We just made it back home about 2 hours ago from Gainesville after Jason was airlifted there on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. I will paste the events that happened that I posted on Facebook so that I don’t have to retype all that happened with some updated information to explain some things further.
Please
pray for Jason. They just had to shock his heart to bring the rate down
UPDATE: His heart was
going at 254 beats per minute. Over 100 is too high! The only thing
that saved him was that his blood pressure was really good throughout the
entire event (117/72). They only had to shock him one time and it came
down to 80 something beats per minute. Scared me to death when they first took him back and said to get the pads ready (external defibrillator to shock his heart). The Shand’s Hospital helicopter
then came just before midnight and took Jason to Shand’s Hospital in
Gainesville where all of his heart doctors are located. I picked my mom
up and we drove to Gainesville. Jason got there around 1:00 am and we got there
around 3:00 am. After spending some time with Jason we went to a hotel
room and laid our heads down around 5:00 am and got about 5 hours of sleep
before heading back to the ER. When we got back to the ER, Jason’s mom
had arrived.
The
CT Scan didn't show anything. His ElectroPhysiology (EP) study is scheduled for
tomorrow afternoon. They will put 9 electrical lines up both arteries in the
groin area and try to force the tachycardia to occur so they know where it is
stemming from. Their best guess is scar tissue and hoping they can do ablation
on it. If not, then lifelong medicine. If it's the lower thoracic, then it
would be a defibrillator, but they're hopeful it wasn't that because his blood
pressure was good during the attack. If they can do ablation, they'll do it
while they're already up there and he'll be sedated. Please continue to pray,
especially for the doctors to find it and be able to fix it easily! Sounds like
the earliest we'll be able to leave is Friday. I think we are in the right
place though! Thank you for everyone's prayers, love and support!
They
just took him back to do the EP study! Also found out if he does need a
defibrillator, they can do that today as well.
UPDATE: They weren’t
able to do the defibrillator the same day.
They
had a hard time producing the tachycardia. They gave him adrenalin and it
happened. It was the lower thoracic so he needs a defibrillator and they want
to get an MRI before the surgery since they will not be able to ever get one
again with a defibrillator in his heart. A little disappointed, but they
explained that it's really a safety net and will stop this from ever happening
again. It's not a difficult procedure and they monitor out through a phone type
device. Batteries last 8 years and the device can last up to 20 years. Won't be
coming home tomorrow since they'll put the defibrillator in tomorrow. They said
he was an interesting case so they had a gaggle of people in to watch his EP
study. Too funny! He never takes the easy route ;-)
UPDATE: We actually
got told later that it was not difficult to produce the tachycardia and they
were able to do it multiple times in multiple places. The batteries can
last 4-7 years (depending on how often it gets used) and the wires can last up to 20 years. When they
change the battery, they change the whole device out and just hook it back up
to the existing wires.
Jason
got in for his MRI this morning which means he will have the surgery today to
put in the ICD (defibrillator). Not sure when the surgery will be, but will
keep you up-to-date (they indicated afternoon to evening yesterday). He's still
in the MRI and I am heading over to hospital soon. Debating whether to get
hotel room for one last night or just stay with him tonight. Keep praying that
his surgery goes well and he does not get an infection! Love to all!
UPDATE: Got a hotel
room for the last night so I wasn’t overly exhausted the next day.
They
took Jason back around 1:00 to put in the ICD. It will take about an hour and a
half for the procedure so he should be done by about 2:30.
He's
out and doing well. Waiting for them to let me back in holding room. They will
put him on low dose beta blocker to prevent this from happening again and the
defibrillator is the back up for that.
UPDATE: Instead of
allowing me to come back to the holding room, I was ordered to go to
Chick-fil-A to get a supersized meal for Jason and bring it back to the ICU
room so he could eat a good meal.
He had too many MPO orders (holding of food for tests and surgeries). He
was hungry!
All
the different doctors have looked at Jason Barton this
morning. Everything looks good. They did another x-ray and EKG and the ICD
system person came to check his ICD with the computer. That was cool! Being
told we should be released by this afternoon. Praise God! Thank you everyone
for keeping Jason and our family in your thoughts and prayers!
UPDATE: When they checked his ICD, it said he was using the pacer 7% of the time (heart rate below 60 beats/min will pace it to get it to go back up). My guess is that it's because of the combination of pain meds and beta blocker.
We're
busting out of here!
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