Last Post

This is the post I had hoped to never write. Sepsis had set in, the medical team tried to control it but it seemed it overwhelemed his heart. His blood pressure fell this afternoon, he flat lined and they were unable to revive him. He passed away today.

The VAD was a 50-50 shot at best and in the end he went in too weak. Almost every complication that they list with LVAD's dad had, kidney, liver, infection, right heart failure. He probably had his surgeries in the wrong order. He should have had the VAD put in first and then had the vascular surgery. I believe the vascular surgery weakened his heart. At the time they warned of a cardiac event and we believed we had dodged the bullet when he came through that surgery in tact. But the fact was probably that it had put too great a strain on his heart that he was not able to bear it in the long run. When he finally was admitted for the VAD surgery he was already too far gone. The VAD was the only long term option, a last ditch attempt to beat back death. But it was not to be.

I believe that had he had the VAD surgery first and recovered properly from that, he could then have had the vascular surgery and the story would have been different. But we didn't even know about the possibility of a VAD as a solution to CHF. One of the youtube videos I watched on this procedure made the case that survival rate of VAD patients go up considerably if they have the procedure before they get too sick. My father here, I believe, is a case in point. He was a strong man, but by the time he had the procedure his strength had fled.

If you are reading this because you or a love one is considering the VAD as a destination therapy, I hope this will not dissuade you. Rather I hope that future patients might see this as a warning to not let it go to far but have the surgery sooner rather than later. My father lived 20 years longer than his father. I hope to do the same. But I know my genes argue against me. To that end if the time comes where I am diagnosed with CHF, I will not hesitate. The VAD technology and procedure continually improves. By the time I may need it, I trust it will be much better than even today.

I will miss my father, he was the single greatest influence in my life. I hoped that my father could have shared a lot of things with me that he never will. I hoped he would meet our child, and see the house and life I have. I greive that he will not. Still I see him often looking back at me in the mirror in the morning and he will always be with me.

Farewell to those of you who have been on this journey with us. May your story end happier than ours. But thank you for taking the time to go with us.