On Tuesday, December 8th, Dick had an appointment at Shands Hospital in Gainesville, FL. We thought we were going up there to schedule his March surgery and to have a preliminary meeting with the surgeon. Dick went through all the usual intake questions (family history, previous surgeries, etc.) and then Dr. Beck came in and went through another battery of questions and pulled up information from records that we brought with us to the appointment. As he reviewed the CT scan he told us that the abdominal aneurysm was not as big as previously reported. It appeared that the 6.5 measurements was taken at a place where the aorta turned so it was more of a diagonal measurement - like measuring a cucumber that was cut diagonally – and that the aneurysm was at a measurement of 4.5. He was however very concerned about an aneurysm that Dick has on his ascending aorta – the large vein coming out of the heart. Since he only does surgery on the descending aorta and surgery on the ascending aorta is technically heart surgery, he sent one of his colleagues in to talk to us. Dr. Lee told Dick that he would need to have surgery sooner than later and asked if we would prefer to wait until after Christmas – which we said yes to. He sent Dick to have another CT scan, focusing on the aneurysms and we left Gainesville to return to Orlando.
Wednesday morning as we were drinking coffee trying to decide what to do that day the phone rang with a scheduler from Shands hospital telling us that Dick needed to get up to Shands immediately for surgery. Since he was the technician that was scheduling the surgery, he couldn’t give us any more information than that and Dick asked for a call back from the doctor to find out exactly what was going on. The doctor’s PA called back and told us that there had been growth in the aneurysm since September and the doctor thought the surgery should be done immediately. So we hastily packed our bags and headed for Shands.
Long story short, the surgery was not done that day. Dick spent 3 days in the hospital while they did testing, started weaning him off of his blood thinners, and he met with anesthesiology. In just a few short days, the 21st of this month Dick will be having a 6 hour open heart surgery where they will stop his heart and put him on a by-pass machine while they removed the diseased portion of his ascending aorta and replace it with a tube of some kind (can't remember what the doctor called it). The doctor assured us that there is only a 2% chance of death and that he performs these surgeries all the time ... comforting yes, comforting no, depends on the moment. Just the talk of death freaks us out a bit. But as a Christ-follower, death isn't to be feared, right?
The thing that Dick fears the most is the pain that he will inevitably endure and the 2+ month recovery process. This has made us ponder how gracious our Lord is to (usually) not let us know the hardships that we will walk through in life before we walk through them ... the fear of what is to come can sometimes be the hardest part of the journey ... sometimes.
We are so grateful for the way that God's providence has been woven throughout this whole process.
- The heart attack lead to the discovery of the aneurysm in his abdomen
- While surgery wasn't supposed to take place until March, Dick met with the surgeon last week only to find that the original worry (the abdominal aneurysm) wasn't as serious as originally thought but that the ascending aortic aneurysm, that was originally thought not to be a problem, was the one that needed to be cared for ... urgently.
The day after we returned from the hospital, this is what we read in a new devotional that we received from a friend:
"… When your head throbs, when your heart palpitates, when your system is upset, it is natural to say with Jacob, "All these things are against me." We complain of providence, but this is the time to apply the promise with power. "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God, I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you. I will uphold you with My righteous right hand" (Is. 41:10). When pain gives every sign of increasing, when we wait for the surgeon with his dreaded knife, if we are to be sustained under suffering that makes the flesh shudder, we need the upholding gentleness of God. "Fear not, for I am with you." This promise, like the nightingale's song, is most sweet when heard in the night season.”
And that does indeed bring comfort, how incredibly timely. I have a feeling that this will be something that we read over and over again in the coming days!
So we wish you and yours a very blessed Christmas. Hug your loved ones and remember what a gift they are in your life. We love and appreciate you all and covet your prayers for no complications and a speedy recovery.
