Pam's Dad Undergoes Heart Operation

Pam's Dad, Chuck Wilkin, underwent an eight-hour open-heart surgery on Friday. He had driven himself to the emergency room of Lutheran Hospital, which is only a half-mile from his condo. Pam was called at her office around 1:15, and told she needed to come right away. So she left work, and on the way she called me. I, too, left for Lutheran.

Shortly after Pam arrived at the ER, the doctors got the results of a CAT scan. At this point things kicked into very high gear, since the scan showed a tear in his heart and a lot of blood leakage. When I arrived, a number of doctors and nurses were hovering around Chuck doing their thing. A chaplain stood next to Pam. 

The doctor explained to Chuck and Pam what was happening, and that they needed to operate right away. The situation was very, very serious. As a surgeon told us later, Chuck's condition was "universally fatal" without surgery. 

The problems were extensive, and the surgery was extremely complicated. I won't try to explain what they did, because I don't understand it all. Suffice it to say, they spent a couple hours getting Chuck stabilized and ready for surgery, and the surgery itself lasted eight hours. Until after midnight. A number of us--siblings, kids, grandkids--waited around.

The surgeon finally came out at 12:30 and met with us. He said the surgery went as well as could be expected. It was very complicated, and the recovery would be long, but he was pleased. 

About 2:30 am, the six of us remaining were taken back to see Chuck. He was sleeping, and would be kept that way for several days. And we then went home.

Chuck remains unconscious, and his condition is very critical. They removed the sedation, wanting him to wake up, but it's not happening. This morning, Pam received a call asking permission to put him on dialysis.

So, we wait and pray.

Posted on December 10, 2007 10:47 AM|

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