Phil and I spent the night in the hospital not knowing if dad would make it through the night.  Heather went home to be with Molly since she was still recovering from her appendix surgery from Friday at Methodist.  We watched a few episodes of Psych while dad rested comfortably.  We made it through the night without incident and without much sleep, but we made it.  The girls arrived with some fresh clothes and snacks to help get us going for the day.  We really weren’t sure what the day would bring and already began discussing what life would be like without him.

Monday morning came along with a change of faces on the cardiology team.  We met a new cardiologist who had reviewed his file that morning.  He noticed that dad was only 66 and otherwise healthy.  Dad didn’t drink or smoke, and had no other known issues.  The cardiologist suggested we consider transporting him to the U of M where they had “advanced therapies” available.  I asked him to explain and he said they could install pumps and do transplants.  It was his belief that they might be able to do something to save his life, but explained that at Methodist they were out of options.  With our permission he made a call to Dr. Eckman and the team at the U and arranged for transport.  

Dad was transported at 3:30 on Monday, and it was quite a process.  They had to move him via ambulance with a balloon pump in his heart, a breathing machine, hordes of IV’s and all other devices connected.  There was an army of medical personnel assisting and nearly as many riding in the ambulance with him.  Somehow we ended up in front of the ambulance on the way to the U.  I kept looking in the mirror and felt like I was escorting my dad to the hospital.  Praying the whole way that he would survive the transport and that we would get some good news.  Upon arriving we were met immediately by Dr. Eckman and his team.  He had already been reviewing my dad’s case, and took the digital images I carried with me from Methodist.  He assured us they had already begun laying out a plan for treatment, and asked for permission to bring him immediately to the cath lab to insert a Swan.  The best news of the day came when he looked down and asked about the DNR band placed on his wrist.  Dr. Eckman said as far as he was concerned we had many options on the table and suggested we have it removed.  They immediately grabbed a scissors.

This marked the beginning of a week of countless specialists working to restore him to health.  The goal being to get him off the balloon pump in his heart and eventually the breathing tube so we could discuss his care options.  The team reminded us that this would likely be a process taking upwards of a week, but assured us they were optimistic we could get there.  They also encouraged us to pace ourselves for the long journey ahead and strongly suggested we go home.  At the brink of exhaustion we all took their recommendation.