Pre-op Plans

Many thanks to everyone for your faithful prayers, hugs and statements of support for Terrie. She says she has never felt so loved and appreciated by so many. She is overwhelmed with hugs & comments at church every time we go. Last Wednesday night, 14 of our shepherds met with us after church and prayed over her. It was a wonderfully comforting time. This Wednesday, July 1, we have two important appointments: Terrie goes to the HEB hospital at 12:45 PM for her pre-op work and instructions and then we meet with the surgeon at 4:30 that same afternoon. We have lots of questions about the procedure, the recovery and especially, about the anesthesia and pain medications. Please pray that we not only get good information, but that we also come away with peace about the ability to keep Terrie from getting nauseated after the surgery. So far God is wonderfully guiding us through this side of the procedure. We are getting all positive confirmations of both the surgeon and the cardiologist we are using. We pray now that God will be near and powerful during the surgery and throughout her recovery. And again, we are both humbled by your attention in this whole ordeal! What a great family we have in the Lord!

Surgery Date Set

Terrie's surgery has been scheduled for Tuesday, July 7. Her surgeon will be Dr. Savcenko and the procedure will be done at HEB hospital (Hurst-Euless-Bedford). We will have a consultation with the doc on July 1 to ask questions and learn what to expect during the surgery. His office tells us that she will be hospitalized for 5-7 days and that the recuperation is a 9-12 week process. During her weeks of recovery, she will begin cardiac rehab under the direction of her cardiologist, Dr. Paranandi. Here is our main prayer focus to share with you: Terrie has a history of reactions to anesthetic and strong pain medication - the kind that this surgery requires. She almost invariably feels rotten and gets nauseaus during her early recovery period. And the coughing and throwing up that accompany this are NOT what you want to happen after such a surgery. So, our prayer is that God will provide some medications to keep this from happening. We plan to stress our concerns to the surgeon and the anesthesiologist so that they can make wise choices in medications. We trust the Lord to get her through this ordeal in the best way possible and we count on your prayers to ask Him for that blessing. Thanks again for all your concern and petitions to the heavenly throne!

Birthday Girl

Today is Terrie's birthday, so she received her first ever Edible Arrangement. It was quite impressive! The whole family loved it, especially with all 9 grandkids hanging out at our house this week! The pineapple flowers were a particular hit. Since I sprang this little gift on Terrie before she had done the day's hair & make-up, she chose to pose behind the Happy Birthday balloon. That really is Terrie behind there! Happy Birthday to my sweetie!

Waiting Mode

I haven't blogged in the last few days because we are awaiting confirmation from the cardiologist of a date proposed by the heart surgeon. The date is in early July, but if the cardiologist feels it's too much of a wait, we will attempt to schedule sooner with another surgeon. So, here are some specific prayer bullets for the meantime:

• that God guide us into the hands of the perfect surgeon for Terrie
• that we have the surgery at the hospital with the best facilities & care for her
• that Terrie be healthy until the surgery can be completed (she feels no symptoms, but does tire easily due to the beta blockers she is taking)
• that God will remove any anxieties that Terrie feels as she approaches the surgery

All you prayer warriors out there are so precious to us. Terrie has repeatedly commented in the last 2 weeks about how remarkable it is that so many are taking her name to God's throne. She is getting an ocean of hugs every time she goes to church. Thank you so much!

Heart Doc Visit

The doc appointment today confirmed what we were fearing. Terrie does need bypass surgery to effectively correct her blockage. In fact, considering the 100% blockage and the three other areas where she has partial blockage, she could end up with a triple or quadruple bypass when it's all over. Actually, we are assured that it's a good thing to be able to repair the partial blockages while the surgeon has the heart exposed. The timing of the surgery is important but not in the emergency category. The cardiologist feels it would be just fine to wait on the surgery until after Summer Spectacular (the RHCC VBS equivalent), which will encompass all of next week. Terrie will be doing her normal moderate daily stuff - just not doing anything to stress her heart. We are talking with the heart surgeon that we met at the hospital last Friday. He will be out of town for two weeks, returning on the 29th. We will either wait on his return or opt for another surgeon in his office. When we get the date firmed up, I'll post it for your prayer focus. Terrie and I have great faith that God is guiding us through this process. Already today, we had two strong confirmations of the skill of the heart surgeon with whom we are talking. We believe in God's guidance of this doc, the hospital staff and everyone involved to accomplish His will. We trust that Terrie will do very well through this surgery and will recover to a fully healthy heart and get to grandmother for many more years! Keep those prayers going!

The Set Up

Our current situation has driven me into the blogging world. So, here we go with the set up: A few weeks ago my precious Terrie began the process of a complete physical check up. During all her testing, an abnormality in her heart was detected. After pursing various tests - multiple EKGs, a nuclear stress test, at-rest test, echocardiograms, and finally a heart cath test last Friday - the following has been discovered: one of the main branches of her left coronary artery is 100% blocked. In addition, one branch of the right c.a. is showing some narrowing in a couple of spots. The good news is that her corollary arteries on the heart have branched over to the starved region and kept that part of the heart muscle alive! Praise God for that. The bad news is that she is likely going to have bypass surgery to correct the 100% blockage and restore a healthy blood flow that that area of the heart. The narrowed spots would be given attention as well during the procedure. We will visit with her cardiologist tomorrow (Wed, 6/10) to learn more. I'll post more tomorrow. Many of you have already been praying for Terrie and we cherish those prayers and beg you to continue. Blessings to you all!