20 Questions

Chapter 48

"Mrs. Janes?"

I open my eyes to see the receptionist staring at me and possibly the drool on my cheek. I reach over and gently shake to my mom's shoulder. She wakes up in a panic, sitting upright and alert.

"Yes," she tells the woman. "Is everything ok?"

"Yes ma'am, I just wanted to let you know that your husband's surgery is over. The doctor will be out shortly to update you." She flashes a sweet smile and we thank her before she returns to her desk.

"I can't believe I slept the whole time," my mom says. "Did I miss anything? Did you call the lodge or find Hunter?"

"You didn't miss anything, I don't think. Honestly, I fell asleep, too. I did call the lodge, but they wouldn't give me any information. The room wasn't reserved in his name. His buddies told me that they arrived before he did so the room is probably in one of their names. Unfortunately, I don't know any of their last names. I was frustrated with the lodge, but I guess they do have to protect the privacy of their guests. I was thinking that if everything goes smooth with Dad's surgery and he is stable, I will go up to the airport and surprise Hunter when he gets off the plane. His flight was scheduled to depart at one and it's a four-and-a-half-hour flight so if I get there around five, I should be there when it lands. I miss him terribly, Mom."

"I think that sounds like a great idea, baby girl. I'm sure he misses you, too. He will be thrilled to see you. I hope the doctor comes out soon. I'm getting impatient."

No sooner do the words leave her mouth, the surgeon strolls into the waiting room and over to our seats. He asks us to meet him in the family room and I get incredibly nervous because as a nurse, we always took the family to a separate room to deliver bad news. We enter the room and sit on one of the couches as he sits across from us.

"Hello ladies, I hope I didn't frighten you by bringing you into this room. I just don't want to violate your husband's privacy by discussing his surgery in front of the other people in the waiting room. We are finishing up in the OR. His surgery went very well and we were able to successfully bypass the blockages. He has an incision in the center of his chest and two small incisions to his right leg where we harvested the grafts. He will have four tubes coming out of his chest that simply drain fluid. Those tubes will be removed in a couple days if there is not too much drainage. He still has the breathing tube, but hopefully that will come out in a couple hours. He doesn't have any lung problems and he isn't a smoker so that will help him come off the ventilator easier. He has several IV medications going, but those will be weaned off when the fluids in his body come to a good balance and his blood pressure is stable. The blood loss was normal for this type of procedure and he didn't require any blood products. He will keep the big IV in his neck and the arterial line in his wrist until tomorrow if everything goes as planned. Once he gets to the open heart recovery unit, the nurses will monitor him very closely and warm up his body temperature. They will wean him off sedation in an attempt to get him off the ventilator. If he stays calm and is awake enough, the breathing tube will come out very easily. We will be giving him pain medication through his IV until the breathing tube comes out and we know that he can swallow safely, then we will transition him to oral pain meds. It is very common for patients' throats to be sore and irritated, so we don't let them drink immediately. Believe you me, he will want a drink as soon as that tube comes out. Everybody does. The nurses will have him out of bed, into a chair a couple hours after the tube comes out. If everything goes as planned, he will be moved to a regular room tomorrow. I expect him to do very well. Are there any questions that you have for me?"

I knew what to expect, but I look to my mom to see if there is anything she wants to ask. She looks relieved but overwhelmed. I tell the surgeon, "Thank you for taking such wonderful care of my dad. I can't tell you how relieved we are after hearing your update. You covered everything so I don't have any questions. If my mom has any, we will let you or the nurses know. Thank you again for your compassion and all that you have done for my dad."