Tick Tick Tick

5 1/2 hours of waiting.  Three update calls from the OR nurse.  Two magazines read cover to cover and back again.  Two trips to the coffee cart for more caffeine.

And one really happy wife when the surgeon came out and said that the surgery went well and the patient was great!!!

On Thursday, B had aortic root replacement.  We had hoped going into the OR that the aortic valve could be saved - the valve-sparing procedure was just what we really wanted to do and it seemed that B was a good candidate for it with this surgeon.  Once in the OR, the aortic valve was damaged - a few tears and holes in the flaps indicated that it would have to be replaced within 10 years so the surgeon decided to replace it now.  A good decision as we would prefer to avoid this in the future but honestly, we were a bit disappointed.  With the mechanical valve, B will need to take blood thinner for the rest of his life.  You can hear the valve clicking - it sounds like a faint tick of a clock.  He says that he can feel it too.  Over time, we wont hear it anymore cause we will be used to the sound.  However, sitting in a meeting or in an elevator, people around B will hear it.

B is doing so great......22 hours after being wheeled into the OR, he was released from ICU and is now resting in the cardiac surgery unit.  And it looks like we will be out of the hospital on Tuesday.