My Dad:
I don't think trisky is a real word but when you are excited at the outcome of your father's surgery you run words together. Judy called Joe and told him the surgery was trisky! What she had meant to say was Dr. Kim said the surgery was very tricky and risky and she was so excited the words came out as one-trisky. I kind of like that word and Dad's surgery certainly was tricky/risky aka trisky!
We are so fortunate to have such a fine surgeon as Dr. Kim at St. John's in Springfield. When Dad had his initial heart attack April 15th, 2008, Dr. Kim was his surgeon. When he started the procedure he found Dad's arteries were very damaged and he could not do a bypass and it was very risky to try to put in stents. Mom told him to do what he could and God would take of the rest. We were not given hardly any hope that Dad would make it through the procedure. But God had other plans!! Dr. Kim linked three stents together (essentially, not sure all the right medical terms) and opened up an artery. He was so amazed by this that he took our whole family into a room and showed us the visual pictures of how bad Dad's heart was blocked and how the artery was opened up with the stents. The artery was to make a C and Dad's artery was only open at the very top with no tail on it at all. Then he showed the pictures of how the stents opened up the artery to flow and form the C in his heart. A true miracle!! Dr. Kim was even totally blown away about it.
And this wasn't the first miracle Dr. Kim (and God) performed that day. Dad was flown to St. John's at night on the 15th. We all arrived later around 10 p.m. We were not allowed to see Dad until the next morning. There was another family that arrived in the waiting room during the night. Their husband/father had a heart attack during the night and an agiogram/stents had been done when they got there.
Around 8 a.m., we were allowed to see Dad. While in his room in ICU, a code blue went off in the room next to us and we found out it was the young father (42) that had come in during the night. His daughter (age 16) was in the hallway sobbing and said they were working on her dad. I stayed with her (her Mom and brother had gone to the cafeteria) and we prayed. I remember asking God to save her Dad and if he had to take my Dad that was okay, I had had many years with him and Dad had lived a long good life, was a Christian and knew he would go to heaven, but her father was so young, with a full life ahead of him. There is no way I wanted to lose my Dad and I know God doesn't bargain like that but I really felt she needed her Dad. Then her grandmother came out of her Dad's room and said, "We lost him." It was so sad! A horrible image of a family falling apart at such devistating news, I felt so bad for her and her family.
We then learned Dad's doctor had performed her Dad's surgery during the night and we were concerned he would be exhausted and wanted a different surgeon but we didn't pursue it. Later in the day I saw this girl in the hallway and asked how they were and if they got all the arrangements made to move her Dad and she says, "He's alive!!" I don't know all the details that led up to them taking him to surgery and Dr. Kim performing bypass and saving his life but I do know the family had been told he had died in ICU. I hear of miracles and I thought I kind of believed in them but this miracle I saw and witnessed. It was totally awesome!! Not a word I use much but this was AWESOME!!
Since Dr. Kim had done this man's surgery, it wasn't until around 3 p.m. they took Dad in for his, we were still nervous as to him being exhausted. I believe in God but I am not one to talk or witness to people (I should be but I fall short in this area). But I want to shout praises to God in saving my Dad's life and putting Dr. Kim as Dad's surgeon. (Dad did not have a doctor in Springfield at the time)
And yesterday, once again God and Dr. Kim's skill were at work. Dr. Kim said the artery was very fragile and a risk to work on. But trisky prevailed and
the surgery was a success.
I am SO GRATEFUL for the blessing of my family and still having my parents alive and a big part of my life.
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