T
Turk 182
Sorry I haven?t updated until now but we just got home last night, and this is the first time I?ve had internet access in 2 weeks. So here?s the scoop the surgery was originally supposed to be on Thursday March 20th, so they sent Sean to the Dental clinic to get clearance for the surgery. Well, turns out Sean had some deep pockets on his back molars and they were afraid it would be a breeding ground for bacteria and since your toothbrush won?t reach deep enough into the gums to clean they decided it would better to yank them. So on Wednesday (the day before the surgery) they did 3 hours of deep cleaning and scaling with the periodontist followed by 4 hours with the oral surgeon to extract 5 teeth. Poor baby was miserable. The surgeon decided he didn?t want to do the surgery with all that bacteria streaming through Sean?s system, so they postponed the surgery until Monday the 24th. The Surgery went very well it only took about 4 hours and they were able to do what they call a ?mini? or minimally invasive procedure where they make a 3 inch incision and only crack the top half of the sternum. They leave the bottom of the sternum connected which makes for less blood loss and hopefully an easier and speedier recovery. He was taken from surgery into the ICU around 1:00 in the afternoon Monday and by 3:00 they were able to take out the breathing tube (which they normally leave in until the next morning with most patients) he was moved into a regular room by Wednesday. He was doing really well except that he was in A-Fib or irregular heart rhythm so they gave him some medication through his I.V. and by Friday he went back into normal Sinus rhythm. So they removed the pacing wires from his chest and took him off the blood thinners and I.V. meds then early Saturday morning he went back into A-Fib they started the I.V. meds again and by Saturday afternoon he was back in normal rhythm. Surprisingly enough Sean said the worst of the pain was not in his chest except for the first couple of days trying to re-expand his lungs breathing was painful for the first 2-3 days, but by the 4th day the majority of his pain was in his back and shoulders, and the worst pain was due to infiltrated I.V. sites on both his arms. We were discharged Monday the 31st one week after the surgery and spent the night at the Fisher house (kind of like a Ronald McDonald House for Vets on the hospital grounds). We flew home yesterday and apparently I was so overwhelmed with emotion that as soon as the pilot announced we were decending I started to cry apparently hysterically enough to catch the attention of the flight attendant who rushed over to see if everything was o.k. It took me about 2 minutes to compose myself enough to explain that they were tears of joy. We were almost home and we had made it. Made it through the tooth extraction, made it through the surgery, made it through the ICU, made it through the A-Fib, made it through the first walk, made it through the first shower, and finally made it through the airplane ride home. Home never felt so good. I know we have a long road ahead, but so far so good. Sean is feeling good. We have been out walking several times today just little 5 minute walks at a time. We have to go to the VA here in 2 weeks to get a chest X-Ray and some blood work, then we have to Fly back to Houston on April 28th (4 weeks) for more blood work, tests, another chest X-Ray, and a final consult with his surgeon who at that time will hopefully take Sean off some of the medications he is on now. He is taking 9 pills every morning and 7 pills every night. All in all we are doing really well and hopefully will continue to do so. I will keep you all posted as the healing process progresses. Sean will be out of work for the next 6 weeks, so I will be heading back to work on Monday. Somebody has to bring home the bacon (even though Sean is not allowed to eat it!) ;-)
Dani Turk (wife)
Sean Turk (Survivor)
Dani Turk (wife)
Sean Turk (Survivor)
Take care & hope everything goes smooth! 
