As most of you know, my mom, Terry got very shocking news back in early June as a result of imaging she had done by her physical therapist, whom she had been seeing for ongoing back pain. It showed possible calcification of her arteries, which precipitated a followup with her cardiologist and more imaging. The result of the CT-A scan she had done was a quickly scheduled cardiac catheterization and possible stenting of her artery. We took her into Columbia Presbyterian on June 18th for what was supposed to be an outpatient procedure- upsetting, sudden, and anticipated to be accompanied by some recovery, but doable! Unfortunately, when the surgeon went in, he found that the blockage was too substantial (80%) for catheterization and positionally far too dangerous for stents. They kept her at Columbia, stating that finding this was a miracle and that she was "the luckiest person in the hospital" that day to have discovered this before it lead to a massive heart attack. They scheduled her bypass surgery for the following week, which was a lot to digest very quickly. Terry underwent open heart surgery at Columbia on Tuesday, June 23rd. The procedure itself was a success, but her recovery has been brutal to say the least. She developed a blood infection, pneumonia, a urinary tract infection, and a GI bug, in addition to facing ever-increasing back pain as a result of inactivity and positioning in bed, not to mention a broken and healing sternum and ribs from the procedure. She was finally released from Columbia on July 10th, arriving at Helen Hayes Rehabilitation Hospital that evening. She has been there since, still really struggling to take advantage of PT and OT services as a result of her extreme back pain. It now appears that she will be released on Saturday, July 25th. We will need to hire an aide for the overnight and morning hours to assist with basic tasks like self-care, cooking, cleaning, and monitoring since she lives alone. She cannot be alone right now. She is able to use a walker to get around but cannot do much beyond taking herself to and from the bathroom or for other short walks. She will be positioned downstairs and will remain fairly stationary, especially if we can figure out meals for her and people to be around to heat them and encourage her to eat. PT and OT will come to the house twice a week, and she will have a visiting nurse twice weekly as well to ensure that her surgical site and an additional open wound she sustained remain clean and she avoids any further issues with infection. The aide will handle all other actual care. What we are essentially hoping is that our village can come together to provide her with companionship during the day. This will not only help her maintain a positive emotional state and keep understandable anxiety at bay, it will also ensure her safety as she readjusts to being home. Having someone there to heat up a plate of food for her, make sure she stays hydrated, give her the security to know that she can get up and go to the bathroom with confidence, and provide her with the opportunity to take advantage of moving from the screen porch or patio to the family room if she wants some sunshine will make a world of difference. Without people there, she will, of course, feel less free to move about for fear of anything happening when she is alone (which she technically is not allowed to be). She does not need visitors to lift her, clean her, or do anything else that would require medical skill, but if there was ever a time when she needed companionship and friendship, it is definitely now! So as you view this sign up, please consider coming to visit her. Stay for an hour, or sign up for multiple blocks and spend some quality time! I am sure I speak for everyone in saying that, as the people who love her, we feel incredibly blessed that this all happened, despite how hard it has been, because it means we have a bright future ahead with her. It has certainly been a strong reminder to enjoy the moments we have. Thank you so much for your support through this difficult time. Let's get her over the finish line together!
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