The Laterest

The good news is that my mom was even more alert and more like herself today and all of her numbers looked good.

She finally got to have some food - she hadn't had anything to eat other than some pudding and jello since she had lunch on her birthday back on the 29th. She'd fallen and cut her head - which is what most likely triggered the heart attack - that evening on her way out to have dinner, and had been too sick to eat anything Saturday or Sunday.

So she had breakfast this morning - and sat up in the chair for an hour and a half - and then lunch, and then dinner.

She also was at a point at which she only needed the oxygen mask when she was sleeping, and now is at the point of not needing it at all.

The better news is that she's in good enough shape that she's being transferred out from under the auspices of the Critical Care doctor and will be under the care of the cardiovascular specialists who will actually be performing her surgery.

The bad news is that we still don't know when the surgery will be. The surgeons will be in sometime tomorrow, so hopefully we'll find out then.

The worse news is that she still seems to have some internal bleeding - most likely a bleeding ulcer - which prevents her from having surgery, as the surgery will involve some heavy-duty blood thinners. However, she doesn't appear to be bleeding too much, as her hemoglobin levels are staying steady (she previously needed two transfusions).

The worst news, though, is her overall condition. In addition to the blockages around her heart, which necessitate the bypass surgery, her carotid artery is also very thin. Her heart isn't in good enough shape for them to address that, but if they don't address it, the increased flow of blood that will result from the bypass could cause the blockage to come loose and hit her brain, so there's a strong possibility that after the bypass she could have a stroke.

It's possible that without the surgery she could get by on medication, but she wouldn't be in very good shape, and there's a chance that at any time she could have a massive heart attack and/or stroke.

...

Yeah.

We're waiting to see what the surgeons have to say, as we're sure that her situation can't be unique, they know how to deal with it, and they will assess the risks and lay out the best course.

So there's more waiting.