Surgery #2 In Photos

I keep trying to write this blog, but between my shifts at Linus's bedside, caring for Simon & Dexter, trying to work and Linus's ever changing condition, I'm finding it impossible to get my thoughts organized enough to type out. I promise to post a detailed blog soon. I will tell you this, Linus's mitral valve had a 2nd repair as opposed to being replaced. True to form, he is proving to be a difficult and unpredictable patient & this surgery has yet to be labeled either success or failure. His family, friends and medical team are all hoping he stops having so many set backs and starts making steady forward progress. Here are some pictures to look over while I gather my thoughts.

Holding Trina's hand the night before surgery.

The day after surgery. Still looking pretty beat up.

Two days after surgery. Starting to look a little more like himself. The dark line going from under his right cheek to the side of the bed is delivering a blood transfusion into his central line.

This inflatable raft looking deal is called a Bair Hugger. It fills with heated air to keep him warm. His temp dropped to around 92'F a few days after surgery!

Trina taking advantage of his semi-conscious state to trim his nails. He still curled his fingers in protest.

Photographic Tour Of Linus Post-Op: May be difficult to look at...

Linus's room with all of his gear.

Full body shot right after surgery

The pad on his forehead is a NIRS (near infrared spectroscopy) that helps monitor his cerebral perfusion. In other words it lets us know if his brain is getting adequate blood flow.

The tube taped into his nostril is attached to the ventilator that breathes for him. The tube in his mouth went into his stomach to remove any gas or extra fluid. The circular stickers on his shoulder & chest are EKG sensors.

Linus has a central line is in his jugular. It has 2 lumens, or access tubes, so all of his continuous IV fluids and meds can go through one and the other can be used for PRN meds or blood transfusions. It also takes real time central venous pressure readings.

The tube with blood in it is his chest tube. It pulls the extra fluid and blood out of his chest cavity. The clear one is his peritoneal dialysis tube.

This box has a slightly lower pressure than his chest so the fluid drains into it. This way it can be collected and measured.

The probe with the LAP sticker goes through his chest wall and into his heart. It measures the pressure in his left atrium.

This is his peritoneal dialysis pole. The bag at the top contains the sugar water that is pumped into his abdomen.

The green "blanket" is a warmer that his dialysis tubing sits inside. If the fluid wasn't warmed, his core temperature would drop drastically.

This is where his dialysis fluid is collected and measured. It was pink the first day and has slowly turned to a pale yellow.

The blue cuff is a soft restraint. Linus is very "grabby" and would gladly rip any and all tubes and wires from his body if given half a chance. The tan bandage on his thumb is a pulse oximeter. It measures the oxygen perfusion to his extremities. The bandaid on his forearm is where his IV was removed after it clotted off.

He has an arterial line in his left wrist. This is used to take "real time" blood pressure readings and to get blood samples to measure arterial blood gas. He has another pulse ox on his middle finger.

After they placed his wrist arterial line, it gave them some trouble. They put a 2nd arterial line in his femoral artery as a back up. This was able to be removed after a day or so when his wrist line proved to be reliable.

The white oval on his right foot is a temperature pad. he has a 3rd pulse ox on his left big toe. The tube to his left is his chest tube and the tube on his right is his foley catheter. This drains the urine out of his bladder.

This is where his urine is collected, measured nd checked for color changes.