Dad admitted to hospital - booked in for bypass in 2 weeks - advice, support very much needed!

[BirdyBedtime]

I'm sitting at work at the mo in a bit of a state on the verge of tears.

Dad had an angiogram yesterday and they've found blocked arteries so he needs to have a bypass, booked in for 2 weeks. They are admitting him now though just to keep an eye on him. It's come as a bit of a shock as mum and dad have obviously kept a lot of what has been happening from me and my DSis as all we'd been told was that he'd had a few 'funny turns' and was getting a bit short of breath. I suspect that there have been considerably more symptoms than that!

I have lots of concerns - not so much about the op itself as I know it's reasonably routine, but more about how long rehab takes and how he'll manage the stairs at home (which are to get to a 1st floor flat) etc. He's reasonably active (although not fit IFSWIM) and up until a few weeks ago was still working full time (he's nearly 70).

I live over 3 hours away from them and with 2 young DCs and a DH that works odd hours visiting is not going to be easy. For those of you who've been through this when would you recommend I try to arrange to go and visit - before, the day of the op, the day after or a few days after?

Thanks. God threadfairy that must have been a worrying time.

Glad to hear your DF is doing well Timandra and also that he was willing to attend the rehab. When I saw Dad on Friday he was still sort of poo-pooing the idea but Mum is going to work on him. I think there is definitely a category of men of a certain age and mindset that think it's all just a load of rubbish, but I pointed him towards the BHF website for some information so we'll see ......

He actually got out over the weekend (luckily on Friday when I'd gone up to visit and could taxi) as he's doing much better on the meds they've put him on - managed to walk up the stairs without getting out of breath. I think that was a blessing as he just went back in yesterday morning so hasn't spent the whole holiday weekend moping about the hospital worrying about things. He is hopefully having his op this afternoon. He seems fairly matter of fact about the whole thing and is determined to stay positive.

I hope all goes well today.

Thinking of you all. My FIL is waiting for an appt with the surgeon to arrange his bypass.

My dad had a triply bypass three years ago. He was convinced he was going to die. However, he now is a different man! He is careful about what he eats but is now much fitter and happier. Although seeing him in intensive care was hard, the recovery was faster that I expected.

Well, dad went down for his op at 1pm so I'm just waiting to hear from mum in the early evening when he gets to ICU. When I spoke to her at lunchtime she said he'd been incredibly positive last night about it and quite accepting of the whole thing. It's not nice thinking that right now he's lying there all cut open, but I've been trying to concentrate on work this afternoon.

Hope your FIL doesn't have to wait too long wandawings - in hindsight I think the fact that this has all happened relatively quickly has made it all a bit more bearable (after the initial shock).

It's really great to hear so many positive stories from all the posters here - I hope to be able to add the same type of advise/support in the future.

Oops, advice.

Hallo , hope that your dad is doing well .
FIL had triple bypass about 2 months ago
Has had heart problems for many years , heart attack in January and had stent fitted .
A couple of months later he had angiogram was not allowed home until he had the bypass .
Had the op on a Friday , kept sleeping on Saturday , DH went to visit on Sunday and FIL was in a bit of a state , saying he was attacked by the staff and begging DH and MIL to get away to safety .
This is apparently quite normal (!) and after a couple of days he was much better , and on a normal ward .
He was in for nearly 2 weeks after the op , as his legs ( where they take veins from ? ) kept bleeding , so longer than he hoped .
Even a couple of days after the op , he felt so much better , no chest pain , breathlessness etc ,
So good luck to you . It's tough going , but worth it .

Thanks Doilooklikeatourist - no-one has mentioned possible hallucinations - that must have been quite frightening (for all concerned).

The strange thing is that dad has had no chest pain at all in advance, it's just been the breathlessness and 'funny turns'.

Everything went OK yesterday although when my mum spoke to the staff in recovery last night they said the op had been 'challenging' whatever that means! He was kept sedated and ventilated last night but has had the breathing tube removed and is awake this morning - very sore as expected. Hopefully he'll be back to the ward by Saturday afternoon when I'll be visiting.

It has been brilliant to have all the support you guys have given - reminds me of the good bits of MN when there is lots of complaining going on!