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Post by royrdsjr on Nov 6, 2007 18:36:13 GMT -5
My brother had heart surgery last Thursday in Salt Lake City.His heart is very weak & he is in need of a heart transplant.They implanted an LVAD(Left Ventricular Assist Device) pump,which is considered a "bridge to a transplant". I was told(I Live in Georgia) that his ventilator failed while he was in surgery & air may have gotten into his blood & to his brain.Right now he's not waking up.
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Post by Lisa on Nov 16, 2007 0:24:39 GMT -5
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Post by royrdsjr on Nov 17, 2007 6:59:17 GMT -5
I'll try to be as factual as possible about this with my brother based on my mother being with him.This surgery is pretty experimental & the LVAD device he was given is a prototype.That being said,I was told that he was the first patient being given this device at that particular hospital.So that makes him patient X for them.The problems that he is having right now is that he has an embolism in his lung that is not behaving like a blot clot.They put him on medicine to try to dissolve it,but as far as I know,it is still there.Unfortunately,the the medicine caused him to hemorrhage & his step daughter was called & told that he might have had a brain bleed.My mother had enough & had to leave Salt Lake City & come back home because the complications are too much for her. Not thinking of him as my brother,I can see the trials & errors going on with the "first patient" having this surgery for this particular hospital & maybe my brother was far sicker than we thought.I'm thinking about going to Salt Lake City myself to see what exactly is going on.Thank you for your prayers though,I really appreciate it.
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Post by royrdsjr on Nov 17, 2007 20:42:14 GMT -5
So basically,the sum of the matter is that the neurologist who was called in because of my brother's brain bleed said that he has had extensive damage to his brain.he is probably in what would be called a vegetative state.My whole family,including primarily his two sons & two step daughters were told that any further surgery,to take care of the suspected blood clot in his lung &/or for the bleeding in his brain,that he wouldn't survive either.They couldn't take him off of the blood thinning medicine & the medicine to dissolve the suspected clot,but the medicine is causing further bleeding.My brother's oldest son is driving to Salt lake City to say his final goodbyes & then they are taking my brother off of life support.My brother was very sick & had no chance of survival anyway without this surgery or a heart transplant.The pump that he was given is being used in Australia,but it is still in trials here in the U.S.Thank you all for your prayers,my family appreciates it.
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Post by onenesslady on Jan 8, 2008 11:41:13 GMT -5
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