As a child I thought of my parents as infallible and immortal. I remember the first time I saw my mom drop something in the kitchen. I was shocked. Moms don’t drop wet plates! Dad’s don’t get heart attacks! But they do. They unfortunately do.
Well, we found out on Monday that my dad had a heart attack. I realized at that time how much and how often I take my dad for granted. I learned in my car accident that life is fleeting.
Here is an excerpt from a mom’s email: Tom had a hiatal hernia attack on July 11th, that had many similar symptoms as a heart attack, but wasn’t one. He continued to feel really lousy for a couple of weeks after that. He recently had an EKG to check his heart, and it indicates that at some time AFTER July 11th, Tom did have a heart attack, which resulted in damage to the upper two chambers of his heart. He is going into the Heart Hospital Thursday Aug 7 for a Cardiac Catheterization, where they will explore the arteries of the heart and assess and fix any damage they find.
The doctors say that this is a routine operation and that even though the mortality rate is one in ten my dad’s chances are much better since he is young.
This has been a hard week for my family.
- William got a 102 degree fever
- John is recovering from his own surgery
- My Mom has Migraines
- My Dad just had a heart attack.
Updates
- Thursday 11:26am My dad is about to go in for his operation.
- Thursday 1:46pm My Dad has now gone in for his operation in good spirits.
- Thursday 3:01pm The doctors found some blockages and will operate. My dad will need to stay in the hospital overnight.
- Thursday 3:30pm My dad received two stints. One for a major artery that was 100% blocked and one for a diagonal artery. His heart made its own bypass so there is no significant damage there. His blood pressure is now a lot lower than it was before the operation. He does not need open heart surgery praise God! He is going to need to take a blood thinner for about a year though.
- Thursday 7:38pm We were able to speak with the doctor and get the prognosis. My dad had a mild to moderate heart attack. My dad has damage in other parts of his heart that were not bad enough for a stint. He is now sleeping in his hospital room. My mom is exhausted and trying to rest. It sounds like my dad will be pretty restricted for the next several days.
- Friday 10:05am My dad is feeling much better this morning. He says that he can feel more blood going through his heart and they think he will be able to go home today. It turns out that 25% of the blood flow to my dad’s heart had been blocked.
- Wednesday 10:09am My Dad got back home on Friday and wants everyone to know how thankful he is for your prayers and encouragement. He has never been so prayed for in his life and he is honored by all of you.
Check back here for live updates on his status.
Praying for you guys
I am so sorry to hear this… praying for all of you…
Thank you for the information…
Hey Thomas,
Thank you for blogging. We are going to be watching for any more updates.
Unceasing in prayer and thanks to God for you guys,
Gracie
Thomas,
We (Rodgers) are all praying for you all. We know that nothing is too difficult for God. Thanks be to Him for getting your dad the care he needed at the right time.
Hey Thomas,
I sent this to the AustinDebate yahoo group. We're praying for all of you! I pray you would feel God's presence in a special way and you would know His peace which passes all our understanding!
> Brian
Pretty sobering stuff, but encouraging that bypass not needed and that stents may do the trick. Isn’t the body an amazing instrument of its own healing sometimes! Take care; we’re all thinking of all of you up here in Minnesota.
We are lifting you all up in prayer. We are so happy that the procedure went well, and trust that the Lord will use this experience for His glory.
Thank you for the update… I am so glad the recovery part gets to start now…
The Sivils family is praying for your family, you have been such a blessing to my family through the years… we hate to see you go through tough times.
So sorry to hear this and all your family will be in our prayers.
Ron and Sandy
Thomas,
All our love and prayers are with you guys. May your Dad recover fully and be greatly blessed of the Lord. Please let us know if we can help.
God bless,
David and Joyce
Hi Thomas & Family,
We’re so sorry to hear about your dad’s condition, but are grateful he’s in good hands and is getting the care he needs. We are praying for all of you. God Bless.
Hey Thomas,
I will be praying for you and your family! May God give you all strength during this time!
Brianna
Hey Thomas,
I am so sorry to hear about your Dad! We will definitely keep you folks in our prayers. May the strengthen and sustain you all, and continue to heal your Dad.
Hannah
All of you are in our prayers—I am so sorry to hear of Tom’s heart attack.
We are praying for your family. Please let us know what your family's needs are at this time.
Hey Thomas, praying for your dad and family. My dad had one last year. Thank God we were able to bring him to hospital before it actually happened. In the end God always has the last word… 🙂
So, warm greetings to your dad and family.
God Bless you guys…
Mike.
Thank you everyone for praying for me and my heart. I am truly overwhelmed by your prayers and God's love.