Angioplasty

I mentioned in my last post that I found out that the stent in my iliac artery had collapsed and another surgery was needed to fix it.  Anything more than a casual walk caused my left leg to go numb because not enough blood could get through to deliver oxygen to the muscles.  The procedure would be an angioplasty, where they would insert a wire with a small deflated balloon on the end of it into my femoral artery and feed it up to the scene of the crime.  Once it was in place at the collapsed part of the stent, they would inflate the balloon, which would open the stent, hopefully permanently.  The surgery was initially scheduled for last Tuesday, but was delayed until Thursday 8/21 because the surgeon had an emergency case that came up.  I was anxious to get this over with and a little disappointed to have to delay my recovery another few weeks.  Compared to everything else that has happened this year, this is not a big deal, but when I found out I needed surgery I thought "seriously? Another thing?"  Even though I didn't feel particularly filled with faith, I forced myself to revisit the verses that have encouraged me over the past year, including Psalm 16:8, "I have set the Lord always before me.  Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken."

When the day finally came, Tiffany and I arrived at the hospital around 8:15 and got checked in.  They brought us back into the surgical prep area and I got dressed into the familiar purple paper gown.  I filled out some paperwork and the anesthesiologist gave me some pre-meds while I waited to get wheeled into the operating room.  I remember getting into the OR and saying hi to a few people in there and then waking up about 30 minutes later in the recovery room.  The first thing I looked for was the clock, and the fact that the procedure only took 30 minutes made me happy.  I realized I couldn't move as they had attached a clamp to my hip in order to keep pressure on the incision, so I just dosed in and out of consciousness until they brought me to a room.  I was initially told that I would have to stay overnight, but Dr. Hoepp said that if I was feeling well and could walk by 4:00 that afternoon, then I could go home.  After eating lunch, I pretty much slept most of the afternoon.  Right about 4:00, one of the physician assistants came to see me and I was discharged.

Pre op selfie

Since then I've felt pretty good.  I have to delay my physical therapy for another couple of weeks, but I'll be able to return to work tomorrow and start my real recovery.  Baby Boy is due in about a week and a half, so I'll be ready when he gets here.