_Viva_
02-08-2009, 01:13 PM
Well, Pop is back home. He had surgery, a carotid endarterectomy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carotid_endarterectomy) on Friday. I have been a basket case, and haven't posted about it because it's been eating me up inside. But now that it's all over, I can breathe again, and try to get some of this out.
Well, of course the backstory, he had the stroke on Thanksgiving. I got myself involved that day by insisting that he get the controversial clot-busting drug tPA, which luckily worked very well, and they sent him home, and he'd been doing really well. They did a CTA (contrast cat scan of the neck) while he was in the hospital and found what they'd decided was a 60% blockage of his left carotid artery. So, they decided that they would just release him and "watch him".
Well, something in my gut kept gnawing at me. It didn't feel right. He'd had a stroke, even tho the tPA worked and he was OK, I just had this impending feeling of doom that he was going to have another.
So the next week, when I went back to work, I happened to be working in Cardiac Recovery. Dr C, one of the top vascular docs around, was rounding on his patients. Now, every nurse in our hospital knows that there are some docs that are 'approachable' and some that aren't. Dr C is on the "aren't" list, LOL! He's known for being very short, even snippy with the nurses. But, he's damn good, and unbelieveably smart. So, much to the amazement of the girls I was working with, I stopped him in the nurse's station and said, "Dr C, do you have a minute to talk to me. I'd really like to pick your brain about something, please."
Well, he looked at me like I was nuts. The nurses thought I'd lost my mind. But, to my pleasant surprise, curiosity got the better of him, and he motioned for us to sit down. I told him about Pop, about the stroke, his 60% blockage and my 'gut'. He said, yeah, for most people, a blockage of less than 70%, it's not really worth the risk of surgery to go messing with the carotid, but yeah, in my dad's case, something just didn't add up. Then he gave me the back number to his office and told me to call his assistant personally and schedule my dad for a consult.
Then I had to call my dad. I explained to dad, that even tho they said that 60% was not something he needed to really worry that much about, I really wanted him to come up and talk to Dr C. I also said that I wanted his to see Dr A, a heme doc, to evaluate wheter his Factor V Leiden had anything to do with the stroke, or if he had any other clotting issues. He said that my gut was right about the tPA, so he'd come up and talk to anybody I wanted him to. They live four hours away, so it wasn't a small thing to arrange, as mom then had to drive him up for all these appts that I had him running to.
Well, After the consults, Dr C said he was really wondering about that carotid, too, and wanted dad to get another angiogram, this one an invasive, in depth one, in the actual cath lab. So that was scheduled for the Monday before last.
Well, turns out, the blockage wan't 60%. Huh. It was only 40%. Which, when Dr C told me, I couldn't understand the grave look on his face. That's good, no? No. Even tho the blockage was less PERCENTAGEWISE, apparantly the better views afforded by the more indepth angiogram showed that it was a very dangerous blockage. The plaque was extremely ulcerated, macerated, and at a bifurcation. It was "the consistency of wet cat food." Dr C said that he could tell me, with 100% certainty, that this is what caused dad's stroke, and he could tell me, in all likelyhood, dad would stroke again, and it wouldn't be minor. Then he looked at Pop, and told him that he recommended surgery, and asked Dad if he would be OK with going thru with the surgery.
Dad looked at Dr C, looked at me, and said, "I trust her with my life. Whatever she thinks is the right thing to do, I'll do it."
I have never been so scared. I had to make the decision to send my dad to surgery. On a 40% lesion. Even Dr C said, that if someone told him they were operating on a 40% lesion, he'd think they were nuts. But "it is what it is, and it's a dangerous lesion". So I told dad I thought he should have the surgery.
Dr C said he could get him in the following Friday. (two days ago). I spent those 12 days worried out of my mind. Was I making the right choice? I knew, if something went wrong, it would be on my heart that I sent dad into it. I was incredibly honored and humbled that dad trusted me so greatly, and was terrified that I wasn't worthy of that trust, and that I would make the wrong choice.
Well, he had the surgery two days ago. Dr C brought me in to show me the plaque he'd taken out. I cried when I saw it. Yeah, we did the right thing. It was even worse than they thought from the angiogram. It was all loose, yeah, like 'wet cat food'. Just waiting to break apart. The anesthesiologist told me it was 'damn near a miracle' that dad hadn't had another stroke and died in the last few months. Honestly, I can hardly believe it myself. It was nasty looking.
So, dad is now home, recovering from surgery. My gut was right, and I can breathe again. I shudder to think about the "what if's." And I'm very thankful for all the prayers that you all have provided.
Well, of course the backstory, he had the stroke on Thanksgiving. I got myself involved that day by insisting that he get the controversial clot-busting drug tPA, which luckily worked very well, and they sent him home, and he'd been doing really well. They did a CTA (contrast cat scan of the neck) while he was in the hospital and found what they'd decided was a 60% blockage of his left carotid artery. So, they decided that they would just release him and "watch him".
Well, something in my gut kept gnawing at me. It didn't feel right. He'd had a stroke, even tho the tPA worked and he was OK, I just had this impending feeling of doom that he was going to have another.
So the next week, when I went back to work, I happened to be working in Cardiac Recovery. Dr C, one of the top vascular docs around, was rounding on his patients. Now, every nurse in our hospital knows that there are some docs that are 'approachable' and some that aren't. Dr C is on the "aren't" list, LOL! He's known for being very short, even snippy with the nurses. But, he's damn good, and unbelieveably smart. So, much to the amazement of the girls I was working with, I stopped him in the nurse's station and said, "Dr C, do you have a minute to talk to me. I'd really like to pick your brain about something, please."
Well, he looked at me like I was nuts. The nurses thought I'd lost my mind. But, to my pleasant surprise, curiosity got the better of him, and he motioned for us to sit down. I told him about Pop, about the stroke, his 60% blockage and my 'gut'. He said, yeah, for most people, a blockage of less than 70%, it's not really worth the risk of surgery to go messing with the carotid, but yeah, in my dad's case, something just didn't add up. Then he gave me the back number to his office and told me to call his assistant personally and schedule my dad for a consult.
Then I had to call my dad. I explained to dad, that even tho they said that 60% was not something he needed to really worry that much about, I really wanted him to come up and talk to Dr C. I also said that I wanted his to see Dr A, a heme doc, to evaluate wheter his Factor V Leiden had anything to do with the stroke, or if he had any other clotting issues. He said that my gut was right about the tPA, so he'd come up and talk to anybody I wanted him to. They live four hours away, so it wasn't a small thing to arrange, as mom then had to drive him up for all these appts that I had him running to.
Well, After the consults, Dr C said he was really wondering about that carotid, too, and wanted dad to get another angiogram, this one an invasive, in depth one, in the actual cath lab. So that was scheduled for the Monday before last.
Well, turns out, the blockage wan't 60%. Huh. It was only 40%. Which, when Dr C told me, I couldn't understand the grave look on his face. That's good, no? No. Even tho the blockage was less PERCENTAGEWISE, apparantly the better views afforded by the more indepth angiogram showed that it was a very dangerous blockage. The plaque was extremely ulcerated, macerated, and at a bifurcation. It was "the consistency of wet cat food." Dr C said that he could tell me, with 100% certainty, that this is what caused dad's stroke, and he could tell me, in all likelyhood, dad would stroke again, and it wouldn't be minor. Then he looked at Pop, and told him that he recommended surgery, and asked Dad if he would be OK with going thru with the surgery.
Dad looked at Dr C, looked at me, and said, "I trust her with my life. Whatever she thinks is the right thing to do, I'll do it."
I have never been so scared. I had to make the decision to send my dad to surgery. On a 40% lesion. Even Dr C said, that if someone told him they were operating on a 40% lesion, he'd think they were nuts. But "it is what it is, and it's a dangerous lesion". So I told dad I thought he should have the surgery.
Dr C said he could get him in the following Friday. (two days ago). I spent those 12 days worried out of my mind. Was I making the right choice? I knew, if something went wrong, it would be on my heart that I sent dad into it. I was incredibly honored and humbled that dad trusted me so greatly, and was terrified that I wasn't worthy of that trust, and that I would make the wrong choice.
Well, he had the surgery two days ago. Dr C brought me in to show me the plaque he'd taken out. I cried when I saw it. Yeah, we did the right thing. It was even worse than they thought from the angiogram. It was all loose, yeah, like 'wet cat food'. Just waiting to break apart. The anesthesiologist told me it was 'damn near a miracle' that dad hadn't had another stroke and died in the last few months. Honestly, I can hardly believe it myself. It was nasty looking.
So, dad is now home, recovering from surgery. My gut was right, and I can breathe again. I shudder to think about the "what if's." And I'm very thankful for all the prayers that you all have provided.