#TeamDoug Heart Fundraiser

Written by S:

 

Dad had a cardiac event early June. He woke up feeling unwell, and mid-attack, had the strength and presence of mind to walk downstairs, find Mom, and tell her before he lost consciousness and began convulsing. Mom did chest compressions for 20 minutes while the EMTs came. The cardiologists and cardiothorasic surgeon tell us that it was Mom's quick thinking and constant chest compressions that kept him from experiencing a full blown heart attack that, with his blockages, might have ended his life.

 

EMTS got him to the ER, intubated and stable by the end of the day, and extubated him Sunday. He was coming out of sedation by Sunday night, as sharp and as sweet as ever. On Monday, he got into the cath lab and had an angiogram where they discovered a 80% blockage on the left side and a 100% blockage on the right. The stents he had were full of calcification. It’s a hereditary condition that, despite all Dad’s amazing hard work biking and hiking all the time, has created this difficult situation.

 

The cardiologist at our first hospital said that Dad’s heart was a “ticking time bomb” and recommended a quadruple bypass surgery as soon as possible followed up with a pacemaker, but fortunately, their hospital didn't do the procedure. This allowed us the window to advocate for a bed at a hospital who not only did the procedure, but was able to be more thorough and develop a plan of care that we all feel at peace with.

 

The hospital that we finally got him to, Overlake, is wonderful. He has a full team: two cardiologists, one who he has been seeing since his last heart attack in 2016, and a cardiothorasic surgeon, who are all in awe of Mom and Dad (as we all are). Their recommendations are that we need to take care of the arrhythmia issue first, before the bypass. They recommend an ICD (defibrillator) that will only kick in if another ventricular tachycardia event occurs. Dad is currently getting that implanted this afternoon. After an initial time period of healing the implantation site, he will get the bypass surgery, which means that as we take care of the blood flow issue, the more urgent electrical issue will already be sorted out.

 

Dad and Mom (and their dog Chester) have been staying a few blocks away from the hospital over the last few weeks so that Doug could receive constant monitoring from his medical team. Once he goes back into the hospital early July, he’ll be in the hospital for another week to week and a half before coming home. He’ll need two more stents in his neck later this summer, and he’ll have months of OT, but Doug is strong and the doctors expect him to make a full recovery.

 

Funds will cover medical expenses and housing close to the hospital.

 

Thank you everyone for your comments, prayers, vibes, medicine, and checking in on us. We love you all.