We got over to Oschner's at 6:45 this morning, but it was 8 AM before they got started on Mark's second stent. They came out about quarter after 9 to tell me they were moving along and everything was fine, and they confirmed my cell phone number and said they would keep me posted. At that point, all was well with the world.
But as time moved on . . . and on . . . and ON . . . and I heard nothing more I began to get concerned. Finally, at noon I panicked and pounded on the door to the recovery room and asked exactly what was going on with Mark. One of the nurses there said she had wondered why he wasn't back yet herself so she had just called and they told her he was fine, it was just taking longer than planned.
But as time moved on . . . and on . . . and ON . . . and I heard nothing more I began to get concerned. Finally, at noon I panicked and pounded on the door to the recovery room and asked exactly what was going on with Mark. One of the nurses there said she had wondered why he wasn't back yet herself so she had just called and they told her he was fine, it was just taking longer than planned.
Okay. So I sat back down in the waiting room. And waited. And waited. And waited some more. I'm telling you, that was the scariest hour I can remember. I was getting scared again when the doctor himself finally showed up at the door to the waiting room and took me over to show me on a computer screen exactly what he had done.
He told us last week that Mark had one 100% blocked artery on the top back of his heart and two other 80% blockages. He said the 100% blockage wasn't repairable, so the doctor put in one stent last week and was planning to put one in the other 80% blocked artery today. Well, apparently once he got in there the doctor decided to try and open up that long-time 100% closed one after all. When he talked to me afterward today, he said the odds of successfully repairing one in that particular condition were only about 50 to 60%, but that he HAD managed to get it working again! It took THREE stents to do it (making a grand total of 5 altogether!), but he showed me on the screen how the blood was then flowing through there perfectly normally again! I am so grateful that he decided to take care of that. Soooo grateful.
Of course all those other people who were scheduled for heart caths today by his same doctor were probably not the least bit pleased since he was then running several hours late! But I certainly was incredibly happy.
Now, whether Mark gets to go back to work next week is up in the air at the moment. The doctor says he has to come see him next week and THEN he'll decide whether he will release him to go back offshore next Wednesday.
Right now, they're busily hydrating Mark to be sure all that dye injected over all those hours doesn't damage his kidneys. And the poor guy has to lay flat on his back for at least 3 or 4 hours to keep anything from happening to that incision in his groin. NOT a good combination. But they had also given him some pain medication because that position was killing his back, so I hope he will be able to just sleep until he's allowed to move around again. I put his cell phone out on his bedside table, so I guess I'll find out when he wakes up enough to give me a call. But I had to come home to let the dogs out (and let Lizzie out, too -- we forgot to turn her out after the horses were done eating this morning).
But the horses don't have to eat for another hour or two, so I think I'm going to go out and nap on the porch next to Joey for a little while. Today was EXHAUSTING!
But the horses don't have to eat for another hour or two, so I think I'm going to go out and nap on the porch next to Joey for a little while. Today was EXHAUSTING!
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