Double ByPass Heart Surgery Gays For Jesus Founder

Praise the Lord I am alive. Trish at my work place saw that I was pale as a ghost and insisted on calling 911 which began a year of trying options to control artery blockage on my heart. Medicines did not work and a stent procedure failed leaving open heart surgery the only option.

There is a lot of pain with blocked arteries to the heart. I began living on Nitrate pills. One artery was 100% blocked and a small part of my heart became scare tissue. That is when they thought surgery would not be of much use since that artery was already toast. The widow maker artery had narrowed even more and another artery was about 50% blocked.

I want to thank Trish because she stood firm and called 911, for a long time I was having systems but did not think it was related to heart attack. Miracles began early. Another associate worked as a nurse in the past and was right there checking vitals. The fire department arrived, I was nearly over that (now known as a Angina‎)  attack, but they insisted taking me to emergency. 

Embarrassingly they put me on a stretcher (I could have walked) so all the other associates saw me being hauled away. My work place called my lover (now spouse) to come get the car and go to the hospital. The ambulance was called and they were really comforting. I had Veterans Hospital coverage and told them to take me there. They assured me that in these case Harbor view decides, but that the VA would accept whatever was decided and cover it 100%. 

I think it was a miracle I got into the VA which was a one month window and a number of steps and the insistence of my Lover "Stef" to sign up NOW! I learn had I waited another month that window would be closed. This FREE VA hospital coverage covers 100% of nearly anything that goes wrong with me.

It seemed like I was getting special attention on the way to the hospital and the VA just finished a complete rebuild of the emergency ward and they were waiting for me. So quickly they had x-rays and hooked ups and teams or doctors and nurses waiting on me hand and foot. Even got Ice cream. Did an overnight and the next day they found a blockage. They decided to use medicines to try to control it. I really did not think much as to how serious this was or would develop into.

For some time I had weird thoughts and repeat dreams that I would be in the hospital. I did not follow doctor's order all that well during the following year, worrying more about side effects of medications than the indented purpose to control the problem. I did not real eat very wisely either and the systems increased. Finally I emailed my primary care doctor (the VA hospital auto sets you up with email access to the doctors you see at the hospital which was great and they respond back quickly no calling a nurse to pass along info or set up an appointment) I explained my systems and she immediately set me up to a cardiologists who set me up for another angiogram. I got the bad news that not only did that original blockage worsened two others formed. One was 100%, they told me a triple bypass surgery may be the only option. BUT complications were MY blood platelets were so low surgery may be really risky. Then the 100% already did the damage so it would do no good to put a bypass for that. Finally they decided a stent in one of the 3 may do the job. That was an overnight in the hospital in a single bed room.

Relieved to get a stent instead of surgery I was happy. I felt much better no angina systems at first. Then over the next two month angina pain increased. Doctor said come in for another angiogram.  It showed the stent has narrowed significantly and the other 45% blockage was about 55% but the plaque had erupted at a branch making a stent very risky. I found out the 1^st blockage was actually the “widow maker” artery after all. There was now no choice except surgery.

With nitrate pills and that systems were predictable and stable there was no need to drop everything and do surgery right then. I had a plane ticket to visit my mom and the Doctor no problem go ahead. I was glad I could keep that flight and see my mom before my surgery and have a good visit with her.

The day of surgery arrived. I had trusted God through Jesus Christ all this time even though I couldn’t understand why I actually got the heart attack(s) and that simple treatment would not work and now here I am in hospital attire. I was hoping for some miraculous healing though I knew apparently I was supposed to go through the surgery as it was all going like nothing was going to get in the way of the surgery. My uncles had heart attacks and I really take after them from my mom’s side in many ways. The many miracles was leading up to this point in having VA Hospital coverage and a great team of doctors and nurses and other staff lined up. I had several people to talk to about their operations and so knew that I was not going to get out of surgery by a miracle, but that God was with me all the way.

For me it was quick, got there 5:30am by 6:30 I was being wheeled off, some guy with a dull hair cutter shaved all that needed it, others hooked IVs, then zonk I woke up really not that bad off as far as I can tell.

My toes wiggled so that was a good sign. I was horse from the air tube that was stuck down through my vocal chords. I was so glad I did not remember it in my throat, I heard I was trying to take it out, but they had big mittens on my hands so that wouldn't happen. Stef told me that I kept waking up and trying to get out that tube. Fortunately they took it out before I was alert to my surroundings. For me I just was in the ICU room with enough meds that not much pain, but I was not groggy.  I did not remember 2 days. All seemed fine other than having my chest cut open and finding my leg did indeed have cuts in it meaning they had to take a vein out of it.

It was a loud place and you get one nurse full time attention the whole time 24 hours a day.  Down the hall was the stairway door and staff loved taking that short cut, but the door slams and echoes because the stairway was like an echo chamber.

Every day of the 12 days I was in the hospital 2 teams of doctors would stop by and do a round table on me with each other. They seemed very concerned something was not right. They called Stef telling him the would have to transport me to Swedish Hospital for an angiogram to maybe put a stent in thinking the graphs got kinked or something. The VA did not have weekend staff to do that procedure. 

I dreaded the idea of having to go to another hospital and why couldn't they wait a day to do it at the VA. Turns out there are a number of windows and you cannot go past the time allowed.  My Heart went into Atrial fibrillation and though I could not feel any difference, they needed to get control. Mainly heart beat went wild. They put meds in the IV to control it. They had me up right away to walk and my heart would shoot up to over 140 beats (goal is in the 50s) so while walking they added IV meds which lowered the rate.

Stef and I talked about not wanting to go to another hospital and was hoping they would decide against moving me. (Pretty complex they would have to involve VA travel and other paper works just for a 3 mile ride). Finally the actual doctor that did the surgery came by to talk to us. He said the surgery went very well and he was very confident there were no problems with the graphs. The doctors finally decided the risk was more to transport me, so decided to just keep me well monitored. The normal 3 day in ICU turned into 6 days for me. Later Stef told me that things were great deal more serious than I was being told. Funny I never did feel anything in my body that would seem something was wrong.

I had some really great nurses, one even shaved me as I was getting quite the beard going. I learned terms like “bow to the Queen” this was used as how you sit down. It came time to take the drain tubes out of my stomach. Two ½ inch diameter tubes stuck in just below the rib cage. To come out mean grab and pull them out. The doctor told me to say EEEEEEEE then he put the two out. So guess I will have to round scars there. Later they took a large IV out of my neck. They needed it in the large neck vein in case they needed to add lot of meds fast. So nice having those removed. One benefit I hope is my neck had hurt for years very near where they stuck that IV. Since the operation no neck ache at all.

There was this Chaplin that stopped by every day in the ICU, I asked him to pray for me. He instantly prayer such a wonderful prayer and the Lord’s presence was very strong.

.......to be continued........