are used are the type that allow the patient to be awake but remember nothing about the procedure.

The set up for the process started about an hour ahead of time, but the actual TEE & Cardiac-conversion took only about 15 minutes.  Amazing!!

Dad was exhausted after all of this activity and slept until supper time.  When Ev and I got back there after 6 he was sitting up watching TV and wondering where everybody was.  He is breathing the easiest I have seen him breathe since he got to Wisconsin.  

So, what is next?

Tomorrow, assuming all is still fine with heart rhythm and lungs, Dad will be released from Lakeview Hospital.  For a short period, he will go to the Rice Lake Convalescent Center for rehab.  We hope that this will only be a few days, but he has to be able to get up the 5 steps into my house and also motor from bed to bathroom, etc, safely before he can be here. So, knowing Dad, he will put in the work to make that happen faster than anyone would guess.  The nice part about this place is that it is straight up Main Street and then one block towards the lake so Ev can drive there herself without problem if it turns into a longer stay than just a few days.

The VA connection also got established today.  Between my phone calls and Gus's followup, Dad can now use the Rice Lake VA Clinic, which means that he can have his protime/INR  tests there and the VA will cover the cost of his meds.  Yay for cutting through red tape!

Ev and I are tired tonight but so relieved that I am expecting this to be the best sleep of the week!

Thanks to all for your concern and the text messages and your emails & support.  It all means a lot, whatta week!

Medicine is a good thing.