Tom's Journal

This past Monday ( 12/16) was eight weeks post op. I came back to work on Monday and it was good to be back. I have a great group of people that I work with and it is a blessing to be back with them. I'm still doing cardio rehab on Mon, Wed, Fri and that is going well.Again I appreciate all the prayers and encouragement from each one of you. I'm continuing to pray for all that are on this journey at whatever stage they are going through. God bless you all.

Yesterday ( 12/9/13 ) has been 7 weeks since the surgery and the beginning of my second week of cardiac rehab. I'm extremely thankful to God that all is going so well. Thank you everyone again for your prayers and encouragement. They are very effective and I appreciate each one. My visit with the cardiologist and pacemaker check last week were good also. I'm praying for each one of you who are at different points in this journey. God bless you all.

Thanksgiving and this past weekend were wonderful and I feel extremely blessed to be progressing so well. Cardiac rehab begins in earnest this week ( Last Tuesday was an orientation session ). I'll be going Monday, Wednesday, Friday for 1 to 1.5 hours per day with a total of 36 sessions to complete. I'm really looking forward to this. I am so thankful to God. I'll be praying for everyone out there wherever you are on this journey.( continued special prayers for Rachel ). Thank you all for your encouragement and prayers . As Adam says, keep on ticking !!!!

The only thing that could be better this week is warmer weather ....... :-) . I am thankful to be progressing so well. I'm praying for all of you out there at different points in the journey ( especially Rachel ). Cardiac rehab starts tomorrow and I'm ready. God bless you all !

It is truly a great day to be alive and I am so thankful for the health and healing that God has provided. I will start cardiac rehab on November 26th. I have been walking as much as possible both inside and outside ( as weather permits ).. I again want to thank everyone for your prayers and kind words of encouragement. I'm continuing to keep Rachel in my prayers as I know others in this community are also doing. God is in control and He is faithful !

Traveled to Duke for post op checkup earlier. Everything checked out fine and they removed the stitches in the abdomen where drains had been. Dr Gaca said I could go ahead and get cardiac rehab scheduled. I feel better every day. Thank you Lord ! Continuing to pray for all in whatever phase of this journey you are in. Be blessed !

Two weeks ago today they put in my permanent pacemaker after waiting to see if my heart would sync as it should from top to bottom after the valve replacement, aortic aneurysm repair and triple bypass operation on the Monday before . It has been working well and I feel great. I was able to walk on the trail in the subdivision across the street again yesterday. The sun feels so good ! Thanks again for all your prayers and encouraging comments. Prayers continuing to go out for those who have yet to go through surgery or are recovering after surgery. God bless you all !

.... and it was wonderful. Beautiful fall day ! So thankful to be alive and feeling great ! Praying for each person who is at any stage in this journey and knowing that those actions are already accomplished in heaven and will be accomplished here on earth ! God bless you all ! Tom

Everyone: Again, I apologize for not posting more frequently. I sincerely appreciate each encouraging guestbook entry and all of your prayers, Each day I am gaining in strength and healing, Thank you Lord ! I go back to Duke in a week ( November 11 ) for a checkup and all the other post op things. For each of you who are recovering or preparing for your surgery, you are in my prayers. If anyone has questions about anything, please post them in the guestbook and I will get back to you as soon as possible. Wanted to add that I have been extremely blessed to have my wife, sister, and brother-in-law with me here at home to take care of my every need.What a blessing !

It has now been almost a week and 3 days since the first operation ( aortic valve replacement, aortic aneurysm repair, and triple bypass ) and almost a week since the permanent pacemaker insertion ). I am so thankful to God for blessing me with caring, compassionate, and professional individuals who worked together to be fantastic stewards of the skills that he blessed them with. I also again thank each of you here with the prayers and encouragements that you have richly blessed me with each guest book comment. I am resting well, walking well, and eating well. Again, if any one has questions, please feel free to ask them in the guestbook entries. God bless you all.

We got back here in TN about 4:14 PM yesterday afternoon. I rested pretty well last night and felt good today. I have been trying to reacquaint myself after the eight day stay in hospital and figure out how to do things in a manner prescribed by the doctors. I have a great family who has been helping me along the way. Thank you again for your prayers and encouraging comments on my guestbook. God has used each of you to help me through this journey. I'll post more tomorrow. If you have any questions, just post in my guestbook and I will try to answer tomorrow. God is faithful always !

Everyone: The pacemaker operation on Friday went perfect, I have been in what they call step down since then so that they could adjust pacemaker and resolve other issues. I hope to go home tomorrow. I promise to give everyone more detail and respond to guestbook entries after I get home. Your prayers were very effective and I am so thankful to God for working through each individual in both a natural and supernatural manner. He is faithful ! Cant wait to communicate with each of you.

Last night Tom encountered another roadblock to his full recovery. They had to reinsert a chest tube to release some gas and fluids build up so his lung functions would not compromised. This will increase his stay in the hospital by three days which of course he isn't pleased with but undersatnds these things can result friom the complexity of all the surgical procedures he encountered. The procedure to place the pacemaker will still occur today despite this complication. Tom's trust in God is keeping him strong and positive through all of this. I will update as soon as we have more information. Robbie(brother)

Tom is further ahead in his recovery than he expected. If it wasn't for the need for placing the pacemaker he would be going home either Saturday or Sunday. The placement was suppose to have occured yesterday but was postponed until Friday. The doctors were hoping the extra time would allow the heart to recover and correct the need for the pacemaker. Unfortunately that isn' t occuring. This a minor procedure so barring further complications he will most likely go home Monday or Tuesday. Thanks again to all who have expressed concern and prayers for him. Robbie(brother)

Sorry for not updating Tom's journal sooner. Tom made it through his complex surgery and was progessing in his recover extremely well. But today we hit a bump in the road. It appears he will have to have a pacemaker placed. He was told that this was a possibilty due to the number of things he had to have corrected. He will have a minor surgical procedure to place it. Unless there's a God sent miracle this will occur tomorrow. I will update the journal again when we have more news from his doctors. Please continue your prayers!! Sincere thanks from him and the family for all of your well wishes and prayers so far. Robbie Huskisson (brother)

Tom's surgery has been in progress since 8 AM. We just received word that the worse part is over and that he's off the heart lung machine and the heart is functioning normally at this point. He's still must have the bypasses. I will let you know more when we hear more. Robbie (brother)

I know you all think I'm crazy with the Subject line above but the care and compassion here is a blessing from God. Every person I have encountered here from the nurses, technicians, and Dr. Gaca have helped to bring me to a level of peace that I know comes from God. My family ( wife, sister, brother, sister and brother in law ) have been here with me also and they are very impressed and thankful also. My surgery is first thing in the morning ( probably will start about 7:00 ) and will last about five to six hours. They will come get me about 5:30 or 6:00 for prep. After discussing valves with the doctor , I have decided to go with a tissue valve. I will try to reply to as many of the guest book entries as possible but if I don't get to yours, please know that I still appreciate each and every one. I'll make journal entries as long as I can and my wife and sister will take over when I can't. Thank you again for all your prayers and please keep them coming.

We are getting all the last minute things taken care before we get up early to travel to Duke tomorrow morning. I'm supposed to check into the hospital at 1:00 PM. Don't know the exacts on the surgery time Monday but we will get them posted here as soon as we find out. My wife and sister will take over making entries here while I am unable to. I want to again thank each and every one of you here who have posted wonderful messages of encouragement on my guest book. Sidney Nash, I really enjoyed talking with you on the phone and look forward to seeing you on the 24th if possible. I'll do my best to make some more posts here tomorrow.