Monday, April 13, 2015
We went to
our office meeting in Pittsford and then we had a burger at Tom Wahl’s. We went to the mission home to get a
projector from President Francis and then to Sam’s Club to get a few
things. We arrived home and I called my
parents. They told me that Brent would
have surgery on Tuesday to correct A-fib. (heart beating out of rhythm) I called Becky and Brent was there getting a haircut. I talked with him and he was completely
confident that his colleague in Idaho Falls could fix his problem and he would
be up and going in no time. The
procedure was going to be quick and mostly painless. He would go in with a hole about the size of
a silver dollar and would do it with a scope between the ribs. We ended our talk with him saying that he
loved me and I saying it back. We went
out walking.
Picture taken the night before the surgery |
Tuesday,
April 14, 2015
We picked up
the missionaries and went to the Palmyra Temple. They can go to the Temple once a transfer. We enjoyed ourselves there and then went to
Nima’s and Grandin Printing Store in Palmyra.
We also visited the Sacred Grove.
I called mom after the Temple and she said that they had found another thing to fix on Brent’s heart (the mitral valve) and they were not done at this point. (He had begun about 6 a.m.) We went home and paced the floor. At 6:00 p.m. I went to the church for an enrichment on gardening. It was very interesting, but my mind wasn't on it. I left a little early and walked back to our apartment. I talked with Becky and she said that they were still in surgery and she was getting nervous. I was getting extremely nervous and called Chris and Annette and asked them to please go to the hospital for me. After eternities of time we were told that they had called in the entire heart department from Idaho Falls and they had finished the surgery only to find that his heart wouldn't beat on its own. He had been in surgery so long and had so many things done to it; it was worn out. We believe that they were ready to quit trying, but Almedis convinced them to continue. They continued trying and they found that they could life flight him to Idaho Falls to the Intermountain Medical Center. We began praying that his heart would again beat on its own. They gave him 2 units of blood before they left the hospital and 4 more on the flight. They put him on the jet and 2 cars full of my loved ones drove through the night in the worst blizzard that winter to Salt Lake City.
We also visited the Sacred Grove.
I called mom after the Temple and she said that they had found another thing to fix on Brent’s heart (the mitral valve) and they were not done at this point. (He had begun about 6 a.m.) We went home and paced the floor. At 6:00 p.m. I went to the church for an enrichment on gardening. It was very interesting, but my mind wasn't on it. I left a little early and walked back to our apartment. I talked with Becky and she said that they were still in surgery and she was getting nervous. I was getting extremely nervous and called Chris and Annette and asked them to please go to the hospital for me. After eternities of time we were told that they had called in the entire heart department from Idaho Falls and they had finished the surgery only to find that his heart wouldn't beat on its own. He had been in surgery so long and had so many things done to it; it was worn out. We believe that they were ready to quit trying, but Almedis convinced them to continue. They continued trying and they found that they could life flight him to Idaho Falls to the Intermountain Medical Center. We began praying that his heart would again beat on its own. They gave him 2 units of blood before they left the hospital and 4 more on the flight. They put him on the jet and 2 cars full of my loved ones drove through the night in the worst blizzard that winter to Salt Lake City.
Wednesday,
April 15, 2015
We had
district meeting in Geneseo at 10:00. We
took the Elders with us and they had a good meeting and luncheon.
My mind wasn't on anything but what was going
on in Salt Lake City. I couldn't sleep
or concentrate. Becky had told me that
the hospital was good, but they didn't sugar coat his condition to them. He was in very critical condition. They did surgery for another 8 hours and
found that his chest cavity was full of blood.
If his heart had begun in Idaho Falls he would have bled to death
because he had a hole in his Aorta. They
got the blood out and fixed the Aorta and anything else they could. Chris called me about 2:00 in the afternoon
and suggested that we fly to Salt Lake.
We talked with President Francis and found out that we had to stay
together and that he would give us permission.
We got a ticket for Thursday at 1:30 p.m.
Food coma after meeting |
Thursday,
April 16, 2015
We packed a
few items and Dennis took Sister Haggerty to the hospital to have a scope of
her stomach. They think she may have a
bleeding ulcer along with the gall-bladder problem. We drove to Buffalo and found that they had
delayed our flight until 7:30 p.m.
However, they rescheduled us to a 4:30 flight through Atlanta. So, we waited for the time to board. Our plane was late leaving Buffalo and so we
didn't have much time between planes in Atlanta. We got off the plane and ran as fast as old
people can run through that concourse and onto the transfer train and through
the right concourse—only to find that the plane was still there, but the door
was closed and they wouldn't let us on. (I believe that the plane was oversold
and they gave up our seats earlier) So,
we went to the Delta counter to see what we could do to get to Salt Lake. Yes, there were 2 more flights that night to
Salt Lake. No, there were not any seats available. We would be able to fly out the next morning
at 7:30. We took that ticket and they
gave us a room at the Marriott Airport.
It was a nice room, but still couldn't sleep.
Friday,
April 17, 2015
We got up early
and got to the airport. On the way we
looked at our tickets and they were for 1st Class seats. We were shocked! While waiting for the plane they announced
that they would give 9 people $600 each for going on a later flight to Salt
Lake. (what a temptation, right) NO WAY, we wanted to get to Salt Lake on
time. Chris and Annette picked us up at
the airport and it was so good to see them.
They said they had been ready to pick us up the night before and were
disappointed that we didn't make it. We
arrived at the hospital and everyone was so good and kind to us. They were happy to see us as we were
them. The situation was so serious. We were allowed to see Brent and I don’t
think I have ever seen anyone with less life.
His chest didn't rise and fall and there were tubes everywhere. He was on the heart and lung machine and
every other thing you could imagine. I
was so sad. The doctors had explained
that if his heart didn't begin on its own by the next Tuesday or Wednesday they
would need to think about an artificial heart and then a transplant. The artificial
heart wouldn't be the kind that could leave the hospital and his blood wasn't a
rare type so he would be down quite a ways for a donor. That didn't sound too good to me.
Brad had
come and we were able to visit with him and he found out that his Anytime Fitness
gym in Hurricane had burned the night before.
He wasn't able to stay long because of the fire. It was so good to see him and visit with him.
We stayed at
the hospital quite a while and then went to the Home 2 (by Hilton) to
stay. Becky gave us an herbal sleeping
aid called 5-HTP. It really did work.
Saturday,
April 18, 2015
We arrived
at the hospital and found out that they were going to try to bring Brent out of
the sedative a little bit to begin to analyze his brain. He had lost so much blood they were afraid of
brain damage and one of his legs had been without blood for many hours
also. They called it a ‘dusty’ leg and
were afraid that he may lose it. Things
were very grim and we asked everyone we knew to fast for him the next day. Just before going back to the hotel Dennis
and Doug went back to see Brent and give him a blessing.
Annette, Jill,
Chris, Doug, Dennis, and I went with Brianna to Provo to clean her apartment
and move her things. This took a little
time, but we were happy to be of service.
(Brent had told her he would do it for her on this day—just following
surgery—crazy man??)
While they
were there they felt that he would be alright.
They came out of the ICU with this good news and we were lifted up. His heart had begun to beat but not with
enough strength to push blood through the body.
They turned off the heart machine for a minute and his blood pressure
dropped very quickly.
Sunday,
April 19, 2015
We visited
at the hospital and then Dennis and I went home with Chris, Annette, and Doug
to see the kids. It was so much fun to
see them. Greg’s kids were sick and we
weren't able to see them, but we saw Annette’s and Chris’s. We had a great evening with them visiting,
eating, and playing games. Grandma
Merrill came over and it was great to see her also. She had made so many nice things to eat. We stayed overnight in the camper and it was
nice.
Everyone else visited Temple Square on Sunday afternoon.
Everyone else visited Temple Square on Sunday afternoon.
Monday,
April 20, 2015
We enjoyed
our morning at our house. We met Chris,
Cindy, Halle, Tessa, Annette, Joslyn, Chuck, and Janet at the little Mexican
restaurant in Rigby and had lunch. It
was nice to see everyone. We got ready and
got Grandpa Mueller’s car to take back to Salt Lake (he wanted to have his own
car). We drove to Preston to see Jill’s
family. We went to a soccer game that
Lexie played in, had dinner, visited, played a game and stayed overnight
there. It was nice to see everyone. They are growing so quickly.
We received word that Brent’s heart had begun
to beat a little stronger, he had been able to stay off the heart machine for a
few more minutes.
Grandpa and Max |
Tuesday,
April 21, 2015
We arrived
back at the hospital and Brent had been back to surgery to take him off the
machine. The doctor felt confident that
he could do it on his own. He Did! He was concerned that the mitral valve that
had been repaired had been narrowed too much and that blood wouldn't be able to
pass as quickly or as much as needed. He
is in too weak of a condition to undergo another surgery at this time, but they
may consider it after about 3 months.
One of his lungs had collapsed when he had 4 liters of blood in his
chest cavity . He wasn't able to get off
the lung machine, and he has gotten pneumonia.
So, it seems like 1 step forward and 2 steps back. It will be a long process for him. They did have him off so much of the
sedatives, but he gets too excited when people talk to him and had to be tied
down. They sedated him a little
more. He needs all the rest he can get. This day has been a marvelous blessing!
Wednesday,
April 22, 2015
Brent is
improving a little bit each day. We were
in the waiting room and mom and dad came out and said that they couldn't
believe their eyes, he was sitting on the side of the bed when they went into
his room. (he had lots of help to do
that) They were so excited to see that
much progress. He was able to sit in the
Cardio chair for about 30 minutes, and then he was totally worn out. It is amazing how quickly our muscles leave
us when we can’t move.
We were able to visit him and he has a respirator down his throat along with many other tubes, etc. He made his wishes known that he wanted Dennis to give him a blessing. He pointed to Dennis and then we played charades—do you want--- do you ---, do you want a blessing? He nodded his head yes. His nurse was a Priesthood holder and then gave him a nice blessing. It was good to see my family and spend time with them. We had many good talks and visits about faith. There are other people that aren't so fortunate here at the hospital and have lost their loved ones. We have been blessed by Heavenly Father.
We were able to visit him and he has a respirator down his throat along with many other tubes, etc. He made his wishes known that he wanted Dennis to give him a blessing. He pointed to Dennis and then we played charades—do you want--- do you ---, do you want a blessing? He nodded his head yes. His nurse was a Priesthood holder and then gave him a nice blessing. It was good to see my family and spend time with them. We had many good talks and visits about faith. There are other people that aren't so fortunate here at the hospital and have lost their loved ones. We have been blessed by Heavenly Father.
Thursday,
April 23, 2015
We found out
that Brent’s brain is working just fine.
He is still the person he was. He
was trying to get someone to understand what he wanted. He had an alphabet card and it looked like he
wanted a GI doctor. (Gastro Intestinal)
His wife was trying to get the nurse to try to get someone in there for
him. She said, ‘just because he’s a
doctor, doesn't mean that he knows everything he needs.’ (something like
that) Well, he was able to give her the
bird. He’s back! He was able to sit in the Cardio chair for 50
minutes. I imagine they will challenge
him every day with more and they have begun physical therapy. We are so happy! Before we left for the airport we visited
with him and he pointed to Nancy, Becky, Dennis and I and mouthed the words ‘I
love you’. That meant so much to me!
Our friends, the Rays, came to visit us and took us to lunch. It was so good to see them and hear about their readjustment into real life following their mission. They told us of a family they knew that the teen age son had a brain aneurysm and the doctor told them (and he wasn't a religious man) that when he opened up his head there was a dotted line where he should cut to remove the clot. The boy was able to live without any problems from the aneurysm. Heavenly Father loves all of His children.
Our friends, the Rays, came to visit us and took us to lunch. It was so good to see them and hear about their readjustment into real life following their mission. They told us of a family they knew that the teen age son had a brain aneurysm and the doctor told them (and he wasn't a religious man) that when he opened up his head there was a dotted line where he should cut to remove the clot. The boy was able to live without any problems from the aneurysm. Heavenly Father loves all of His children.
We flew to
New York on the midnight flight. We had
a great flight to JFK and then into Buffalo.
Friday,
April 24, 2015
We arrived
in Buffalo at 9:30 a.m. There had been a
little snow storm, but it was melting and it was good to see our apartment
again. We got a few groceries and make
dinner for the missionaries. They were
happy to have us back.
Saturday,
April 25, 2015
We drove
over to the Seneca Lake Camp. It is
owned by the church for families and girls and boys camp. It is beautiful. Our stake was supposed to plant 2,000
trees. We got lost with our SIRI
(because we didn't have the right address) and didn't make it to do our
share. It was a pretty drive. There were 200 people that showed up to help
and they got it done quickly. We had
dinner at the Haggerty’s and then went over to the church to clean the windows.
Senaca Lake Camp |
Large house at the camp |
Sunday,
April 26, 2015
We enjoyed
the conference this morning from Salt Lake.
Elder Anderson, Elder Hales, and 2 others spoke. There was a pretty good crowd at church. We will have our Book of Mormon study class
tonight. Things are going well. We know of the love of our Heavenly Father
for all of His Children. He hears and
answers prayers. The faith of friends
and loved ones sustains us; they are so appreciated! The gospel is true!
Funnies: We went back to our hotel in Salt Lake City and there were 6 police cars there with their lights on and dad (Butch) was driving, He pulled into the parking lot and we had a good spot to watch the action. The girls were in Becky's car and they pulled out of the parking lot and left. Barbara called and told us to get out of there. They may have gun fire, etc. So dad drove out of the parking lot at a snails pace, then stopped and look back, drove a little, looked back. Mom didn't want to miss out on any of the action. She said it was better than TV. They taisered a man and then handcuffed him while on the ground. I guess he and his girlfriend had stole a car and they were caught at our hotel. PHEW!
Blessings:
Funnies: We went back to our hotel in Salt Lake City and there were 6 police cars there with their lights on and dad (Butch) was driving, He pulled into the parking lot and we had a good spot to watch the action. The girls were in Becky's car and they pulled out of the parking lot and left. Barbara called and told us to get out of there. They may have gun fire, etc. So dad drove out of the parking lot at a snails pace, then stopped and look back, drove a little, looked back. Mom didn't want to miss out on any of the action. She said it was better than TV. They taisered a man and then handcuffed him while on the ground. I guess he and his girlfriend had stole a car and they were caught at our hotel. PHEW!
Picture from the 4th floor after the action was over |
The red car is the one they stole. |
- The power of the Priesthood is real. God's power has been given to men on the earth to do His work!
- He loves us! All of us!
- Prayer is the way we can communicate with Heavenly Father. He wants to bless us and wants us to communicate with Him.