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SWT’s surgery update

Hi All,

This is SWTs wife, and I wanted to give y’all an update on him post surgery.  I apologize for not getting information out sooner–we were on the way to preop screening Thursday when we got the call the surgery had been postponed to yesterday due to an emergency case needing to be prioritized over his procedure.  He took a good long while coming out of anesthetic yesterday and while his heart has been “fixed” it is beating far too slowly and so he’s still requiring external pacing.  At this point the medical staff is looking at medication to stimulate his heart beat and if that fails, a permanently implanted pacemaker.

Regardless, his echocardiogram today showed excellent ventricular and mitral valve function.  So it’s simply a waiting game on the heartbeat.  We appreciate the well wishes and support you all have shown; it really has meant more to us than we can express.  As for the site–I was training (hahaha) on how to run everything but we ran out of time.  We’re hoping SWT is out of the hospital by Friday/Saturday this week, and then it will be a few days before he can resume limited work on the site for about 3 weeks.  Please be patient, we’ll be back to full throttle ASAP.

 

“Good” is relative, but he really does look worlds better from just 24 hours ago!

13 thoughts on “SWT’s surgery update

  1. Hope he’s doing OK.

    Hope you are too Darling.

    All the best and a speedy recovery.

    1. Thank you so much. <3 He has all the charm of a wounded honey badger which is usually a good sign of healing. LOL It's been an interesting balancing act with our kids, but thankfully the hospital has a fantastic care team that has worked extensively with us, so when I can't be there I know he's still getting excellent care.

  2. Great to hear he made it through and is now on the mend. Hope the recovery is speedy and that you both get much deserved rest this week.

  3. That’s great news! Thank you for the update and we are praying for a faster heartbeat and a full recovery. Focus on getting stronger. We will be here for you when you return.

  4. Ahh that’s fantastic to hear!! Give him my best for a speedy recovery, and thanks luv for keeping us worry warts updated ?❤️

    1. Thank you guys so much!! I am relaying your messages to him because right now he’s sore,and grumpy,and just really not feeling anything. I’ve been trying to get him to eat, and he doesn’t want more than just liquids. I left the phone there with his books on tape and videos and he hasn’t picked it up. I hope that the well wishes will give him a little more motivation, because (barring the heartbeat issue) the idea is to get him to a cardiac step down unit today or tomorrow so we can have him home by the weekend. We’re very much without support here (other than each other) and your messages have been such a bright spot to him. On a personal level I appreciate y’all rallying around him so much. He is my everything and I honestly believe that all the positive thoughts and prayers going out to the universe for him recently helped make this outcome as good as it has been. I will be forever grateful for your enthusiastic support.

  5. hank you for the update. God bless him.

  6. Hope all goes well. Hope he/you are better than ever. It

  7. Speedy recovery, and hope all is well.

  8. Don’t let anything deflate either of you!

    “Minor” speed bump in your family and your empire.

    Hope to see the recovery go speedier then expected and both of you get back to some kind of normalcy.

    No rush on file creation, focus on healing. Although maybe Mrs. SWT can work on a “positive outlook/attitude” / “mind over matter” / “clarity” type of sub. Could be beneficial in current circumstances and might be a general affirmation one to sell or include 🙂

    1. So good news update–He spontaneously cardioverted (Went into a normal heart rhythm) at about 3 pm CST today. His heart is chugging along at a good 67 beats per minute and he is starting to feel more perky as a result. This is very optimistic for getting him in to a stepdown unit in the next couple days. The next challenge is getting his swelling down–they give a LOT of fluids in the ICU because of all the medicines he is on to keep everything functioning. Now, the trick is to find a medicine that keeps blood pressure under control and encourages fluid loss–but doesn’t depress heart rate. I feel more optimistic right now than I have since everything started, and I am hoping we get him home by the weekend.

      1. I just love that you’re keeping us all updated in what must be a very trying and emotional time for you luv! Thanks you so much – and as has been said above, focus on the healing and family before you or he even THINKS about stepping back to the files etc.

        We love everything you have done for us so far and know, with time and rest, that he will be back soon enough – and we will be here waiting 🙂

        Thank you again for the updates! <3 🙂

        1. Thank you for being concerned and interested! It is cathartic for me to talk about, because we are a looong way from any support unit, and it’s very isolating. Today has been amazing. Today His HR is up in the 80’s where it should be. All but two of his lines (He has drainage from the lung and heart space because he is producing a lot of fluid post surgery) have been dc’d and he has moved to the step down unit. We’re looking at this weekend as the earliest time he’ll be able to come home because of the earlier complications with his heartbeat, and he really has no appetite (it’s hard for him to eat and breathe at the same time) but he is more or less out of the woods right now, and that is hugely encouraging. I met with the doctor for rounds this AM and when he told me that SWT was going to stepdown, and the lines were coming out? It was like this huge, staggering weight came off my shoulders.

          Once we get him home, I’ll be looking at taking over some of the file mastering and if y’all need anything, I’ll be your go to person until further notice. He’ll be helping me when he can, and sleeping. A lot. We also have four kiddos (13, 7, 2 & 1) that I’ll be wrangling exclusively, so the best times to reach me will be early morning or later evening, CST. Thank you again for all the support and encouragement! You are an amazing bunch!! My love and thanks to each and every one of you!

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