Leaving New Mexico we knew there were Dr. appointments scheduled for Walt and we were going to be back in plenty of time for them.
Over the last few months he had been increasingly tired and short of breath.
He was glad to be back in Arizona to get to the Dr.
The trip was good with no problems.
We were able to get to one of Kristi's soccer games surrounded by one of those spectacular Arizona sunsets.
But Walt struggled even walking from the car to the field.
Nope, he didn't get to wait to have that Dr. appointment. He was in pain and having a hard time breathing so we headed to the Emergency Room. Five days later it was determined he would have to have a heart catheterization to confirm what needed to be done.
We had GypsyII settled into Skyline RV Park in San Tan Valley. It was quite a trip to the hospital so I stayed with Cynthia some to be closer. The appointment for the heart cath was set but it kept having to be delayed because Walt also had several infections.
One of those called for another few days in the hospital.
Finally the heart catheterization was done.
Not good news. Too extensive for stents. Bypass surgery scheduled for December 10th.
That meant we could enjoy a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner!
And I was able to go to the Joel Sartore exhibit with granddaughter Bailey.
He is the head of The National Geographic Photo Ark project, a 25-year effort to document the approximately 12,000 species living in the world's zoos and wildlife sanctuaries.
Today there are 9,844 species in the Photo Ark. It will take 25 years to document every species in human care. I follow his website and new photos are always added and they are spectacular.
On December 10th Walt walked into Banner Desert Hospital for his surgery. It was initially scheduled as a triple bypass but became a quadruple bypass.
The surgery went well. It took a little longer than expected because they had difficulty getting enough veins from his legs for the bypass.
But, from there problems kept appearing. First there was lung problems. He couldn't breathe on his own and it looked like he had pneumonia. The ventilator that usually stays in for a couple of days was in for over two weeks.
Then his kidneys shut down. Worried, yes we were. He was kept sedated so he was unaware of what was going on around him.
He was in ICU for 19 days and received wonderful care from the team in ICU. Finally slowly but surely things started to turn around. He was taken off the ventilator and put on oxygen. The kidneys woke up and started working and the sedation was stopped.
The nurses in ICU got him balloons and I brought in a cake for a little celebration of Walt's recovery enough to leave ICU.
From ICU it was on to a regular hospital room for 5 days. After so many days being immobile he had no strength and was unable to stand or walk.
From the hospital he was transferred to a skilled nursing facility. There he received physical therapy, occupational therapy and unfortunately speech therapy because he is on a pureed food diet. Physical and occupational therapy went well and he started gaining strength and was able to walk and do all the normal every day things that we take for granted. Speech therapy was not so good. No action there until he can see a gastroenterologist.
Exactly 6 weeks from his surgery date he was able to walk out of the rehab facility. Every day his strength and endurance improves.
The remaining hurdle is the pureed diet and he has an appointment with the gastroenterologist and we are hoping that the Dr. will have solutions. We have started to make plans to summer a little farther north to escape the valley heat so life marches on.
We are so grateful for our family and friends who have supported us through this time. With their help, kind words, prayers and encouragement the dark days always had a glimmer of light and hope. The check in's, cards and words of encouragement were invaluable. Also Walt received excellent care from many Doctors, nurses, technicians, therapists, aides, and so many others. They were patient, caring and very good at their jobs. There are so many that deserve a THANK YOU that we will never be able to repay. How blessed we are.