Finally! I Am Home!

This is just a hastily written posting to report that I am back at home in St Fergus after
being in the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary since Saturday, the first of June. That day I re-
ported to Ward 30 (the Eye Ward) for surgery on my right eye the following Monday.
I was scheduled for what is considered a fairly routine procedure: removal of a buckle
that had prevented the retina from detaching for over twenty-one years and replacement
of the natural gel of my inner eye with a silicone gel. It was expected that this simple op-
eration would stabilise my eye.

But in my case, this simple procedure was complicated by previous cardiac surgery. Sev-
en years ago, my defective aortic heart valve was removed and replaced with a mechani-
cal aortic heart valve. Since then I have had to take warfarin every day to thin my blood,
thus preventing life-threatening blood clots from forming and causing serious cardiac dam-
age in my heart, brain, or lungs. Rather than reporting to the hospital the night before the
operation, I arrived two days before to start the process of thickening my blood for sur-
gery. I was put on another medicine that had a short-term and temporary effect of prevent-
ing clots from forming while my blood grew thicker. Rather than leaving the hospital the
day after the operation, I was told to expect to remain several days longer in order to thin
my blood again.

The operation early Monday, the third of June, was successful. I am grateful that I was
not awake for the surgery. Upon examining the buckle directly, the doctor did not re-
move the buckle, but did inject silicone gel into the eye. She had told me she would not
make a decision about the buckle until she could examine it while I was asleep. I went
through surgery well and did not experience pain. Upon examining my eye in the days
after the operation, the doctor was pleased with the condition of my eye. I was pleased
as well.

In the days following the surgery, the primary issue was not the condition of my eye af-
ter surgery, but the restoration of the thinness of my blood to the level it was before the
operation. I started taking warfarin again the evening after surgery, hoping that the re-
quired level would be reached within a couple days. I was kept on the other medicine to
prevent blood clots from forming while my warfarin level got back to normal. But the
couple of days became longer and longer; two or three days became seven days. I had
not expected that I would have to spend more than a couple of extra days in the hospital.

But looking back now, it is fortunate that I stayed longer in the hospital. On the Friday
following Monday's surgery, the right eye went through a traumatic conniption. I re-
ported the situation to the ward staff and a doctor came quickly to examine my eye. He
was concerned about the eye and almost arranged for emergency surgery early in the
morning. But later in the morning, the doctor saw that the eye had stabilised. Taking his
advice, I made the decision to postpone necessary surgery until Monday. On Saturday
I again stopped taking warfarin in preparation for surgery on Monday. The condition of
my eye was serious.

On Monday, the 10th of June, a week after the first operation, I again had surgery on
my right eye. The doctor removed the buckle and patched up a hole caused by the
buckle over the years. The buckle had been the primary cause of the recent problems
with my right eye. The surgery was serious because the condition of the eye was ser-
ious. I quickly recovered from the operation and the next day received the good news
that the operation had been successful. My concern again turned from the condition of
my eye to how long it would take to get my warfarin level up to where I would be al-
lowed to go home.

I started taking warfarin again Monday night, the day I had surgery. The eye felt good,
but I was not looking forward to waiting a long time for the warfarin level to get back
to normal. On Tuesday I received news that the warfarin level was going in the right
direction, even if slowly. But Wednesday afternoon I was informed that my warfarin
level was at the point where I would be allowed to go home. Wednesday night the doc-
tor gave her consent for me to go home. I was both surprised and shocked. It happened
so quickly. By 7 pm a friend had picked me up to take me home to St Fergus. I was
home by 8:30 pm.

I will be sharing more about my time in hospital in blog postings to come. I am grateful
to the LORD God for God's gracious presence with me through trying times. I am also
grateful to those who undergirded me in prayer. I struggled to learn how to use my
iPhone to keep friends informed of what was happening to me. There were a good
number of people I could not contact regarding my situation. But I know that I would
have been lost if I did not know that people were praying for me and that God was
powerfully present with me during this time of challenges with my eye. I spent twelve
days in the hospital. It feels so good to be out and to be home.

Blessings to you and yours,