Old Man Greg and His ICD

After Greg wore his heart monitor for the 30 days and his results came back, his doctor decided it was time to prevent the inevitable and give him an ICD now, in the case that his heart decided to stop working. So, after finding out about his new job, he moved his surgery date up to July 17, 2020. Oh yeah, have I mentioned Greg got hired to be the new Assistant Controller at Wheeler Cat? We are over the moon! But, this new jobs means we won't have insurance for two months, so Greg's surgery became top priority before that happens.

First, Greg had to get tested the Sunday before his surgery for COVID and I'm wishing now that I would've gotten a movie of it. We learned Greg's pain tolerance during the 15 second nose swab where he jokingly said they should've checked his colon, which was hilarious in itself based on the wrong end of his body. Anyway, when the nurse was done she leaned over and said "Don't worry, we'll keep the crying between us." Which I thought she was joking about, but turns out Greg's eyes really were watering like crazy. Poor guy! Glad it was him and not me.

You can see how nervous he is just by seeing him play with his ring. Poor guy!

We checked into the 2nd floor Heart Center at IMC in Murray. Greg was easily the youngest patient there by 30 years.

The before and after of Greg's surgery. His BPM before surgery got as low as 37 BPM and there was an immediate difference once he came out. I was amazed!

Greg was more quiet than usual before he went into surgery, and he almost let them wheel him away while I was in the bathroom. As I walked out, they started wheeling him down the hallway. I swear, sometimes he deserves to be slapped! I had to stop the nurses so I could tell my husband good luck. Anyway, we were both nervous, and I may have cried watching them wheel him away, but it all worked out, and he was done 30 minutes sooner than the doctor estimated. I was bummed I didn't get to see him come out of anesthesia, but to see him smiling was good enough.

I snapped a picture of our favorite nurse. His name was Torgany (nickamed Torg) and he was a full-blown Swede whose aunt still lives there, and he was content to talk Sweden with Greg. He easily pronounced the last name, and he had the same mannerisms as Greg and his siblings, so that interaction answered a lot of questions. Maybe Swedes really are weird, and that is entirely okay.

Poor Greg had to fast all night/day, and was only handed a crummy turkey sandwich to eat because something was going on with the cafeteria, so I went and got us some food from Rumbi. The poor guy was starving! 

Greg was scheduled to stay overnight at the hopsital, so I headed home after dinner to get my girls from Mark & Kathy's and get them settled for the night. As much as I complain, I really do notice when Greg isn't sleeping in the bed with me; I never sleep as good. Don't tell him I admitted it.

My cute sister had door dash deliver some groceries to me post-surgery. She lives out of the state and wanted to do something special. It made me so happy. I want to be more like her when I grow up. It's moments like this that you really do need help, even when I might not know it.

2 days post-surgery, while still in his sling, Greg went for his exit interview at WSRP. Then, on Monday, June 22, 2020 he pulled away with a smile on his face to begin his new job as the Assistant Controller at Wheeler Cat. He was in pain and still on his meds, but he was excited for this new chapter in his life. He's no longer in a sling during the day, but had to sleep in it for 3 weeks. Poor guy held his arm like a broken wing for weeks. It was both heartbreaking and hilarious. He got really good at getting dressed one-handed.

Greg's new home. He loves it and is so happy to be at the workplace after working 3 months at home. We loved having him home, but we also love being back to a somewhat normal work life.