Treatments at Washington Regional

TUESDAY, 7/29
The first and most pressing injury was a tear to the aorta. The heart surgeon was able to repair the tear without placing J on bypass and without having to crack the chest. Following the heart surgery, J had a ventilation tube overnight.

Once in ICU, pins were placed in the lower legs for traction to stabilize his upper legs and to prevent further damage to legs and possibly pelvic/hip region. Also, once stabilized, it was time for the x-rays.

WEDNESDAY, 7/30
The cardiologist decided to place filters to catch/prevent blood clots from traveling to the heart/lungs. The first attempt was made in ICU, but was not satisfactory for the cardiologist. He decided he would rather take J back to the surgery suite and use a scope to verify the placement of the filters. This second attempt went much better. When the cardiologist made a report the family, he actually smiled when talking about J and his progress. The doctor requested that Cara make reports to his office because he doubted that J would need his services in the future — what a wonderful report to receive from a heart surgeon!

Mid-to-late afternoon, the ICU staff started weaning J off the ventilator tube and talking about preparing him for the trip to Tulsa. With his successful response to the aorta repair, the treatment timelines were starting to accelerate. Around 4:30 p.m., J came off the ventilation tube completely and talked to family members including his sons. At 8:30 p.m., J asked for Gatorade, Coke or tea to drink. He was very thirsty and would have probably settled for lots of ice water as long as someone brought as much as he wanted. The ICU nurses told family and friends they could bring him something with flavor; they just didn’t have it on the unit.

THURSDAY, 7/31
Most activities at Washington Regional on Thursday were to prepare J for his helicopter flight to St. John’s in Tulsa. St. John’s sent their helicopter to pick him up for his next step in the treatment process.