Dad's Heart
So I just got back from Nashville and one of the hardest weekends I have ever experienced in my life. Dad went in for heart surgery at Vanderbilt Friday morning. This picture was taken moments before they took him upstairs to prep for his surgery. I don't remember the last time we took a picture of just the Hensley family. Silas and I drove in early Friday morning and I jumped out of the car 30 seconds after they called him upstairs. We were able to surround dad and pray over him before they took him up. I think we had all just finished praying and crying when we took this picture.
They took him in around noon and his actual surgery began around 1:30 pm. We sat in the waiting room waiting for an update for hours, but heard nothing. Those were the most painful and scary hours of my life. They had a scrolling screen of all the patients in surgery, and doctors would post updates for the family on how things were progressing. Dad's was one of the only names that never got an update posted, and after 3 hours we really started to worry. You can only imagine how many prayers God had to handle coming from us during that time! We finally got a call from the OR stating that they were still working and things were "progressing on schedule." Not very comforting, but at least we heard something. We finally got word around 6:15 pm that he was out and heading to recovery. I have never been so relieved in my life. We finally spoke face to face with his actual surgeon after 7pm who told us they did a quadruple bypass, and had to take veins out of both of his legs. He said things went well, and his heart was strong and he did not have to be put on the heart/lung machine, they kept his beating the whole time. He also didn't have to have any blood transfusions, which was good. They allowed us to visit him in the recovery room in the ICU after that. He was still under, and had a breathing tube. He was so still and quiet and it was scary to see him that way. I offered to spend the night with him, and stayed by his side all night. I was the first person he got to see when he came to, and I was so glad I got to be there! They finally got his breathing tube out the next morning and we got to talk a bit. He was the same old guy I always knew, joking with the nurses and very thankful to be alive. We all took turns visiting him and I spent the next night with him too. The staff took good care of him and he is progressing very well at this time. He finally got moved to a regular room last night and has most of the IV's, etc out so he can walk and move around. This is one of the most intensive and painful surgeries to experience and recover from, and I hate seeing my strong dad in so much pain. He is handling it well, not complaining any, and already looking forward to being able to hunt and play golf again in a few months! I think he will be in the hospital until right before Thanksgiving and then get to go home Wednesday. We plan to head back in the next few weeks to check on him. I cannot even begin to express the gratitude for all those who have prayed for dad and the family. I know God heard each and every one of you and was holding my sweet dad in his hands the entire time. Please continue to pray constantly as he still has a long and hard recovery ahead of him. We have so much to be thankful for this year!
posted by Lauren at
9:06 AM
2 Comments:
What a crazy weekend, but what a blessing to be together. I LOVE YOU.
I know! I am so thankful for our family and that we got to support each other through this. I love you too Beev:) Oh, and I am so glad I got to love on sweet Ada and Jude, if only for a bit!! They are precious!
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