Hospital Helper

Home...........Again!

2006-04-28T19:59:00.000-07:00

Dad was released this afternoon. They changed some of his medications yesterday and he was already able to get up and walk around the ward by last night. The results of the tests basically just confirmed what we already knew: there are blockages and the major one is located too close to the aorta to warrant doing another heart cath. The hope is for his health to be maintained with meds but he will be going in for frequent follow-ups, the first of which is Thursday.

Thanks for all the prayers, help and offers of help for us again and please continue to pray for the doctors in their decisions on how to continue treating him.

Jessica

Hospital Helper

2006-04-27T10:52:00.000-07:00

Nothing New

Well, the news for today is .... there isn't any news. Yesterday Dad had a three hour stress test to see how his heart reacts under stress and how it cools down. No word on when we will get that result. Today they will be doing an ultrasound of his liver and they will do a blood test of his enzyme levels to rule some things out. With all the drugs he's been given I'm glad they are testing his liver! For a guy that doesn't even take an asprin for a headache I can't imagine the shock to his body to suddenly be taking all sorts of medication.

Since the vein in his heart that is 90% blocked is so near the main aorta they won't cathederize it and put in a stint. So far this has meant that he will have to live with the fatigue and lethargy the rest of his life and continue to take medicine to keep things from getting worse - not a very comforting idea.

As you continue to pray for my dad please pray that the doctors will come up with a plan of action that fixes the problem. You could also pray that God would give him the grace to accept whatever situation with peace and an attitude of contenment (even though that's like asking him to eat lemons with a smile).

Even though he's at LAC-USC (which is about 40 miles way and takes about an hour) he's had quite a few visitors and I think that has kept his spirits up.

As always thank you everyone who has continued to pray!!!

Here we go............Again?!?!?!?

2006-04-22T21:25:00.000-07:00

This is Jessica:

For those of you checking in, my dad is in the E.R. waiting for info from the doctors. He had an episode about a week and a half ago but has been ok, until now. Yesterday, he finally got to see a cardiologist who quickly determined that he needs an angiogram ASAP. Today, he woke up not feeling well, which we figured was due to the bug that is going around and that Stephanie had yesterday, but, it soon became apparent that it was something more than that. After following the steps the doctors had advised him to take before going to the E.R. , dad told us that it was "time to go" and mom took him down to USC (since they have all the necessary equipment and his medical records). The last update from them is that he is on a gurney in the E.R. on oxygen and they had done an EKG and taken blood. The EKG came back fine (same as the one done while he was having his heart attack) and the were waiting for the results of the blood test to determine whether or not to admit him. As soon as I hear more, I'll let you all know.

In the mean time, please continue to pray, not only for my dad and his health, but also for my mom as she will have to make the long drive home late at night, either by herself or with him.

Jessica

Hospital Helper

2006-03-07T17:32:00.000-08:00

I'm Baaaaaack!
Yes this is Gordie and I am back home. I wanted to personally thank you for not only your prayers but for the overwhelming support for my family. For all of you who entertatined me in a rather dull environment, the calls of encouragement and the overwehlming prayer that went out on our behalf.

Here is where we are at. By God's infinite Grace and mercy He prevented me from having a massive heart attack. (that part of the story is some where else) He placed me at just the right hospital ahead of the earliest time expected and moved me ahead of the line once we got there.

The doctors found 4 blockages. The first two were near the top of the left coronary artery. These two were fixed with an angioplasty (balloon) and a stent. The 3rd blockage was on a branch artery and has been there for quite some time. After a follow up review it was determined that it would be too dangerous to go back in as it might dislodge the first stent. They will try and correct this blockage with drugs and diet. The 4th blockage was not as severe and is at the beginning of the right coronary artery. This too hopefully will be corrected with diet and drugs.

I guess I am looking at a lifestyle change for the rest of my life and prayerfully hoping that I do not have to go back for another angioplasty. The good news is that this does not need to slow me down if I am good in my eating and excercises. As to causes, I have been on a low salt diet, lots of excercise, lost weight and eat very little in the way of fatty foods. I do not have real high cholesterol level either so I guess I can chalk this one up to dear old Mom and Dad.(heredity)

This will probably be the last post but I sure have enjoyed coming home to read all of your responses. Thank you again for everything and I love you all.
gordie

We're home!

2006-03-07T15:52:00.000-08:00

I got the call at 2:00 that it was time to pick my parents up. We arrived home around 3:30 and are all thrilled to have dad back at home with us. We will update more later but just wanted you all to know that he made it!

Jessica

He's coming home!!

2006-03-07T10:18:00.000-08:00

He's coming home today! They are going to check his blood count to make sure there is no internal bleeding and let him walk around for a bit to make sure that his heart responds appropriately and then let him leave this afternoon. I think MediCal is going to kick in to pay for his medicine and for subsequent heart caths.

As it turns out he had 4 blockages total and they could only take care of the two that were in the same artery. They have to wait until the stint is engrafted into the artery to take care of the other ones because they would have to use that artery in the process. He most likely has a month to wait and recover before they can fix the rest of his heart but we are excited at how fast he has received his treatment. Praise the Lord for such speedy hospital service!!!!

Angioplasty Accomplished...

2006-03-06T17:07:00.000-08:00

Phillip here:

Much to our surprise, Gordie was able to have his cath / angioplasty done today at 2:00 (not 4). I just found out that they were able to take care of one blockage that was the source of his heart attack. The doctors said that they noticed another blockage and were going to discuss what to do about it with Gordie later. I don't know what this is about, but I get the sense that it is not serious or a high priority... I'll fill you in about this later.

Praise God that He has been able to bring us this far in such a short amount of time!

Gordie is doing well now, but he has to lie flat until after 6:00pm. This, however, isn't a problem, as they have him doped up on Benadryl in case he was allergic to the dye.

If you want to call and give him some encouragement, I recommend calling Joan directly on her cell. They would love to hear from you.

If you want any more details, you can call me on mine (305-5569).

-Phillip

It's time......................

2006-03-06T14:13:00.000-08:00

Dad is in as I write this having the angiogram. They estimate he will be in there about 30 minutes so please pray that they will find what the problem is and be able to fix it.

Also, please pray for mom as she is sitting and waiting.

Jessica

So far today................

2006-03-06T11:34:00.000-08:00

This is Jessica.

This morning, my mom and Phillip went down to USC and were told the angiogram would be done tomorrow. A short time ago, a group of doctors came to get more information from dad and ask a bunch of questions. Afterwards, the decided he needed it done today but they had to wait for the doctor who would do the procedure to come in. Just a few minutes ago, he came in and they scheduled it for 4:00pm today. Once of us will update you all when there is further information.

Many people have been asking for contact numbers so here are a couple:
My cell: 661/803-8894
Home: 661/424-1998

These are the best ways to get information as I am updated on a regular basis.

Jessica

More Miracles!

2006-03-05T19:07:00.000-08:00

My mom just called, he is being transfered within the hour. Dad asked her to come home tonight as they most likely will not do the procedure until morning. Please pray for all of us to get some sleep and for the transfer to go smoothly.

We will continue updating everyone as we hear more.

Praise the Lord for miracles beyond what we have even asked for.
Jessica

Gordie's going to USC... TONIGHT!

2006-03-05T17:50:00.000-08:00

This is Phillip again...

I was just about to post that God is about to do something special, when He beat me to it. What I was going to say is that the Dr. in charge of transfers called about Gordie and wanted to get his status. We were thinking that we might have some information as early as tomorrow. Well, as it turns out, we have some information now.

Basically, he is going to be transferred tonight to USC. We don't know when (it might be midnight, it might be sooner), but all of his files have already been transfered down there.

This is absolutely amazing. God has done more than we could ask for thus far. We were hoping for information as early as Monday, with a transfer as early as next week, if God was gracious. Well, it turns out that God is more than gracious, and Gordie will be able to get the care that he needs as early as tonight.

Please pray for the following:

Gordie during the transfer. Pray that the late hour and the stress doesn't do anything bad.
Joan and the rest of the family as we all ramp up for a potentially long night.
Pray that the cardiac physicians will be able to quickly determine what needs to be done and that it will be something simple and quick.
Wisdom for the family as transportation, child-care and work schedules get figured out.

And last, but most importantly, be sure to thank the Lord for what He is done thus far - as well as what He is doing in the lives of the Waldock family.

Thanks, and I'll keep you posted!

Phillip

Birthday party!

2006-03-05T16:11:00.000-08:00

This is Jessica with an update on our birthday party.

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for allowing us the time to be together as a family.
All four grandchildren and all four adult children where there for awhile. This is the first time the grandkids got to see Papa since things started and they were extremely excited to see him. It put a sparkle in his eyes to see them as well. After awhile, the kids were picked up by the Horners (Thank you Grant and Joanne) so that the adults could spend time together. It was really enjoyable and we were able to discuss things between all of us instead of relaying things back and forth between those who visited at different times. We also talked about how much we appreciate the over abundance of love and support that has been shown to our entire family these last few days. It has been overwhelming to experience.

Please continue to pray for wisdom on all decisions and grace to accept what we cannot change.

Thanks,
Jessica

Weekend news

2006-03-05T09:30:00.000-08:00

This is Phillip reporting (Gordie's son-in-law with, as people call it, "the house").

There isn't much news to report today, as Gordie's situation hasn't changed much since Jacquelyn's last post. I didn't get to see him on Friday, but word on the street was that Gordie felt great on Friday. He even said that he felt like he could have walked home.

This was not the case on Saturday, however. As Joan put it, on Saturday he looked like he was a heart attack victim. I guess he felt really poor in the morning, but by late afternoon and early evening, he seemed just fine to me. I could tell he was uncomfortable and feeling a bit "not right," but as long as he was getting oxygen, he was fine.

As for right now, it's hard for "get it done" people like Paul Simmons and myself to stand by idly and wait. We were all set to drive him to a cardiac care hospital that we knew could treat him. But, Gordie is commited to waiting until Monday to find out for sure what the transfer wait time is. He feels that it is unethical to check himself out and check himself into another hospital at this point. He doesn't want to lie about chest pains to be admitted elsewhere (Paul and I offered to punch him in the chest... then it wouldn't be a lie...).

Anyways, we all respect his decision. I believe that these are the types of trials that really test your ethics. It is encouraging to see Gordie put his trust in the Lord at this point. Of course, I don't believe he is prepared to be foolish about the whole situation. Come Monday, if the wait truly is as long as we have been lead to believe (8 weeks), then checking out here and going elsewhere is what we will have to do.

As for the ethics of such a decision, I keep going back to the fact that it is legal. Just because he doesn't have medical insurance, he is still required to receive medical care.

Anyways, we are celebrating Joan's birthday today at the hospital from 12:00 - 2:00pm. I told her if she wanted the whole family to be here for her birthday, she could just ask... She didn't have to put her husband in the hospital.

Thank you all for your prayers! One of the things that Gordie and Joan have appreciated about the hospital that they are in (other than UCLA or such) is that we are close enough for everyone in the church to make an appearance (and believe me... they have). Your visits and prayers are better than any medicine right now.

Praise God for the body of Christ!

Hospital Helper

2006-03-04T07:01:00.000-08:00

hospital Helper

I went and visited my dad yesterday (Friday) and he looked pretty good. He and my mom were cheerfuly enjoying all the visitors that have been coming by. I kind of felt sorry for his roommate who was trying to sleep.

My dad has been moved out of ICU into the Definitive Observation Unit (DOU) as he awaits transfer to a hospital that can treat him. The procedure he needs involves threading a needle with a camera in it into an artery and in to his heart. This will help them look around and see if there are any blockages or plaque build up that they can scrape away. If there is a collapsed vein that is causing the problem they will put a stint in with a balloon attached to blow the vein back up.

My dad really wants wisdom about how to proceed. He would like to be transferred to another hospital on Monday but knows this isn't a realistic time frame. Please pray that he will remain encouraged and cheerful about his situation and that he can get the treatment he needs soon.

Early Thursday Morning

2006-03-03T14:25:00.000-08:00

Well, I think I'm the last one who should be writing this since I know the least but I want everyone who wants to know and has a computer to have a resource.

As you already know, my dad went in to Henry Mayo hospital early Thursday morning with chest pains. Once he got there they said that he either had a minor heart attack or was on the brink of a major one.

After almost a full day of getting tests and second opinions they decided that he needed a dye catheter thingy done (sorry, I'm sure there is a technical term). Henry Mayo is not equipped to do this test so they would need to transfer him.

Unfortunately my dad doesn't have insurance and since he has already been admitted to Henry Mayo no other hospital has to take him. He is on a waiting list at two different county hospitals but might have to wait for 6-8 weeks to get the treatment he needs.

My poor dad is already bored to tears and since he feels o.k. (the nitroglycerine gives him a slight headache) he will have a hard time taking it easy, especially if he has to be in the hospital for 2 months.

My sister (Jessica) went in today (Friday) to talk to the hospital social services and to see if my dad could get insurance through MediCal. After talking with several people she has decided that pending my parent's approval we will wait until he is completely stable, check him out of the hospital against medical advice and drive him to one of the hospitals that do the test he needs. It's a risky way of doing things especially since he is in ICU right now but it looks like it is our only choice. Once he is checked out of Henry Mayo he can walk into any emergency room and by law they have to admit him and treat him.

Please pray that the Lord would give our family wisdom to know how to proceed. Pray also that he can get transferred / transported safely to a hospital that can take care of his needs. Pray also that God would bless us with peace and that all of us would turn to Him for strength at this time. More later ....