Delfts is in room 2427 now, a regular room with a phone and everything.

St Vincent Hospital
Attn Pt. Lambertus Meyer
2001 West 86th Street
Indianapolis, IN 46260

Phone: 317-338-0598 or 1-866-338-2345 and ask for extension 80598.

I know he'd love to hear from you.

Update: Sorry about the phone number. It's corrected now. This number will work.

Posted by: Mamamontezz at 11:56 AM | Comments (50) | Add Comment
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I just left Dad's room, and I'm quite pleased. The cardioversion went perfectly and Dad is all set (assuming no changes tonight) to move to the step-down unit tomorrow. I'll post info then. He's sitting up doing crosswords again. He's awfully frustrated because his brain can't seem to find the right words, but that's an after effect of all the medicine and the major trauma his body has been through. He is joking with the nurses and is threatening to chase them around the bed just as soon as it doesn't hurt to move. Although he looks like a pincushion (his sensitive skin just can't handle the brutality of IVs and BP cuffs), he looks markedly better every time I see him. More later.

Erin

Posted by: Erin at 03:11 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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I called on my first break of the day to check on Delfts and spoke to his current nurse for his status and how his night was.

Apparently he rested well, is in relatively good spirits, and is in his chair. He enjoyed the fruit, so I will be picking up more in the cafeteria this afternoon to drop off for him. Lychee fruit? I may actually have a can at home.

The nurse yesterday did as I asked (demanded) and placed a waffle mattress on his bed to lessen the chance of additional or worsening bedsores. The nurse today had already bathed his back, examined the existing sores, and had changed the way that they were being treated. No more tape laid over it. She was using something else that required a little more time to administer but would promote the healing process, not just stop the skin from splitting further.

Oh, you didn't know about the bedsores? Neither did I until yesterday, and I was Not Pleased™ at finding out about them. I discussed them with my submissive during the course of the day, and he made several suggestions based on his experiences both as a CNA and as a clinical engineering technician who has worked on the various beds used in such situations. Based on that information and what I had seen on Delfts' back, I made a decision and made a demand. It was good to see it was taken seriously.

Here's the scoop on his A-fib: The surgeon is not happy with his lack of progress on the meds they have tired for converting his rhythm back to some semblence of a sinus rhythm. As such, they are going to do a "Cardioversion" on him at about noon or whenever the surgeon is finished in surgery and free to do it. It will be done in his room under anesthesia. It won't take long. Hopefully it will be successful. If it is successful, he could be transfered into the step-down unit tomorrow, maybe earlier.

I am hopeful. If he is well enough to be moved to a real room with a phone and visitors, I am certain that it will do much to promote an improved mental outlook, something that has the potential of being of great benefit to him as he heals.

The nurse has been instructed to call me with an update when the cardioversion has been completed. I will post the results. Now it is time to go read what I can find on the proceedure...

Mamamontezz

Update: Okay, I don't feel so bad about this. I can deal with this.

Update: The Cardioversion is over.
He's waking up from the anesthesia.
His heart is in a normal sinus rhythm.
They've taken him off of one of the meds they were using
to regulate the A-fib.
They're watching him to see if it holds.
The nurse is hopeful.
I may have a room and phone number
for you before evening.
Yes, I am an optimist.

Now the battle will be between us, the insurance people, the discharge planners/case managers and the Utilization Review people. They will look at the total stay time and want him out. It will not matter to them that he has not truly had the time he needs to recover because of the complication of A-fib. The normal stay for open-heart is about a week and he's had that, damn the patient, keep those costs down.

My loins are girded. I hope they don't chafe.

Posted by: Mamamontezz at 09:18 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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I really don't have anything to update about Dad's condition, except to say that because they haven't been able to successfully wean him off of the medication, Dobutrex(sp?), that is strengthening his cardiac function, they're going to do an echocardiogram tomorrow. They're hoping to get a clearer picture of what is going on in there, so they can find a new way to treat him and get him stepped down to the next unit. It looks as if it may be another 1-3 days before that happens.

On a personal note, I want to say thank you to all of you. I've been at the hospital for at least 12 hours every day since Tuesday, not counting dinner away and the exciting trips Beth and I have been taking around the north side of town to find the things that Dad requests and requires (although finding pear juice, music, and a nail brush, has been relatively simple, it seems that the north side of Indy is not the place to go for lychee fruit. I guess I'll have to make a foray into Dad's neck of the woods to an Asian grocer...). It has meant so much to me to check the comments on this site here on the waiting room computer and see the support you're giving, not only to Dad, but to our entire family. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

As usual, I'll post as info becomes available. Until then assume that Jiffy Pop is progressing nicely and is becoming crankier and more antsy to leave by the minute. Although occasionally annoying, this is improvement, and we're grateful for it.

A quick P.S. to all of you who are nurses: thank you! Dad has had such tremendous care here, and the nurses (with one notable exception) have been so helpful, friendly, and accomodating, and I am in debt to them for the kindness and rule-breaking exceptions they have given to me. You all do great and essential work and I will forever thank you.

Also, a HUGE thank you to Beth. You have got to be the kindest person I've ever met, and I've enjoyed our talks and our outings so much. Thank you thank you thank you for the support you've given my Dad, and for being there all the time for him. You are an angel. I hope you've had a safe trip home; I'll sure miss you and I'll talk to you soon.

Erin
erinm26@hotmail.com

Posted by: Erin at 06:27 PM | Comments (30) | Add Comment
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It's just after 8am and no news is good news. Delfts is still in the CVTR, but I fully anticipate they will move him today.

I hope the nurses let him know about the fruit I took up for him yesterday and that he was able to enjoy some of it. I will make sure he's aware of it if I am able to get up there this morning.

As for the rest of you, enjoy your holiday and grill up a brat for me. Updates as they occur. You know the drill.

Mamamontezz

Posted by: Mamamontezz at 07:14 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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After days of not being able to get in to see Delfts, I took that walk again and got there during one of their restrictive little visiting times. My co-workers covered the phones and would not take "no" for an answer and I thank them profusely.

He looks a lot better than I expected. I don't know exactly what I did expect, but with all that I had been told by the nurses, it wasn't good. His color looks better than it has, his eyes looked clear, and he was feeling well enough to express his righteous indignation, both at me for not being around and at the nursing staff for some incident last night. I've asked one of the administrative people to go talk to him and find out what happened, and she agreed to try to do so today, barring any other issues that might take her attention.

As for his anger at my absence, I'm going to assume that either my messages to him have not been passed along like I asked, or he was drugged enough to not remember them. It doesn't matter, not really. At least he's around to be pissed.

His current nurse is apparently his favorite, and she was pretty encouraging about his being moved to the CVPV unit. It could happen as early as this afternoon if his indicators stay good. They just want to do one more set of readings at noon before they commit to the move. When they do, I will post the room number and phone for all of you.

I know he'll be happy to have a few things of his own around him too. He has a bag packed and sitting on his computer chair with two of his pigs and the little goat that Beth sent him. It will be nice to be able to put them in the truck and bring them up and know he will get them and be able to enjoy them.

Currently his favorite things are not his pigs or his goat or his books or his fruit-cup (long story). They are his daughter Erin and his new and very special friend Beth. They have attended to him, humored him, bucked him up when he needed bucking up, cajoled him into cooperating (if I know him), and been gracious in their kindness. He is a lucky man for having them.

*heavy sigh*

Anyway... As soon as I know more I'll let you know.

Mamamontezz

Update: One of my wonderful co-workers stopped at the grocer on her break and brought back a quart of fresh pineapple chunks for Delfts to help satisfy this fruit fixation he is having. Fruit he can have. Red meat is history, but fruit is do-able. So much so that on the way to take the pineapple to his unit, I stopped off at the cafeteria and picked up most of a pint of fresh strawberries too.

Of course, when I got up there he was sound asleep, upright in the chair, his head bent over like his neck was broken. All I could think was "Why the hell didn't someone wake him enough to get him into his bed before he got that far under?"

Anyway, his fruit is upstair in the unit fridge with his name on it, and the nurse assured me she'd make sure he got some if he asked.

I also asked about this move to the other unit that she had discussed with us in the morning. Weeeellll, as is the case of most things around here, nothing is set in stone except the fact that nothing is set in stone. The highest probability is that he will spend one more night in CVTR before going to the CVPV unit. She does want to do another set of indicators and call them in to the surgical assistant so that a decision can be made soon, but nothing has been decided yet.

Soon... soon...

Mamamontezz

Posted by: Mamamontezz at 09:56 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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A lot has happened, so I want to share with everyone what the doctors and Dad's fabulous nurse Maria have told me in the last couple of days. While A-Fib is not the most comfortable thing in the world, it is also not dangerous in itself. The only real danger is the risk of stroke with long-term A-Fib, so they're giving dad injections of blood thinner periodically. My maternal grandfather lived with A-Fib for 27 years and had no effects stemming from it. I myself have had episodes of it relating to my heart disorder. It sucks, but don't worry too much about the old bugger Dad's surgeon (who is highly respected and brilliant) told me that it is a "nuisance problem" that occurs quite often post-op, and they're treating it pharmaceutically and have every confidence that he'll be back in sinus rhythm soon. This has been very encouraging to me as I was quite worried yesterday morning.

Dad has made great strides since early yesterday. He was in an awful lot of pain yesterday, but everytime we visited (before the nurses fearing the nun's wrath chased us out), he improved a little. I'll admit I was still a little concerned last night, but I am very glad he's still in the recovery unit, because he's receiving outstanding care from the best nurse I've ever encountered (and for a 26 year-old, I've met a good number of them). Maria is a Godsend. She shares info willingly and with a smile and she's treated Dad with both compassion and dignity. Never underestimate the healing power of a good nurse.

Today's visits have been extraordinarily encouraging. Dad is sitting up for a few hours at a time, much more cheerful, listening to music, and even doing crossword puzzles! The respiratory therapist said he might move today, but the surgeon said he would probably move to a progressive care unit early tomorrow. While there have been setbacks like fluid retention and nausea and vomiting, his overall health is greatly improved from yesterday and quite a treat for our family!

As the nuns aren't here right now and the unit has many open beds, the nurses have relaxed visiting hours and are letting us stay back for as long as we want (as long as we're not interfering with his care or rest), so I'm going to have to wrap this up and go see my Popsicle. Thanks for your prayers, keep the cards coming, and watch for updates from either Lila or myself.

Erin

Posted by: Erin at 01:10 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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Just got in to work and called the floor. Delfts is still in CVTR, the recovery area where he has been since his surgery on Tuesday. The nurse du jour said at 7:30 that he was still in A-fib and would not be leaving the unit anytime this weekend.

I'll keep an eye on the unit and put up any changes as I hear them... Personally, I hope it's a quiet weekend and that there's nothing to post. Healing is the best thing for him. Maybe the next couple of days will make the difference.

Mamamontezz

Posted by: Mamamontezz at 07:27 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Because of issues with visiting hours and a low fever that I have been fighting intermittantly all week, I have still not been able to see Delfts. Resting all day yesterday on my day off and working on getting better seemed to work at least temporarily. I may not be "Medically Trained" and involved in patient care, but I do know enough to reduce the risk of his picking up an infection while he recovers, especially after the report I read last week.

But I did feel a little better, so I decided to put the decision in the hands of the nurses on his unit. I made arrangements for an extended break to allow me the time needed to walk the .25+ mile to his room, then called the nurse to get clearance based on the fevers.

That was when I found out about last night.

Atrial Fibrilation. On a drip to restore sinus rhythm since last night, and as of 9:30 it had not dropped back into sinus. But if you ask the nurse, all she'll say is "He's doing okay."

I'm not happy. I can't talk to him, I can't see him, I can't make it better...

Hopefully I'll know more later. In the meantime, he has no business being in a step-down unit, so hopefully they'll keep him right where he is.

So at this point I'm reading everything I can find on AF and it's implications at this point in his recovery so that I can prepare for whatever is in store for him, good or bad.

Update:

I spoke to the nurse over my lunch and got a little bit more information.

Delfts is awake, aware, and at the moment sitting up in a chair. He is still in A-Fib but the rhythm is steady and acceptably slow at this point. They are doing what essentially a Medical Cardioversion to try to restore the sinus rhythm. Although he has still not achieved it, he is stable.

It's not as bad as it sounded this morning, but it's still worrisome. Based on what I read this morning, Delfts could have been dealing with A-Fib for years and the A-Fib caused all of this instead of the reverse. Regardless of the chicken/egg possibilities of this, there are several treatment options open for consideration. I'll be interested in hearing the concensus that his cardiologist and cv surgeon come to.

Update 2: Just because he is in Cardiac Recovery does not mean he cannot receive cards. The only restriction is that he cannot have anything "Alive" in his room because of the increased risk of developing infection. Cards are fine and are something I think he would appreciate. Especially the ones with nekedness and boobage. He's quite fond of the boobage. Stick some boobage on a Rottie just for fun and send that. Just make sure the boobage is on XX members of humanity. He is a bit picky that way.

Send your cards and letters to:

St Vincent Hospital
Attn: Patient Lambertus Meyer
2001 West 86th Street
Indianapolis, IN 46260

Posted by: Mamamontezz at 09:22 AM | Comments (265) | Add Comment
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Today was a roller coaster for dear old dad (or Jiffy Pop, as I now call him after seeing him in his metallic pre-op shower cap-esque thing). This morning when Beth and I went in, he was in a lot of pain, and his blood pressure was unstable and going back up to his normal Oh-My-God-He's-Going-To-Stroke level, which made the nurses uneasy. Throughout the day he made improvements, however. He got lots of rest, and with massive pharmaceutical intervention he was able to maintain a manageable pressure. He was also able to get some sleep today, so we sat with him in silence and watched the fascinating film that is the heart monitor. It was nice to see regular blips and encouraging numbers.

By the last visiting hour of the day (and as you read on Lila's post, visiting hours are fairly strictly enforced and few and far between -- I really have to make the most of my four visiting hours a day), Dad was able to manage a smile -especially when his sister was teasing him about a childhood nickname. I was fairly discouraged this morning, but feeling much better as I left tonight, being reminded that recovery is not a linear process, but rather a series of of advances and setbacks that grow increasingly favorable.

Between the third and fourth visiting times today, we went to Target (or Nirvana manifested, as I like to think of it) and Best Buy and bought Dad a small CD player and a CD of Gregorian chants so that he can listen to some music tomorrow and mask the sound of his monitors constantly reminding him that his normal blood pressure is freakishly high to the hospital staff.

All in all, Dad is still doing well, and if all goes well should be in a regular room with a number and a phone by tomorrow night. When that happens I will post his info so that you can wish him well in card or voice form.

Posted by: Erin at 12:35 AM | Comments (27) | Add Comment
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It's time for my update, and the news is still fabulous! When I walked into the room this morning for the first visiting hour, I was surprised to find that he looked even better than last night. And imagine my shock when he was awake and speaking (and more lucid than he is when he is well)! Unfortunately, that speaking continued, and when I went in between visiting times to accompany a visiting minister friend of the family, Dad was being a smart ass cranky cantankerous old man. It was nice to see that Dad was himself again.

At the second and third visiting hours, he continued to show improvement. His blood pressure, which is always sky high, is still fluctuating, and he's still on a very low dose of a medicine which controls his heart rhythm, but he's making tremendous strides. He's very tired and not sleeping, but by the end of tonight's last visiting time he was actually beginning to relax, and maybe even snore a little (but he'll deny that to his far-in-the-future dying day).

The fabulous night nurse Heather assured us that he is doing well, and she's fairly confident that he'll be moved to a regular room sometime tomorrow (just as soon as he's completely off the rhythm meds).

In all, it was a very positive day with good news and even a little joking and levity. Dad yelled at us to stop making him laugh as it causes his chest to hurt, but he certainly had a twinkle in his eye more than once. I want to again thank you all for your continued messages of support. They mean a lot. More news to follow...

Posted by: Erin at 10:01 PM | Comments (11) | Add Comment
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I spoke to the nurse on the Cardiac Recovery unit this morning on the way to work. It appears he had a good night last night and was removed from the respirator to breathe on his own. She stated he was sitting on the edge of the bed having a sip of something at the moment, and was in pretty good spirits.

She also said he stands a pretty good chance of being taken out of the recovery area and put in a regular room on the CVPV unit. When that happens, I will have a phone number where he can receive calls which I will post on here.

Just bear in mind he's pretty weak. It will be a few days before he is fully awake and aware after the anesthesia. It takes a little longer when they effectively kill you on the table like they do in open-heart.

I'm not so sure about going up to spend much time with him. I'm not sure if it is a physical let-down from the stress, the rampage of perimenopausal hormones, or if I am fighting some sort of infection. Given the precautions they took before and after his surgery and the potential danger of infection, I would rather he be upset with me for not visiting Like I Should™ than wind up sick with whatever I may pass to him.

Updates as I have them.
______________________________________

(12:30) I went up to see the family on my miniscule lunch but none of them was there. I suppose they were all out getting a bite to eat. So I called the nurses' desk from the waiting room and got a small update.

He has been taken off the IV meds and seems to be doing quite well. They will be doing another test of his outflow before deciding whether or not to move him to a room on the CVPV floor.

I missed the morning visiting hour, will be working busily at my desk during the next one, and at home fixing dinner for everyone there during the later one. And no, there is no flexibility with visiting. It matters not that I work here and have for over 11 years and know how to behave in an intensive care unit. Be there on time or miss your opportunity.

But I digress.

Delft's is better. That is what is important.

Posted by: Mamamontezz at 08:02 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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Dad's condition is wonderful. I just spoke with his nurse and he is doing "very well". She is anticipating the imminent removal of his ventilator and his return to consciousness (such as it is). When last I saw him, late last night, he looked fabulous. The usual swelling that they prepared us for, and that he experienced greatly during his last trip to the OR, manifested only in his hands. When my mom (dad's ex-wife), Beth and I visited him last night, we were shocked and thrilled to find that Dad actually looked like himself! The surgeon and the nurses are very optimistic about both his surgical recovery and his long-term improvement in quality of life. We know that your thoughts are still with him and our entire family thanks you. I will continue to update as necessary, but feel free to write if you'd like more info.

Posted by: Erin at 04:50 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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This is Erin, Bert's daughter. I'm not sure if Lila has posted anything on here, as the hospital catagorizes Dad's lovely website as "pornography", but in case she hasn't, here are the details. Dad is out of surgery. He is doing well -- they re-grafted one of his previous bypass efforts, and inserted a ring around his mitral valve to restore function. We haven't seen him yet, but we're very optimistic as they did not have to do a blood transfusion and everything seems to be going well and according to schedule. Dad's family is here and we're having quite a nice time catching up and laughing at Dad's childhood antics. Thank you all for support of my Daddy. I appreciate it, and I know that he does too, more than he can (and will) say. If you have any questions, please email me at erinm26@hotmail.com (please put dad's name in the subject line so I don't delete it as spam) and I'll try to respond as soon as possible. Again, thank you for caring.

Posted by: Erin at 04:03 PM | Comments (16) | Add Comment
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We got here at 5:55am.
They admitted him immediately.

Beth arrived from her hotel and joined us in Delft's holding room. Her eyes are striking, and she has a very genuine kindness about her.

The tech completely denuded his body (beard and scalp excluded). He looks pretty naked that way. Don't say anything but I kinda like it....

A more emergant case pushed his back to 9:30am.

At 9:10 he was taken to prep.

At 9:30 he was taken to surgery.

At 12:40 I got a call from Sister to tell me that they just got him open and on bypass. Because this is his second open-heart, opening the chest is much more difficult and involved and took a considerable amount of time. They don't expect him to be out of surgery for at least 3 more hours, potentially much longer.

I will update this as I can.

Posted by: Mamamontezz at 11:53 AM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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(AP), Paris, March 5, 2003

The French Government announced today that it is imposing a ban on the use of fireworks at Euro Disney. The decision comes the day after a nightly fireworks display at the park, located just 30 miles outside of Paris, caused the soldiers at a nearby French Army garrison to surrender to a group of Czech tourists.

Posted by: Delftsman3 at 11:31 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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A letter from the excellent Ari Fleischer, former Bush White House spokesman, to Jimmy Carter, the former peanut farmer and America's most inept, most destructive President (post Nixon media coup d'etat) who never met a West hating Islamist he didn't kowtow to;

The Honorable Jimmy Carter
The Carter Center
453 Freedom Parkway
Atlanta, Georgia 30307

Dear Mr. President:

I just read the transcript of your interview with the German magazine, Der Spiegel, in which you accuse Israel of launching an "unjustified attack on Lebanon."

Even after the interviewer reminded you that Israel was the first to get attacked, you charged Israel with lacking "any legal or moral justification for their massive bombing of the entire nation of Lebanon."

As someone who served in the White House as a spokesman for a President, I am reluctant to criticize another President, but in this instance my conscience compels me to do so.

Mr. President, your words are music to Hezbollah's ears and your message is a blow to long-term peace.

Just as you underestimated the threat of the Soviet Union in the 1970s, you underestimate the threat of radical Islam today. Your condemnation of Israel, the victim, only encourages Hezbollah, the attacker, to bide its time and attack again.

Ahmed Barakat, a member of Hezbollah's central council, last week told the Qatari newspaper as-Watan that "Today Arab and Muslim society is reasonably certain that the defeat of Israel is possible and that the countdown to the disappearance of the Zionist entity in the region has begun. The triumph of the resistance is the beginning of the death of the Israeli enemy."

I was raised a Democrat but I changed parties in 1982 because I believed your policies and the nuclear freeze movement invited increased Soviet militarism and adventurism. President Reagan's military build-up and credible threat of the use of force helped bring about the demise of Communism and brought freedom and a better life to hundreds of millions in Central and Eastern Europe. It also secured a lasting peace.

I'm sorry to see you articulate about Hezbollah and its aggression the same weak world-view that encouraged Soviet aggression. As Ronald Reagan showed us, peace through strength is the only formulation understood by those bent on destruction.

I understand your longing for peace and your fond hope that Hezbollah can be reasoned with. However, when you call Israel's defense "an attack", when you call what is justified "unjustified", and when you call morality immoral, I conclude that the pro-defense, strong foreign policy lessons of the 70s and 80s remain unacceptable to you. Also, when you criticize Israel for targeting so-called "civilian" areas in Beirut and other areas where Hezbollah hides its operations, the result would be - if Israel listened to you - the creation of safe havens from which more violence and rocket attacks would be planned and launched.

Sadly, Hezbollah today is planning its next war. For the sake of peace, Israel deserves your praise, not your condemnation.

Sincerely,

L. Ari Fleischer

stolen borrowed in it's entirety from Atlas Shrugs (it just HAS to be passed around!)

Posted by: Delftsman3 at 06:38 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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I was reading Neil Boortz roday and saw the perfect analogy to refute those that seem to think that all we need to do is talk/negotiate with the Islamic Facists causing all the trouble in the world today:

"A hunter was hunting in the woods when he came upon a bear. He was just about to fire when the bear held up his paw and said "After all, Mr. Hunter, all you want is a fur coat, and all I want is a full stomach, can't we sit down and negotiate this problem?".

So they sat down and talked it over, and indeed, it ended up that the bear was right; the hunter ended up inside a fur coat, and the bear had a full stomach."

WHY can't the appeasers see that under some circumstances, negotiation just isn't a viable option?

Negotiation implies that there is some middle ground that works out to the benefit of both of the parties involved, but when one or the other party of the negotiation has it's goal the total destruction of the other party, there really is nothing to negotiate...unless of course, you consider the method and timeline of your destruction as a valid negotiating position.

There is where the appeasers are mistaken; they seem to believe that the rhetoric of the IslamoFacists are merely talking points instead of the stated end goal of the process and until they start to learn that the enemy is honestly putting forth their goals, and reacting to those stated end goals. we are in serious trouble. You not only have to take the words of your opponent into account; you have to take the ongoing actions of that opponent into the process.
When you have an opponent that consistently negotiates with words in one manner, and acts in the opposit manner, can you truly be said to be negotiating?

And in this instance, the opponent isn't even doing that; the Islamofacists have repeatedly and CLEARLY stated that their goal is the destruction of the West; AND consistently committed acts in furthurance of that goal.

To believe that we are in a state other than in a world war to determine the fate of our civilization is to be naive beyond all belief. That so many of us in the West truly seem to be that naive is disheartening, to say the least.

Posted by: Delftsman3 at 04:04 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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I got back home last night at 1700, feeling like fidos's ass; but bouyed up by all the support that everyone one of you has shown me. I cannot express just how much that show of support has meant to me over this last week or so.

It was a real blow to get home and find that a virus of some sort has wiped out half of my periphial components/drivers...(thank god I saved my old keyboard!) I'm still looking to get a full functioning mouse to be fully back, but at least I can navigate in a limited manner, albeit a clumsy one.

I just talked to the cardiac surgeons nurse, and they want me to come into the office at 0945 Monday to discuss just what Dr. Shearer has determined is the proper course of action; and to come in at 0600 Tuesday to be prepped for surgury at 0800.

If anything like the last time, I'll be in post surgical care for about 3 to 7 days; then a two month rehab at home.

The speed with which thay are moving on the surgury does have me a bit scared...hell, to be honest, I'm terrified. they have put the fatality risk of the surgury at 35-45%..my bypass procedure was rated at 5-10%, so I think I have a good reason to feel a little twinge of fear. I have one of the best surgeons in the Midwest and one of the best Cardiologists in the US looking after me though, so that does help ease my mind that I'm in good hands on the technical end of things, and all the support you've shown me in th last week assures me that the the spiritual/emotional end of it is in even better hands; so as LC Brendon might say "no worries, mate!"

More to follow as I learn of it. Hopefully, Beth and JB can find the time put up a few posts here in my absence to keep everything running.

Posted by: Delftsman3 at 02:29 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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Delfts tried to call me at work before I got here, so as soon as I got in I called up to his room.

The cardiac surgeon came up yesterday evening and had a long talk to him about his heart and its current condition. One of his by-pass grafts is completely blocked. The others have blockages of various degrees. There is a possibility that the one graft can be opened, and as a prelude to that the surgeon checked Delft's legs for any potential grafting material. I believe he only harvested from the left leg last time, so his right leg should have plenty available.

Before they can make this decision, however, they want to see exactly what is happening in and around his heart. While I was on the phone with him, the transporters came to take him to the cardiac labs for a nuclear study.

I will call up on my break at 9:30 to speak to the floor nurse and see what is planned from this point. There is a possibility that he will be released today then brought back for the surgery as soon as next week. He thinks that if he is released he can just hop in his car and drive himself home. I may need to ensure he is unable to do that. I think I can find the solinoid.

Last night when I left, they were talking about sending him home with a telemetry monitor. It would run periodic strips, track blood pressure and blood oxygenation, and would require a download of this information on a daily basis. I'm certain that if they release him today, this will be coming home with him.

Working throughout this situation has not been the easiest, but no one said it would be. At least it gives me some focus and keeps me out of his room. That would have been a very bad thing.

Posted by: Mamamontezz at 07:37 AM | Comments (195) | Add Comment
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