ruptured aorta, dangerous surgery

:( what a fun thing to wake up to, today at 5 in the morning.

My grandpa has ruptured an aortic aneurysm, it's not a full rupture or else he wouldn't be here right now, but it needs surgery. He's been in surgery since 8 am and they just added a few more hours on to it, which is a scary thing. They told us he's stable but that can mean both good and bad things, honestly..

it's a very scary surgery, even if he survives he could end up being paralyzed, and even if things go right in surgery, his body could go into shock at any moment.

Texas is known for being very good with heart surgery, so I'm praying he's in good hands with knowledgeable doctors.

It's very hard to focus, I don't think I'll be able to make it to class today, I'm either refreshing facebook to see family statuses or am checking my phone to see if they have called me with new info. It's hard being away at college when this happens.

Silly place to post something like this, in a reptile forum, but I can't seem to think about anything else, so I'm just typing where I can.

Please send positive thoughts/prayers.. for him and my family

Consider it done. I hope and pray that he comes out safely, and that he recovers quickly. Try and stay calm and positive, as hard as I'm sure it may be.

thank you.. very tiring day, feels like it's been weeks since this morning! Every minute I don't hear news lasts three times as long

I understand.. I felt the same way when my grandma had open heart surgery several years ago.. It's scary, but hopefully he will pull out soon!

Prayers coming your way :)

Best of luck to him. Doctors are so amazing these days:bow:

I just got an update, Papaw is still in surgery, they have just about finished repairing the aorta, now they are moving on to fixing the arteries that were damaged because of the tear.. He's stable but still a lot of risks left to go through!!

It turns out he has the least common type of aortic aneurysm injury, usually it happens in the abdominal area, his happened up higher above his chest. No one has really said whether that is worse or better, but I know it is stressful as they took a while before they had enough stints of the right size for the area, as 80% of their surgeries relating to this are in the abdomen.

Thanks for the responses everyone.. :( sure am ready for this to be over

I hope he pulls through with a speedy and safe recovery!

Wow that is scary!!! Prayers go out for you, your family and your grandpa. Please keep us update!

I am so sorry to hear about this. You are definitely in our thoughts and prayers. Fortunately your grandfather is in the very best hands, and we are all wishing for the very best outcome. Our arms are wrapped around you.:hug:

God Bless!

Jim Smith

They just closed him up and they will wake him up tomorrow if all goes well.. The doctor was shocked, this was a new type of rupture they had never dealt with that required three stints. It also really was a rupture, not a small tear, which is amazing as apparently 90% of people who have a real rupture like this suffer instant death or die on the way to the hospital(very fast loss of blood that causes shock or heart attack, worsening the problem)

the fact that he was even conscious when they got there was incredible considering the severity of the situation. He's a TOUGH MAN! The doctors said there were some complications that happened, pieces of equipment malfunctioned, and one of the balloon things they used to hold up an area they were working from actually broke and it took them a few hours to get it out..Ugh! Somehow he lived through it all, including losing over 2 liters of blood!

The complications may have left him paralyzed in his legs, though before the surgery was over they saw him moving his feet, so as long as nothing else goes wrong we know that is fine for now.

But yeah..what a day! Hoping tomorrow he is just as strong as he was today!

glad to hear he came through...lets hope that toughness continues. :gj:

I am glad to hear that your grandfather is doing well. I will keep him and you in my prayers.

:banana: So glad to hear that he came through it well! He sounds like a super tough guy!!

OMG!!! Today was a miracle...

Ventilators scare me, complications with removing one was how my other grandfather died. So today I was terrified

But he made it through, he's awake, talking, moving his legs, and already asking when he can leave the hospital, LOL!! I really can't believe it! I was called yesterday by my parents who didn't even expect to make it to the hospital in time to be with him... He's really a tough guy!!

Thank you for all your thoughts and comments.. It means so much! I know people age and this happens, but every extra day is awesome to have!