Day 1 of Recovery

Ronnie and I went to visit Peter this afternoon. We were expecting to find him under sedation but we were pleasantly surprised to see his eyes slightly open and he even managed a slight wave with his fingers. His lungs are being assisted by a respirator and he has a myriad of tubes, wires and monitors surrounding him. He is expected to remain in the Surgical ICU ward until Sunday. Jeanette is coping well at home without Peter. She is sleeping soundly and eating well too. We have a nurse coming in every weekday to care for her and Lydia is there for her companionship and emotional support. Now that the operation is behind him, Jeanette has started asking us when he will be coming home from the hospital. We all know that he has been capable of doing fantastic things in his life ... but he would need to have superhero powers to recover from this operation at that speed!!! Jokes aside, we are hopeful that the next two weeks will fly and that they can be together again in no time.

Operation went well!

Peter’s went into surgery at noon today and Dr Vosloo has just called to give us an update on how the operation went. She said that the operation went well and Peter has now been moved to ICU for his post-op recuperation. She said that the aortic valve was extremely calcified and was amazed that he had not had further complications. Peter had a slight complication when he was put under the anaesthetic, as he had a few mild convulsions, which as she explained is quite unusual, as they administer an anti-convulsant drug together with the anaesthetic. She has asked a neurosurgeon (Dr Frost) to see Peter to get an additional opinion on what may have caused this.

New date for Peter’s Operation

Peter went to the Doctor again today and he has been given a ‘clean bill of health’... The dreaded flu is a thing of the past! His surgeon has now confirmed that his surgery has been rescheduled for this Wednesday (3 September). He is to be admitted to the Life Vincent Pallotti Hospital tomorrow afternoon (Tuesday 2 September). He is expected to be in hospital for 2 weeks and the post-op recuperation is expected to be approximately 6-8 weeks. Peter is relieved that the date has now been confirmed but also decidedly nervous and anxious about Jeanette, as he does everything for her! Lydia is still staying with us and Jeanette appreciates having her around for companionship. We are waiting for confirmation from the nursing services who are trying to find a nurse to assist us with Jeanette's daily home care over the next 2-4 weeks.