July 10th, the day after the surgery was done. We were able to visit our dad in the ICU and see him since he had woken up from the surgery and was asking about us. Little did we know that we wouldn’t be able to tolerate it much. The ICU was a warm place, meant to be that way to let the patients recover nicely from the operation. So as we were standing there visiting, I guess the intensity of seeing all those wires connected to our Dad and everything we felt a little uneasy, I first started feeling a difficulty breathing and standing up, I started to put my handbag right in front of me to push on my heart a bit and stop it’s racing or the clamped up feeling inside. I couldn’t handle it so I said my Goodbye’s to Dad and told him he was doing great, he of course couldn’t talk much it hurt to talk. And told my sister I was going to wait for her outside.
At that point I wasn’t feeling well at all, I started seeing white spots surrounded by blackness so I rushed outside quickly and sat on the floor outside the ICU Unit. Closed my eyes a bit and fainted just for a few seconds. While waiting for things to get back to normal I was also waiting for my sister, but she still hasn’t come out, and I was hearing a “Code Blue” in the ICU, with Doctors and medics rushing in. Little did I know that it was my sister who blacked out right there on the floor.
Sadly enough Dad saw this but I assured him we were fine, she woke up shortly and we went to the ER to get her checked out. Luckily it was just her blood pressure dropping but other than that things were good with her. We headed back upstairs to let Dad make sure we’re fine and not worry about us and then we left him to go have something to eat since not only were we dehydrated but hungry as well.
Dear All,
Thanks for your kind prayers, we have just been informed that the surgery went well. Dad had three grafts made into his heart to redirect the blood to it and all went well. The first incision was made at 9:05am yet he went on bypass at 2:15pm. The operation was concluded at around 4:45pm where the doctor informed us that all went well and that his heart is better now than before. At 5:25pm he was sent into the ICU and at 6:10pm we were able to see him inside.
He has alot of equipment connected to him but is still asleep and resting from the operation. Thank you everyone for your prayers we hope everything will be great from now onwards.
Thank you very much,
Jacqui
Today, the 9th of July, is the day my dad goes into his surgery. Or basically he went into it. We had to be ready before 5am in order to go and check in, his operation was at 8am, he is having Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery. So I was up at 4:00AM, we got ready and all, and headed downstairs to wait for our ride. It was raining outside which was kind of cool.
We got to the hospital, no one was here yet which is cool, I took some pictures of him listening to his iPod while we were waiting to get called. Shortly after 5:30AM we were called and given a Pager in which the surgeon updates us about what is happening in the surgery. Then we were called to go towards the Pre-Op area where my sister and I were separated from our Dad. He went in to get prepared while we were waiting in the Waiting area. At around 6:30AM we were called to go to him, and we spent 2 hours chatting and making jokes with him, it was nerve wrecking a bit and he kept on saying can I change my mind now? I feel so much better.
Cleveland is like a big hospital, I doubt there is much to do here but go to hospitals and stuff since the Clinic is almost as big as a University Campus with multiple places to go to. So basically the third day was the 8th of July where the items on our schedule were to go meet up with the Pre-op team, Dad would do a few last minute tests and we would get educated on what to expect before and after the surgery.
Waiting for the Shuttle that would take us from the hotel to Cleveland Clinic
The police station right in front of our hotel
I think I will stick to naming the posts as I am doing right now since it’s much easier to track and simpler than trying to find something creative or relative to the post right? Anyways so the 7th of July was our second day in Cleveland and was the day my dad had his appointment with the Dr in Cleveland Clinic, one of the best hospitals in the US for Heart Problems.
We were all jet lagged, me mostly since I slept very early the afternoon before and woke up at around 3:30am and stayed awake all day, well for the most part of it. So preparing ourselves to go out wasn’t that difficult, we got ready and headed downstairs to wait for the Shuttle Buses that would take us to the International Registration Center. There we met with our advisors and got the instructions we had to follow, such as opening a bank account, meeting our translator, going to get the tests done.
So July 6th was my first day in Cleveland, the first time I set foot in Ohio. The great thing about this State or where we’re at is that the airport is only 15 minutes away from the hotel rather than my sister’s place which was 2 hours away from St Louis.
So we got to the hotel and I wanted to take pictures but the camera was running out of battery time, therefore I didn’t take any pictures. So what did we do, well my sister Fee joined us at the airport as a surprise to dad. And it’s great really. Having her here, we got to the hotel a few minutes later and settled in. Hooked up to the Internet and then we left Dad and headed out to check what groceries we can buy, we found a Walmart at the Steelyard along with other shops there, but we mostly went to Best Buy and Walmart.
Lunch was at Applebees, which I loved, the food was great and their new menus were so adorable! I took a few pictures with my mobile phone rather than the camera since it was back at the hotel being recharged. We ate, I had the Chicken Parmesan and then we headed to Walmart to buy what we needed, some food, a toaster oven, toast, and the rest of the stuff we eat. All in all it was a great day.
One thing I’d like to say is that the weather here is simply amazing!!! Chilly yet not too chilly and hot but not too hot! Just perfect, hell I went out in a sleeveless shirt but had to put on a sweater because of the wind that was blowing in. An Apple Store is only 17 minutes away from here near Beachwood Place and I want to head there but most likely after things settle down.
This trip is a bit different, I am trying to enjoy my time and take as many pictures as I can each day just so I can document as many as I can. There are so many tourist things that we can do here, and maybe when Dee joins us then we can do it as a whole group. But right now we have to prepare for Dad’s surgery and all.
Our flight was the next day, Saturday the 5th of July at 9:30am and it wasn’t a direct flight therefore it was kind of annoying to be on, the only good thing was that we had some nice seats in the J-Class and that made it somewhat tolerable. Kuwait Airways has changed I guess to the worst since I have flown on it before because J Class is becoming like Economy class as in they don’t take care of you that well. We were handed those wet towels before take off except they weren’t hot nor were they wet, just had a tiny bit of moisture and was pointless really. The food on the flight was somewhat weird, I did however like the Lamb chop with potato lunch since it was delicious!
I tried to sleep on the flight to London but didn’t get much sleep only a 2 hours or so, but we did arrive on time there, and we went through the gate kind of quickly since we had Dad on a wheelchair. I was impressed with the shopping that you can do at Heathrow airport, it’s like you don’t have to leave at all, everything was there. I also enjoyed looking at the scenary when we were landing, I actually noticed Big Ben, London Bridge, the Thames River and more. It was awesome fun!
a 28 year old Kuwaiti Gadget Freak who is obsessively in love with Apple Products so much that she probably has everything made by Apple. Currently she's being a lazy bum and putting off writing and everything else but when she does this is her space where she likes to vent and release everything, so welcome to it.
A blogger for the past 8 years and still loving it.
