We parked near the hospital last night on a residential street in front of a church; very quiet and we settled in after a dinner out at Chili’s.

We were awoken at 5:30 AM by a phone call from the Heart Hospital. They advised that Dr. Dewan had been called in last night for an emergency surgery and was pushing back today’s surgeries in order to get some sleep. So instead of going to the hospital at 7:30 AM they wanted us to wait until ten.  We certainly want a well rested doctor!

Needless to say we had a hard time getting back to sleep but managed to eventually and were up around 8:30. We got up and drove to the hospital’s parking lot and went for a stroll on the grounds. There is a nice walking trail out back called Central Park and the sun was coming out after a night of on and off showers. Fran is going to stay parked here for the duration; we checked at registration yesterday and they were okay with this as long as our RV did not take more than one parking spot. Yes!

We got here on time and were taken back immediately to the pre area. Doug had to get into bed, had his vitals taken, was shaved and wiped down with sterile wipes. Next came the IV which the nurse struggled with a bit but after it went in, he was given Ativan and morphine.

Just after one o’clock we met the surgeon and they came by and took him to the operating floor. There they put in an arterial line, a catheter, breathing tube and the like. By two the surgery began. Fran was updated just after three that all was going well and they expected to finish early.

At four o’clock, they were finished and shortly afterward the surgeon came to speak with Fran. Dr. Dewan said it was a textbook surgery and all well smoothly including going on and off the heart/lung machine.

Fran got to see Doug briefly at 5:30 just to say hi and meet the cardiologist who said all going well so far. She will allowed back into the room around 7.