We’re waiting for the last few clearances, but it looks like Mike will be coming home with me today. It’s been two weeks in hospital, and each day after ...Read more
We’re waiting for the last few clearances, but it looks like Mike will be coming home with me today. It’s been two weeks in hospital, and each day after the initial scare brought major improvements. When all is said and done, even with the issues we had, the outcome has been very positive, we both can already notice big results! 👍
Frank DeGrazia Best news I've heard so far today Congratulations Mike!
Andrea again, with wonderful news! One more time, I want to thank everybody here for all the kind words and encouragement over the last few days. It was a nasty, ...Read more
Andrea again, with wonderful news! One more time, I want to thank everybody here for all the kind words and encouragement over the last few days. It was a nasty, scary surprise after another, but finally today things are looking up. Mike is awake, and able to breathe on his own. It is such an immense relief to be able to hear his voice again, even if he sounds hoarse after days with the breathing tubes down his throat. I have my husband back, and he can answer and squeeze my hand back, and all is well. I am so grateful, I don’t know how to put it into words.
Dialysis continues, and will for a few days, so the road ahead is still a bit longer than we packed for, but so what? The first big hurdle is past, the rest will follow. I can now get my PhD in Nagging, as he needs to exercise, talk, cough, breathe, and move around to get better, and I’m up to it, and so he will be as well.
Walking is a little further down the line yet, as we have to wait for dialysis to end before attempting to stand since the port is in his groin so they don’t want him bending the leg. We’ll get there too. Today is a wonderful day!
Mike Roskowinski Andrea that is so awesome to hear. The rest of the recovery will probably be better than what you ha ... Read more
Mike Roskowinski Andrea that is so awesome to hear. The rest of the recovery will probably be better than what you have had to go through. Hope things clear up quickly so you can get him up and walking. But that has to be the best feeling to be able to communicate with him again and start moving forward in the recovery. Our thoughts and prayers are with you during this time.
Tom McDonald Great news, Andrea and Michael. Continued improvements for Michael and his recovery. One day at a tim ... Read more
Tom McDonald Great news, Andrea and Michael. Continued improvements for Michael and his recovery. One day at a time!
Joey Hardee Awesome news! Been hoping for this update, Andrea! Thank you! Answer to prayer. Things will get bette ... Read more
Joey Hardee Awesome news! Been hoping for this update, Andrea! Thank you! Answer to prayer. Things will get better from here I am sure.
Joy Vera Such good news, Andrea. Glad to hear he's making so much progress. As you said, today is a wonderfu ... Read more
Joy Vera Such good news, Andrea. Glad to hear he's making so much progress. As you said, today is a wonderful day!
Rose Madura Great to hear! I'm sure it's a relief to both of you. Good luck with your nagging! LOL! AND best w ... Read more
Rose Madura Great to hear! I'm sure it's a relief to both of you. Good luck with your nagging! LOL! AND best wishes for a full recovering for him.
Susan Lynn Incredible news!! I'm so thrilled for both of you. Don't worry about nagging- a little encourageme ... Read more
Susan Lynn Incredible news!! I'm so thrilled for both of you. Don't worry about nagging- a little encouragement never hurt anyone. Wishing Michael continued momentum with his recovery. ❤
Catie B Beautiful news! I'm so glad for you guys!!
Michael Greco Thank you all! Today’s progress was nothing short of awesome. By the time I left for the evening he ... Read more
Michael Greco Thank you all! Today’s progress was nothing short of awesome. By the time I left for the evening he was pretty exhausted, so I’m sure he’ll get the best possible sleep that can be had in a room full of beeps, boops and honks. I’m home to feed the cats, do laundry and get some lunches ready I can pack in the next few days, as the care at Mt. Sinai is fantastic, but the cafeteria food is lacking and expensive. I’ll be back there in the morning, ready for another great day!
Dan Baltazor Great to hear of his improvements. Hang in there and just keep going!!!
This is Andrea. I see the progress and know it will continue, but we’ve had some hiccups and could use some encouraging stories from those who may have encountered ...Read more
This is Andrea. I see the progress and know it will continue, but we’ve had some hiccups and could use some encouraging stories from those who may have encountered similar issues.
Mike’s surgery went wonderfully from the cardiac standpoint. Both the mitral and tricuspid valves were repaired, and everyone is well pleased with that outcome. One doctor described the difference in his before/after heartbeat as “sounding like a new person,” and I, who have been happily dancing to that loudly arrhythmic sound for over a decade, agree.
Where things get unexpected is that Mike’s lungs decided to throw a curveball mid-surgery, and start spasming, in something similar to a very severe asthma attack... which he does not suffer from. The first two times they tried to help him wake after surgery, those attacks repeated. The last was at midnight the night after surgery, and it was decided then that a better approach would be to paralyze him, keep him intubated and on the ventilator to allow the lungs more time to recover, and give him Benadryl, treating it as an unexpected anaphylactic reaction to an unknown allergen. It appears to have worked: although no further attempt was done to wake him since, no new spasms have taken place either.
They stopped administering the the paralyzing agents yesterday, his blood gasses continue to stabilize, as the CO2 levels were initially concerning, and all numbers slowly are moving in the right direction. But his kidneys were having trouble with processing all the excess fluids and strong meds, and are not keeping up with the workload. He’s quite swollen, and there has been talk of temporary dialysis to help things move along.
So, as of now, he has been getting lots of rest, slowly moving towards consciousness (the nurses and I were inordinately proud of him yesterday when he started fluttering his eyelids in response to my voice, if things continue along these levels of enthusiasm, there may be a full-on parade with marching band by the time he actually wakes!) and from a cardiac standpoint, very stable. But that transition to wakefulness is taking longer than hoped for, and it appears his body has decided on the longer route to recovery. But we’ll get there yet!
Marie Myers Wow! That is a rough trip, both for you and Michael. Prayers for you both that things stabilize and ... Read more
Marie Myers Wow! That is a rough trip, both for you and Michael. Prayers for you both that things stabilize and move in the right direction. He has been through so much!
Shannon Gray Many, many prayers! Oh, how hard this been for you both. Hoping the worst of it is behind you.
Joey Hardee Hey Andrea. So sorry its slow going right now. Glad you are in a good center and they are getting him ... Read more
Joey Hardee Hey Andrea. So sorry its slow going right now. Glad you are in a good center and they are getting him better. I'm sure improvement will accelerate soon. Great news about his heart, too! I'll keep praying.
Susan Lynn Andrea - I'm so sorry to read this news, but it sounds like Michael's medical team is on top of it. ... Read more
Susan Lynn Andrea - I'm so sorry to read this news, but it sounds like Michael's medical team is on top of it. I'm sure it's very scary for you. We'll continue to keep both of you in our thoughts and prayers. This road to recovery may be winding right now, but it will get better. Keep the faith! ❤
Dan Baltazor Sorry for the hiccups. Prayers to you both.
Mike Roskowinski Hey Andrea. Sorry to hear about these issues. Your care team will do the best for you guys and make ... Read more
Mike Roskowinski Hey Andrea. Sorry to hear about these issues. Your care team will do the best for you guys and make sure that his progress moves forward. I did not have these types of issues but I did end up having C Diff and complete Heart Block while I was recovering in the hospital. It is not fun when our bodies decide to do something different than we want them to. I know when I got done with surgery I was swollen so much to the point that my workout pants that are usually a little bit bigger on me barely fit. It took almost a week to get my swelling to go down. I am sure that this is something that they have experienced before with others and will be able to get him back to normal here soon. The good thing is that Michael is still young so he should be able to bounce back from this quicker than some older people. Just keep praying and working closely with the medical team. I had surgeons stop by my room daily for morning checks and told me I have a chance of losing my colon since my C Diff was not getting better. After a few days and a change to my diet it cleared up and I was good to go. Remember his body just went through a major trauma and may decide to do things it normally would not, You guys got this! Keep us updated.
Michael Greco Thank you all for the good wishes, prayers and positive vibes. Dialysis started just a little while a ... Read more
Michael Greco Thank you all for the good wishes, prayers and positive vibes. Dialysis started just a little while ago, so I hope to see it start to make a difference when they run his blood labs next time. I’ve been told to expect a couple of weeks in hospital, but again, he can and will get through this in time.
Nicole DuPont He will get through this! Hang in there and know he’s in the right place getting the best care. Sen ... Read more
Nicole DuPont He will get through this! Hang in there and know he’s in the right place getting the best care. Sending many healing thoughts and prayers your way.
Rose Madura Hi Andrea. I'm sorry you both are going through this. As many have said, the doctors know what they ... Read more
Rose Madura Hi Andrea. I'm sorry you both are going through this. As many have said, the doctors know what they are doing and it sounds like he's getting excellent care. I had a different issue but would not wake up when they tried. It was very scary for my husband. We'll be praying for you both. Please keep us posted.
rich monoson Andrea, please know that you have all of our great concern for Michael. This must be a shocking and u ... Read more
rich monoson Andrea, please know that you have all of our great concern for Michael. This must be a shocking and unexpected event that must have been terrifying for you. Amazing modern medicine will get Michael through this unexpected trauma and you will have a great story to tell. Great news that cardiac wise it has been a stellar outcome and the ancillary side effects of surgery will resolve. We know you go in hoping for a smooth journey and some of us have bumpier roads on the way to great health again. After my surgery I had two days of severe and wild arrhythmias that I seriously thought I'm in trouble. As the medical team said it did resolve but it was a process. Please keep us posted on Michaels recovery and have our full empathy. It is so difficult for the family and stay strong Andrea. This will have a great and wonderful outcome!
Joy Vera He is fortunate to have you by his side through this challenge. My thoughts are with both of you.
Michael Harman I'm at 2 months recovery and heading out from Reno Nevada to Pismo Beach for our summer get away the ... Read more
Michael Harman I'm at 2 months recovery and heading out from Reno Nevada to Pismo Beach for our summer get away the 21st of June.
Kaaren Carone Hope things are improving, thinking about you both.
Somehow, the “Upcoming Surgeries” ribbon appears to have gone away from my newsfeed. Any clues how to get it to display there again? I don’t see that ...Read more
Somehow, the “Upcoming Surgeries” ribbon appears to have gone away from my newsfeed. Any clues how to get it to display there again? I don’t see that as an option in my profile, and can’t find any other setting I could tweak. Thanks!
Diane Maher Michael this happens to me too. However if I go into someone’s journal, for example Kaaren Carone ... Read more
Diane Maher Michael this happens to me too. However if I go into someone’s journal, for example Kaaren Carone’s journal (below) upcoming surgeries will appear along the right side of the page. Hope this works for you too. All the best for your upcoming surgery and recovery❤️
Michael Greco Thanks Diane! I’ll try that. I now remember I had noticed it there on a few journal visits before r ... Read more
Michael Greco Thanks Diane! I’ll try that. I now remember I had noticed it there on a few journal visits before realizing it was gone from mine.