The Other Side of Medicine

Dad's surgery was today. Is is ever horrible to be on the other side of things! The worst - the waiting. I felt like my chest was going to explode, my tachycardia was taking over, and I constantly had to pee. Now the stress of the exam will feel like nothing.
Dad went down to "holding" at 7am. At that point, he was feeling very relaxed because of the medication they had given him. Thank God for Ativan! That made it easier on all of us. He was making jokes and feeling good.
We then went for breakfast, and then back home for a bit. We thought we should be back to the hosptial by 11am incase they finished early. But, they didn't. We waited, and waited, and waited. I became more and more nervous. Are they having problems coming off pump? Is he crashing? What complications have possibly occured? Every possible problem ran through my mind.
Jurgen luckily was able to snoop out some info. It seems there was a bit of a leak around the valve and they needed to go back on bypass to fix it. Otherwise things were going well. They finally came in around two thirty to talk to us and tell him about the leak and say he was in ICU. It seems that they didn't quite fix it, but it wasn't bad enough to warrant replacing everything and starting over. I wasn't happy to hear that it wasn't perfect, but what could I expect? There are always complications (however minor) with medical families.
In the end, he is in ICU doing very well. All of his vitals look really good. His colour looks good, and he is not on any medications to support his blood pressure.
It was, however, really stressful. It was really hard on my family, and hard for me, too. I needed to be strong for them, and so I was. Thank goodness that Jurgen was there so that we could have a breather together and he could support me.
I think the team did a fantastic job. They worked really hard to make sure that everything went as well as humanly possible. I am happy the way things are going.
The next 24 hours will really tell. They have decided to have one more look with the transesophageal echo to look at his heart tomorrow. They will leave the breathing tube in until after that, and he will remain sedated and comfortable until then. I am sure by that point that they will be happy with the results, and so will I.
Please continue to keep my family in your thoughts and prayers. I know that so many people are rooting for Dad and that is fantastic.
Just a couple more days....