For the first time I decided to take my friends and family down memory lane. My oldest daughter, Bethanie was born in 1982 with congenital heart disease. Overtime she needed to have several tests, both at Ft. Bliss and Phx Childrens hospital. At the time my military career just started and my wife, Bethanie and I were stationed in Ft Bliss, El Paso, TX. My wife was not able to work because she had to tend to our daughters medical needs, and we survived on $600 per month. My wife made it work, how she did it I will never understand. We made one trip per month to Phx for tests, and consultations with the cardiologist and the cardio surgeon. At the time I was 22, slender, no gray hair and Bethanie was our only concern. Soon the time came for her open heart surgery, and I wanted to have it done a day for before Thanksgiving. That date was November 21, 1984, so she was admitted on the 18th for a cardiac cath to determine internal pressures of the heart, location of the holes, check the valves, blockages and other defects. When they took her back to the cath lab, the stress was remarkable, but when she returned to her room I tried to hold the tears. Her mother is and has always been the pillar of strength when it came to the girls. The results revealed a large hole in the upper chamber called a ASD (atrial septal defect), and series of swiss cheese holes in the lower part of the septum (the part that divides right and left side of the heart). There lies the problem, the risk went up, because all holes had to be repaired to augment the pressures, restore adequate perfusion, and oxygenation needed to brought to normal levels. At that time a patient could only remain on heart bypass for only 10-12 hours during open heart surgery. So the entire surgery had to completed before time ran out. I was relieved when Bethanie made it fine through the cardiac cath, and the open heart surgery was scheduled for the 21st of November 1984 at 6am. So tomorrow night, and for the first time I will write every detail from the night before surgery, the day after.......I believe the Lords mercy, grace and infinite love for children will be revealed tomorrow evening.... :)
Posted on: Thu, 20 Nov 2014 08:41:30 +0000
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