Well. We went to meet the heart surgeon today. Nice guy - not real cheery though.
Mum will need open heart surgery, and a new mitral valve. She'll be getting one from a cow. [The jokes we made at lunch afterward....oh dear.] She'll be on the heart/lung machine for 3-4 hours during the surgery. He told us all the bad news first - like, how your heart has two parts, and they're joined by a band of tissue - hers is also calcified, and if he can't clean it out completely and put it back together, that'll be the end of her right there. Her risk of stroke is high. Her risk of kidney failure is high. Her chances of making it without the surgery are non-existent. He wants to operate next Thursday.
So. Turns out he's a Christian, and said God guides his hands every day. You've no idea how relieved we were to hear that! If she doesn't go next week, she'll be going October 6th. I have to find a Lazy Boy recliner that has a lift - he said most folks aren't comfortable in the hospital beds, and like the recliners better. She'll be able to do stairs just fine, but won't be able to use her arms much, even for lifting herself out of her chair. I guess that happens when they crack open your breastbone. Recovery will be 3-4 months, perhaps longer as she's diabetic and doesn't heal well.
Friends, we covet your prayers. I know we'll get through this by God's grace, and nothing else.
Mum is already planning on dining out well on the strength of her scar alone....I will not be taking a picture of that, no matter how she begs. *G*
Love,
Allie
