My Youngest Brother Is In ICU

I got updated information this morning that came via my brother's stepson.

My brother (Jim) is going to have a triple bypass operation as soon as his lungs clear out. They did some kind of a procedure to clear out the arteries in his neck yesterday, and he has had one or more small heart attacks since he has been in the hospital. The situation looks even more dire than it did a few days ago.

Amazingly, Jim called me late last night and we chatted. He was heavily under the influence of the drugs they have him on, so I was unable to get a coherent picture at that time. He did know that the Doctors were thinking that he was going to have to have open heart surgery. Jim was surprisingly upbeat about his situation and joked that he was "still on the right side of the grass", and that he "was not pushing up the daisy's yet." But that is my brother and he is a remarkably durable fellow. If anyone can survive this, it would be him, but I am very worried.
 
Pecos said:
I got updated information this morning that came via my brother's stepson.

My brother (Jim) is going to have a triple bypass operation as soon as his lungs clear out. They did some kind of a procedure to clear out the arteries in his neck yesterday, and he has had one or more small heart attacks since he has been in the hospital. The situation looks even more dire than it did a few days ago.

Amazingly, Jim called me late last night and we chatted. He was heavily under the influence of the drugs they have him on, so I was unable to get a coherent picture at that time. He did know that the Doctors were thinking that he was going to have to have open heart surgery. Jim was surprisingly upbeat about his situation and joked that he was "still on the right side of the grass", and that he "was not pushing up the daisy's yet." But that is my brother and he is a remarkably durable fellow. If anyone can survive this, it would be him, but I am very worried.
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It's so good that you were able to speak to your brother, Pecos. My father, brother-in-law, and a friend had triple by-passes, and all did well afterwards.

Keeping your brother in my thoughts ❤
 
Pecos said:
Thanks, I badly need to hear stories about survivors.
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I had a massive heart attack in 2010, I had to have a 5 way bypass, I had 6 blocked arteries and also had to have 2 stents. I'm still here. I have had 3 more stents since then due to heart attacks, but I Am Still Here. Mine was a bit difficult, they had to remove my heart, place it in a bowl of cooling gel to work on it and I was hooked up to life support. When finished they shocked my heart to start it again..... I Am Still Here. The bypass surgeries are very successful and are routine now.
 
Becky1951 said:
I had a massive heart attack in 2010, I had to have a 5 way bypass, I had 6 blocked arteries and also had to have 2 stents. I'm still here. I have had 3 more stents since then due to heart attacks, but I Am Still Here. Mine was a bit difficult, they had to remove my heart, place it in a bowl of cooling gel to work on it and I was hooked up to life support. When finished they shocked my heart to start it again..... I Am Still Here. The bypass surgeries are very successful and are routine now.
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I'm so glad you've overcome all those difficulties. Thank you for sharing your experiences with us.
:love:
 
Becky1951 said:
I had a massive heart attack in 2010, I had to have a 5 way bypass, I had 6 blocked arteries and also had to have 2 stents. I'm still here. I have had 3 more stents since then due to heart attacks, but I Am Still Here. Mine was a bit difficult, they had to remove my heart, place it in a bowl of cooling gel to work on it and I was hooked up to life support. When finished they shocked my heart to start it again..... I Am Still Here. The bypass surgeries are very successful and are routine now.
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Thank you, thank you. That helps me quite a bit.
 
Becky1951 said:
I had a massive heart attack in 2010, I had to have a 5 way bypass, I had 6 blocked arteries and also had to have 2 stents. I'm still here. I have had 3 more stents since then due to heart attacks, but I Am Still Here. Mine was a bit difficult, they had to remove my heart, place it in a bowl of cooling gel to work on it and I was hooked up to life support. When finished they shocked my heart to start it again..... I Am Still Here. The bypass surgeries are very successful and are routine now.
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Wow, "a bit difficult", that is a real understatement. Modern medicine is amazing. You are one tough lady.
 
Update.
My brothers treatment plan has been a roller coaster ride. In addition to having been moved between hospitals a couple of times, his Doctors have gone from Stents, To Triple Bypass, to treatment with drugs alone, back to stents with drugs, and now treatment with drugs alone.

A big part of the problem is that he has been a life long heavy smoker and his lungs are a mess that have to be cleared out before they move forward. He also had a seizure on the day they were preparing him for the open heart surgery and that scared the Doctors. Additionally, he has had 2 or 3 minor heart attacks in the hospital.

I have talked to him several times and while he seemed upbeat, I could tell that he is very worried, and so am I. He understands why the Doctors are being so cautious. For now they are keeping him in the hospital and not letting him go home with the drugs since the air quality continues to be bad from all the fires in his part of Oregon.

Jim really regrets that he did not stop smoking decades ago. 56 years of heavy smoking is hard to overcome.

Please continue to keep your fingers crossed for us.
 
Pecos said:
Update.
My brothers treatment plan has been a roller coaster ride. In addition to having been moved between hospitals a couple of times, his Doctors have gone from Stents, To Triple Bypass, to treatment with drugs alone, back to stents with drugs, and now treatment with drugs alone.

A big part of the problem is that he has been a life long heavy smoker and his lungs are a mess that have to be cleared out before they move forward. He also had a seizure on the day they were preparing him for the open heart surgery and that scared the Doctors. Additionally, he has had 2 or 3 minor heart attacks in the hospital.

I have talked to him several times and while he seemed upbeat, I could tell that he is very worried, and so am I. He understands why the Doctors are being so cautious. For now they are keeping him in the hospital and not letting him go home with the drugs since the air quality continues to be bad from all the fires in his part of Oregon.

Jim really regrets that he did not stop smoking decades ago. 56 years of heavy smoking is hard to overcome.

Please continue to keep your fingers crossed for us.
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We will, Pecos; sending the very best wishes & thoughts your way.
 
Best wishes for his recovery.

Re the smoking: I quit about 11-12 years ago, after smoking for 39 years. It was miserable -- not just a couple of weeks of jittery nerves and then all was fine. It took, as I recall, months to get over. But it's done. And ... it's certainly cheaper not to smoke!
 
This is so hard for you and I am so sorry you are going through this. My thoughts are with you and your brother as well. When my son had open heart surgery last year (he was 50), it was so hard, so urgent, and so unexpected. The surgery took much longer than they thought and they had to call in a second surgeon.

One year later, now, and he is back to hiking to the top of mountains as if nothing had happened. Hopefully it will be the same for your brother.
 
@Pecos, I know it's easier said than done but with your SF family behind you, you need not worry too much. Trust in the expertise of his doctors and Jim's will to survive. We're all thinking positive and sending healing thoughts. Stay calm brother. 🙏
 

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