Surgery is underway... it is estimated to last most of the day. I will post an update this evening

Cleveland Rocks!

Mom was taken to surgery at 8:30 (EST) We were told to expect the first procedure to run approximately 2 hours, with primary stent graft aorta repair deployment taking approximately 6 hours. In others words... a really long day for every one. Mom claims she wasn't the least bit nervous ...but the blood pressure monitor told otherwise in the pre-op room. I think that is to be expected. You know, the aorta is a wondrous thing. It is the main artery in the human body, originating from the left ventricle of the heart and extending down to the abdomen, where it splits into two smaller arteries. The aorta distributes oxygenated blood to all parts of the body through the systemic circulation. So having a healthy aorta is a healthy aorta is...well, a pretty big deal!

I really have to brag on this 'trial' that Cleveland Clinic is conducting that Mom qualified as a surgical candidate for repair. Traditionally, if you have an aneurysm ( dilation or ballooning of part of the aorta ) that is behind the heart like Mom's or in the large and in the abdomen (also like Mom's) the only was to repair is with an 'open incision' surgery. Besides the obvious recovery aspect s of long anesthesia and a large incision there is a greater risk of paralysis from swelling of the aorta. This newer procedure is a microsurgery. Not even a band aid. The general anesthesia time is minimal. More importantly through a series of very sophisticated computerized monitoring of spinal fluid, and  more things than I can enumerate here, the risks overall are reduced dramatically. This is the only place in the world offering this procedure and they have been doing it for 9 years! I say this to encourage anyone you know that has a problem with an inoperable aneurysm to seek out Dr Eagleton. While it is still considered a trial they have done over a thousand cases. Medicare & Aetna are paying so I assume other insurance policies will also pay. This is literally a life saving surgery! I just can't say enough good things about everyone here at Cleveland Clinic. Traveling to a hospital out of town isn't fun, but sometimes necessary.

By the way..this was NOT a paid endorsement :)

All of this to say..so far, so good. I will keep you posted

Here we go again! We are officially on the way back to Cleveland Clinic for Stage Two of Mom's Aortic Stent Graft. As we were loading the car Mom looked at me and said, "Have you seen everyone on Facebook posting about going to the beach and other fun vacations? I wish that was us" I would be a bit dishonest if I didn't agree with her, but things could be worse. We are fortunate that this is operable, that the surgeons agreed to take her case and she is healthy enough to make thsee trips. Not to be overlooked are your kind donations that help so much with the day to day expenses of out of town medical care. Pre-op is Monday, surgery is Tuesday. Please keep everyone is your prayers. I will keep you updated ♥

Cleveland Stent Graft Stage One

Excuse Me For Writing This Backwards     

We are back in Memphis now, Mom is working on her recovery and there is much to catch you all up 

on. 

 After our midnight hotel room move,we finally settled in for a quick nap. Mom had to be up and have finished her breakfast by 7:00 eastern time and be at the clinic early for all of her pre-op tests, mri's , ekg's, echo's, etc. By early Wednesday afternoon she had her first procedure which required her to be admitted and stay in an observation room overnight. Dad and I weren't expecting that, so off we went to the cafeteria for dinner and rest up for the next day of supporting her for surgery.

Now, this surgery is a fascinating thing. If you know anything at all about aortic repair it can be a very dicey procedure. So precarious, that the reason this one was not done in Memphis is that it isn't offered there. Cleveland Clinic is the only hospital offering this stent graft. They have been performing the trial for approximately 10 years and have done thousands but still a trial as we understand because they are still 'tweaking' the process. The long and short of it (pun intended) is that a flexible stent is inserted inside of the aorta. In Mom's case in two stages. The first stage is the upper section which sits just behind the heart and extends through the thoracic area. Her aneurysm is quite impressive so this section of stent did not quite cover all of it. The stent is also a graft so the capallaries  will start to infuse from her outside of her existing aorta wall to inside of her new stent. How cool is that? I thought of putting some photos of the stent here as I find it all so interesting, but realized that some of you may not. So I will refrain. 

Mom's surgeon is a bit of a, correction, a total control freak. I am actually quite ok with that. One of the things he does is send his patients having this procedure straight from surgery to ICU.We learned from  a nurse there that is his way of not losing control of his patients.. I hope this doesn't offend any recovery nurses out there.. While mom was in ICU immediately after surgery she had a bit of time getting comfortable. Well, hello! Who wouldn't? If you have followed her blog or know her well, during her very first surgery a dear friend, RuthAnne Talley gave her a throw blanket from her beloved team the Memphis Tigers. It has been through open heart surgery, two hip replacements, rehap twice, another trip to the hospital..but it accidentally got left behind on this trip. She was fretting about it when we arrived in Cleveland and I happened to mention it to my husband Jim. Imagine my surprise when dad and I returned from that first long day at the hospital to regroup for a few minutes to find this in our room

The plan was that Mom stay in the hospital from May 3 until the 14th. But... they don't know Mom. On the 11th we were on a plane headed home. Now I know what you are thinking, no we didn't just bust out! We had an official discharge and were approved to leave.  She still has orders to 'chill out'. This is also a graft and as such has to do its thing to heal. But, she also can get up and move around, just needs to rest appropriately. She sees her cardiologist in a few days.. will update again soon. 

We just can't thank you all for your prayers and support. The uplifting of positive energy could be felt as we anxiously waited in ICU for every update on that blue pager hanging around dad's neck. 

    

Memphis to Cleveland

Sorry for the pause in between posts but to be honest, it has been a bit busy around here. Since my last post with Mom and Dad under the Welcome to Cleveland Sign. Our adventure continues...


Before leaving for Cleveland, we drove to Nashville and stayed with my daughter Katie and her family for the evening to enjoy a visit . She prepared favorite foods for Mom and Dad including wonderful home made cookies by one of the great grand's, Avery.
That little girl can really cook! Katie offered to take us to the airport which allowed us to check our bags at the curb.
Now that is service.

Our trip included a nice connection in Baltimore but after a delay, it suddenly became very quick. Those kinds of travel challenges are always so much fun.. well, not really. We finally reached Cleveland, and headed to baggage claim for our bags and to make arrangements for our 45 minute trip to our hotel. Now just try to imagine the expressions on our faces we descend the escalator. I am sure it must have been comical to anyone looking on. One by one our expressions changed from weary to elated as we each noticed the driver holding the placard calling for "Millican". I walked up and asked, are you looking for us? Hoping, but unsure of course. Yes, someone had gifted us a driver to the hotel. A sedan. Ready and waiting. A beautiful anonymous gesture just in time. Mom was just about worn out by this time. He wouldn't even allow us to tip, said that it was covered too, along with the return trip. Many thanks anonymous donor!

PEANUT BUTTER & CRACKERS

We made it to the hotel by 7:30 just in time for a nice relaxing evening...if only they had not given our room away. Not possible I said. It was confirmed weeks ago. I confidently flashed my confirmation number! Dad is getting frustrated (remember, he is retired hospitality corporate office) mom is really tired.. the clock is ticking, I am starting to steam more than a little. Oh, have I mentioned that we haven't eaten since 11 am? Remember that short connection in Baltimore? I was going to have crab cakes with those wonderful red potatos in jackets they do so well, maybe a bit of spicy slaw..but I digress, "Sorry, all booked up. We can put the three of you in a King room" All I can do is stare as he offers this, " well there is a sleeper sofa" in the most jovial voice he can muster. So off we slog from our downgraded suite we were formerly so excited about, and oh yes, I notice the restaurant is now closing. Seriously?

So let this be a lesson, never ever travel without food.. so we dined in style using our suitcase as a table. It was actually kind of humorous. Ok, maybe it wasn't but we were better. I got on the phone with the to hotels customer care hotline ( appropriately named I might add, dad and I were certainly 'hot') to give them an opportunity to make things right. As dad talked I was mentally drafting my TripAdvisor Post bashing them and their next of kin...mom was preparing for bed, she had an early appointment and she had to have eaten breakfast no later than 7am the next morning. Now, for those of you that know and love my mom since her retirement I will leave it there. For those of you that aren't accustomed to her daily routine, let's just say that we planned on tip toeing. :)  

It's now 10:45pm. .there's knocking on our door..oh geez, what now??? Well, well.   It seems our call to customer care office, and maybe some name dropping did the trick. Miraculously someone has checked out in the middle of the night and a suite has become available at 11 pm. You just can't make this stuff up people. 

And so begins the Epic Journey of Shirley's Aorta Stent Graft... 

Many of you have written private messages asking how you can help. Here is one way, any gift small or not so small is appreciated. This is a secure way of funding credible recipients. We also hope you will offer your prayers of healing and guidance for the surgeons and nurses. Thank you friends!

https://www.gofundme.com/256dn598

Update April 2016 Back To Cleveland Clinic For Surgery Next Week

Back in 2010 when Mom was diagnosed with Cardiomyopathy we initially thought that she only had a small aneurysm that was to be watched. So they have done just that. Every six months... off to our wonderful doctors at Stern Clinic for check ups. Well... As luck would have it.. the silly thing has decided to grow and it has a twin! Yep! There are now two. You see. Multiples run in our family. I have a great grandparent that was a multiple, my cousin had triplets, my brother Ricky & Diane had twins and one of my sons has twins. So, why not. Mom has twin aneurysms. ♥♥ Hoping to have it corrected in Memphis, our hopes were dashed this past fall when we learned they had become too large to safely correct with a traditional surgery. All of her tests and files were sent to her cardiac surgeon (we rented a U-Haul for that) at Cleveland Clinic who referred her to a vascular surgeon who referred her to another surgeon, well.. you get the picture. The short of it is, a week before Christmas last year (2015) Mom and I dashed up to Cleveland, Ohio for a consult about a new trial for a Stent Graft procedure for her entire aorta that will repair both aneurysms without any major open incisions. It is a clinical trial, but in its 10th year, so we have full confidence in the procedure. It will be a two part procedure with at least one week in the hospital each surgery followed by a six week recovery. It will be an interesting couple of months... The first surgery is scheduled for May 5. We head out for Cleveland the first of next week.  Mom, Dad and I will be traveling together. We appreciate all of your prayers and healing thoughts on this new journey.. I will keep you posted!

Cheryl and Family

♫ ♫ ♪ Oh Happy Day ♪ ♫ ♫

First of all, Mom told me this weekend that it is "time to shut the blog down... I'm not sick anymore"! Well, that's great news. Hmmm, wonder if she has informed her corps of doctors about this new revelation. To be honest, Mom is doing just great. We haven't posted in a while because, well, to be honest she has been kind of boring. Now, don't take that wrong. I mean this in the most positive way. I will take this boring over medical excitement any day. If you recall, there was a problem with an infection at her surgery site. As she began treatment for this infection the docs realized that the problem was deeper than muscle and tissue and also involved her sternum. You know that large bone in the middle of your chest that your ribs connect to. It is kind of an important bone. Since the open heart surgery Mom wasn't sure if the discomfort was from the procedure or something else. I mean, after all they cut your sternum down the middle, use this sort of crane to move r-i-b-.... I suppose you don't really want to hear all of those details. Let us suffice to say, it was hard for Mom to know which 'Ouch' was new to be honest. After her unexpected week at Baptist week last month to start these IV antibiotics, she went home with a PIC line (a catheter placed in your upper arm that leads directly to your heart) so that daily heavy duty medications could knock this infection out! But now.. enter Medicare in all of their wisdom~ I know that I mentioned this before but it bears repeating; if you need medications through Medicare now and they cannot be dispensed in pill form you have to either stay in the hospital for the infusion, or have the dosages given at a clinic. Of course, with any heavy duty medicine there are side effects like nausea, lethergy, flushing, chills... oh wait, that was dad! Silly me, we were talking about Mom. Actually Mom did have some icky side effects and they changed her meds and the last three weeks she went to the clinic every day for her infusion. Last week Mom had a CT scan done to check progress of the treatment. Dr Threlkeld announced, "your CT looks good- you are done". "When?" Mom anxiously asked. "Right now!" Hooray! I think she probably would have given him a big ole' hug and kiss if; A) he wasn't a good bit younger and married and; B) Dad would be sooo jealous. ☺ So, the PIC line was removed, they turned in all of the paraphernalia that went with it and said their goodbyes. Naturally, Dad didn't leave his special carrier that he rigged for transporting the infusion bag... you just never know when a good carrier might be needed! So now, we wait. Mom has an appointment with our Primary Care doc and her Cardiologist at the end of the month. Hopefully she will finally be able to start her Cardio rehab at that point. Although, she is doing anything she wants with the provision she still not lift anything over 8 lbs. She looks so much better. In fact I have told her, as have others, that she looks the best they have seen in a while. Of course, it could be her new hair cut ... she is keeping it shorter and looks so sassy. 
Thank you all for sharing this time with us, praying with us and encouraging Mom with your posts, emails and especially the donations.  It has been an encouragement to our entire family. Keep calling her and emailing. Who knows, in a couple of months you may just see them at a class luncheon.
Take care and God Bless
Cheryl Millican Haas
~on behalf of Shirley & Bill  Millican, Rick & Diane Millican, my husband Jim, six grand children and two great great grands!