So Monday rolls around and we are both pretty nervous. We spent the day watching TV, reading, and praying. And by we, I mean me, because Charlie was pretty knocked out from the anti-anxiety meds they had given him. Although not so knocked out that he wasn't still pretty nervous about the entire thing.
I had been praying a few times throughout the day that our favorite nurse Wanita would be back tonight since she was so helpful in calming us and is really just an overall excellent nurse. Shift change comes around and in she walks! I really couldn't contain my excitement.
When she came in I had told her that I had prayed she would be our nurse that night and I honestly didn't even know if she was working that day. I then thanked God for small answers. Wanita was wonderful. She spent a good portion of the evening "preaching" to us, calming us, and praying with us. She was amazing!
The next morning she woke us up pretty early (5am, I wasn't even aware there was a 5am!) to start getting Charlie prepped for surgery. I was thankful she let me assist with this as it helped to take my mind off of what was coming next.
They took Charlie back and once again I found myself in the waiting room. This was a longer procedure than the first 2 and was to last around 3 hours. Our pastor came and sat with me the majority of the time and there was also another group in the waiting room that I talked with some and they were super nice.
The chaplain came in about every 30-45 minutes and updated me on the progress of the surgery and let me know that everything was going fine and just as planned. About 2 1/2 hours into it he came and told me that they were getting ready to close Charlie up and he would be back shortly to take me to the counsel room to wait on the surgeon.
Honestly, this is my favorite part of the story. I was sitting in the counsel room waiting on the surgeon to come and talk to me. I really had a peace the entire time Charlie was in surgery, but the longer I sat waiting and the more times the chaplain came by to see if the surgeon had come out yet really started getting to me. Crazy things started running through my head and I knew it was Satan putting these crazy thoughts in my head. I threw my hands up in the air and cried out "Jesus!" That's all I said, that's all I needed to say. Just a couple of minutes later, I wrote the following entry in my journal:
"Waiting on the surgeon in the counsel room, getting worried because it's taking longer than I think it should." I hear a small voice, "My child, why do you worry? Don't you know that I've got this?"
It still gives me chills typing it out. Yes, Jesus, I do know that you've got this, and you have had it the entire time. At that very moment all worry washed away and I was once again peaceful. Just a few moments later the surgeon came in and told me that he did exceptionally well during surgery and everything went as planned. He said we should be able to go home in 3-5 days.
I was able to go back to Charlie's room about an hour after he came back from surgery. Honestly it was a terrible sight. He was on the ventilator and had tubes coming and going everywhere. The nursing staff had prepared me for this but there really is no preparation for seeing someone you love lying in a hospital bed on a ventilator. They kept him on a ventilator overnight and extubated him the next morning so that his body could have some time to rest and recover from the trauma that was his heart surgery.
The next few days were pretty rough on him, but he did excellent. Five days after his major surgery we were released to go home! We were both pretty nervous because we had had a pretty bad ice storm and the roads were in terrible condition. But we made it and I don't think he had ever been so happy to see that semi-comfortable recliner that sits in our living room!
Charlie has made amazing progress and I am so proud of how hard he has been working to get to where he is at. He has been in so much pain and worked through it through physical therapy to regain his strength. He still has some ways to go but each day is getting a little bit better for him. He is now almost 6 weeks post-op and doing fantastic. He should be able to go back to work very soon (hopefully)!
We appreciate each and every person that lifted us up in prayer during the time he was in the hospital, and those of you that continue to lift him up for continued healing. You will never know how much it means to us.
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