Continued - Dr. Moran

The door opened and in walked Dr. Moran.  He quickly introduced himself and asked which of us was Mrs. Adams.  I shook his hand and then introduced John's sister Barbara, and my friend Joan.

He asked us to have a seat.  My heart was beating really fast, the anticipation of what he might say had overruled my efforts to stay in control.  I sat down and looked at him, the man that had hopefully, just saved my husband's life. He looked very confident and you would never know he had just performed major surgery.  He turned to me and said, "Your husband is doing fine.  I performed a thoracoscopic pericardial window and took almost two liters of fluid from around his heart.  His blood pressure and heart rate have returned to normal. I don't know who named it a 'window', but what we do is just cut a hole so the fluid can be drained, so, it isn't really a 'window' but that is the name of the procedure.   I did put a tube below the incision to drain any additional fluid.  We will monitor the drainage for several days and when the fluid decreases, the tube will be removed.  I will be giving him drugs that will cause him to be unable to remember all of this.  Mrs. Adams, I don't want to be overly dramatic, but I have done hundreds of these operations and I have never seen anyone with his statistics that survived.  He is one tough man.  His body somehow compensated for what was going on with his heart.  There was so much fluid around his heart it was unable to beat effectively and get oxygen through out his body, that is why he was struggling for every breath.  His acidic levels were minus 17, the worst I have documented and the fact that he was still able to talk to me and understand what I was saying just prior to the surgery is almost a miracle.  He should have been incoherent.  His liver and kidneys had already started shutting down and he was within one hour of dying.  When I go into the operating room, as the anesthesiologist is getting the patient ready, I normally check on things, make sure everything is in place and then begin surgery.  I didn't have that luxury today, as soon as the mask was put on his face, I had a knife in his chest.  We didn't have one second to lose.  He must be a strong man, I don't know how his body managed with all that was going on.  I know I have given you a lot of information, do you have any questions for me?"

All I heard was John was going to be okay.  But my mind started racing, was there any damage done, when can we see him, questions, questions, questions?  Dr. Moran answered all my questions, taking his time and making sure I understood.  He was so calm and his bedside manner was excellent.  He explained everything very well to me and was patient as I stumbled through the concerns I had.

"He will be moved to the 4th floor, the nurses there are very familiar with this surgery and are well equipped to take care of him.  One of my assistants will be in few minutes to get an authorization to insert a main line into his heart.  It will allow us to monitor his blood and give any medications he may need," he said.  With that he stood up and once again asked if there were any more questions.

After he left, his words had been so calming and confident, it took a few minutes for it all to sink in.  But then, we hugged each other, there were tears and we all squealed with delight....he was going to be okay.  Now, we just had to hope and pray for no other complications or infection.

A few minutes later, Dr. Moran's assistant came to get authorization for the procedure.  It would only take a few minutes he said, and once it was done, John would be moved to room 444 in the Heart Institute.

It had been a long day.  It was nearly 6:00 p.m. and I couldn't wait to see John and just hold his hand.

To be continued....

PCQ