8/24/09 11:30 am

Mom continues to improve everyday. I saw her yesterday before I left for the airport. She says she is able to walk down the driveway and back to the house without stopping. She is getting stronger each day.

Because she is doing so well, it is time for this blog to come to an end. Thanks to everyone for all of the comments and emails. I know Mom appreciates them.

8/20/09 10 pm

Talked to Dad this afternoon. He says Mom is doing well. She is able to get out of her chair on her own! She is getting stronger every day.

8/19/09 10 pm

I talked to Mom tonight. She is settling in at home. She sounds like she is doing well and getting stronger daily.

8/19/09 11 AM

What a difference 12 hours makes! I just got the following email from my father: "Ellen is going to come home today. She called earlier and told me that she is going to have another unit of blood, then will come home after the transfusion."

Great news!

8/18/09 10 pm

Talked to Dad tonight. He reports that Mom is still doing well. She is taking supplemental oxygen via a "nose hose". (Not sure what else to call it! It's where you stick the tabs in your nose, so it's not a mask or anything....)

She is learning how to get in and out of bed and chairs. She was able to read some of the newspaper today, so that tells me she is on the mend.

No word yet as to when she'll be released from the hospital, but we are thinking it will not be tomorrow. (They were originally saying she would have a 5 day stay.)

8/17/09 11 pm

I talked to Mom tonight. She is doing fine. They have her up and walking which is a bit of a chore since she isn't supposed to use her arms to get out of bed. She has to breathe in a tube like gizmo 10 times an hour. That is to keep her lungs clear. She says she is doing ok with that exercise.

Dad said that Mom received three units of blood during her surgery. The blood bank supply of blood is very low. Please consider donating blood in your local area for those in need.

8/16/09 4 pm

Just left from visiting Mom. They were preparing to move her to "the floor". She will be in room 490 in the "Cardiac One" unit of Our Lady of the Lake.

I think she is looking remarkably well for someone who has just had major surgery. Much of (what little) swelling there was has gone down. She is in some pain, but that is to be expected.

I am at the airport waiting for my flight to Kansas. (for those of you who don't know, that is where my current assignment is.) I'll post updates when I hear from Dad and my brothers.

Thanks again for all the emails, comments and phone calls. They are appreciated.

8/15/09 3:30 pm

Dad and I visited Mom this afternoon. She started waking up around 6 am this morning and they took her breathing tube out around 8 am. When we got there a little after 1 pm, she was sitting up in a chair eating lunch. She had chicken soup, pudding and the ubiquitous jello.

Dad and I think that she looks remarkably well for someone who just had major surgery. She has some swelling, but not as bad as the doctor had indicated she might. They are saying that she will spend one more night in CICU and move out to a "real" room tomorrow.

My brother Tom and I are planning to visit again at 5, and Dad and Bob are going at 9.

8/15/09 11:30 am

My brothers, Tom and Bob, went to visit Mom this morning. She is awake and off the ventilator. She is not feeling to well, which is to be expected.

Everything is going acording to plan!

Thanks for all the emails and comments. I'm printing them out to take to Mom this afternoon.

8/14/09 8:00 pm

Mom is resting comfortably in CICU (Cardiac ICU). As of 7:30 pm, she had not woke up. The doctors assure us that this is completely normal with someone who just had heart surgery, especially someone of Mom's age.

Dad and I were able to see her at 1:00 pm. She looked better than the doctor had set expectations for. She was on the ventilator and had a really neat "warming" air mattress. I have got to get one for winters in Kansas! (The air mattress that is, not the ventilator!)

Because she was unconscious, Dad and I left to get some rest. (Bob had a work meeting to attend and Tom has a cold.) If she is awake, we plan to go see her at 9 am. Otherwise, the next visiting hours are at 10 am Saturday morning.

8/14/09 11:20 am

Just met with the surgeon. Mom is in recovery. Everything went fine and was routine. She is still asleep and on the ventilator. He said that "older" people take "longer" to come out of anethesia. It could be as little as an hour, but it could be tonight or tomorrow morning. He expects her to be on the ventilator until she completely wakes up.

Bob, Dad and I are in the "Critical Care" waiting room.

8/14/09 10:40 am

Just heard from the surgeon. Mom is off the heart/lung machine and they are closing now. Shouldn't be too much longer.

8/14/09 10:00 AM

Just heard from the operating room. Mom's valve is replaced and they are starting to wean her from the heart/lung machine. She is doing well.

8/14/09 8:45 am

Mom is having her aortic heart valve replaced today at Our Lady of the Lake Hospital. She went into surgery about 8:25 this morning. It is expected to last 3 - 4 hours. We should get hourly updates from the surgeon.

She is expected to stay in the hospital for five days.

More soon!