While walking this morning, Dad had a very controlled fall. The good news is that he did not damage his chest incision or sternum and he did not hit his head! The bad news was that this lightheaded-ness and general GI discomfort meant that he had to head back to the hospital. After a quick ride to the hospital, the ER staff ran some blood tests, X-rays, and a CT scan and determined that his initial atrial fibrillation (afib) had returned and he had an ileus, which was contributing to the GI discomfort.
The afib is tricky because it makes him feel generally nauseous and tired. The doctors and nurses told us that afib is decently common after surgery, but that they wanted to admit him back to the cardiac unit so that they could monitor for a few days and make sure that it stabilized back into sinus (normal) rhythm. After a couple hours in the ED, his heart returned to its normal rhythm and he feels a little better. Hopefully, it will continue to stay that way for the next few days.
The ileus basically means that his intestine is not properly moving things through his digestive system. He's had some improvement in that area over the last few days, but they did move him back to no food or liquids for the next 24 hours while they medicate "from the top and bottom" to get his GI tract back on track. Hopefully in a day or so, he'll be able to eat and drink again, and return back to normal.
None of the medical team seems hugely concerned, but certainly the symptoms are worth monitoring and we are thankful that he has such a good staff to help him over the next few days. We wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving tomorrow. We as a family are so thankful for his progress so far, for the excellent staff at UW hospital, and for my parents' recent move to Wisconsin that allows Abby, John, Grace, and I to be so close so we can be there with him. Within the next few days, we anticipate being thankful to have Dad back home with us again. Until then, please keep the prayers and positive thoughts coming!
Andrew, Abby, and Leslie
The afib is tricky because it makes him feel generally nauseous and tired. The doctors and nurses told us that afib is decently common after surgery, but that they wanted to admit him back to the cardiac unit so that they could monitor for a few days and make sure that it stabilized back into sinus (normal) rhythm. After a couple hours in the ED, his heart returned to its normal rhythm and he feels a little better. Hopefully, it will continue to stay that way for the next few days.
The ileus basically means that his intestine is not properly moving things through his digestive system. He's had some improvement in that area over the last few days, but they did move him back to no food or liquids for the next 24 hours while they medicate "from the top and bottom" to get his GI tract back on track. Hopefully in a day or so, he'll be able to eat and drink again, and return back to normal.
None of the medical team seems hugely concerned, but certainly the symptoms are worth monitoring and we are thankful that he has such a good staff to help him over the next few days. We wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving tomorrow. We as a family are so thankful for his progress so far, for the excellent staff at UW hospital, and for my parents' recent move to Wisconsin that allows Abby, John, Grace, and I to be so close so we can be there with him. Within the next few days, we anticipate being thankful to have Dad back home with us again. Until then, please keep the prayers and positive thoughts coming!
Andrew, Abby, and Leslie
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