Getting better...

It's been a few days since I last posted but all is well. Jerry's blood thinner levels are in range & he is adjusting to the meds nicely. He also started walking at the park yesterday...he actually walked over a mile & didn't feel tired!!! He still has good & bad days but his energy levels are returning & he is anxious to work again. He doesn't like me driving him everywhere & is ready to take that role back over but we have a few more days to wait on that one. The big highlight lately was the boys starting football. Jerry really wanted to watch both of their first scrimmages...it tired him out but he made it through them both :)) Here are a few pics of Jerry & our kids... hope u enjoy!

Doctor's Visit :)

Today is 2 weeks post op & Jerry had his family doctor's visit today. He has lost 19 pounds since surgery!!! He is happy about losing weight but we don't like how he has lost it. He doesn't have an appetite & he in sensitive to certain foods. He only eats about 1/4 to 1/2 of a normal meal. We are going to try a diet plan called Eat Clean...we have used it before & the food is very tasty but also very healthy with minimal fat, salt, etc.. We are hoping this will restore some of the nutrients that he is losing. Jerry is out for his first walk alone...I'm not too happy about that but he wants to start doing more on his own. He wants to get back to work & is frustrated that he can't drive. He informed me this morning that he plans to start driving next week...but the doctor & I say no way!! I guess I'll let you all know who wins that battle. lol All in all...he is doing remarkable and we are excited about the progress that we see so far. Hope everyone has a fantastic week...God bless you all :))

Much love.... The Garlands

Week 2 post op

The weekend went well. We made a quick trip back to the hospital because a large knot appeared above Jerry's chest incision. They said this is normal & should go back down over time. Jerry attended church yesterday morning & ate breakfast with friends but that wiped him out for the rest of the day. He has good days & bad days but he is getting stronger. He gets a little frustrated with how quickly he gets tired after basic tasks but that is normal and will get better as we go along. Our dog Buddy has been wonderful with Jerry. He won't leave his side & appears to sense that he needs to be careful around him. Buddy nudged Jerry to the door today...carrying his favorite toy & wanting to play lol so Jerry gave in & went outside with him for about 5 minutes...Buddy was so excited. I thought everyone might enjoy seeing a pic of them. Thanks for the continued calls, texts, cards & gifts. Jerry still isn't strong enough to talk on the phone very much but I'm sure he will be in touch with all of you soon. We hope everyone has a blessed day.

A Personal Message From Jerry

I wanted to take a quick moment while I had a little strength to personally thank each and every friend and family member who has helped me to appreciate the value of love, kindness, faith and the overall greatness of the human spirit during what has been a critical turning point for me and my family!

For the wife who never left my side, I am humbled to have made such a great choice, so long ago, in asking you to be my best friend! Your commitment to me during this difficult moment means you took your "vows" very seriously...for better or worse, in sickness and health. I love you now more than ever before. I will forever be unable to articulate the strength that you have shown to me. I admire you so dearly.

For those 3 great kids of mine that have been so strong, for so long, Dad loves you so much! You let me know through this that maybe I'm doing something right as a father.

For all the countless calls, texts, and emails offering your support, I owe you a debt of gratitude that I cannot repay.

For the weary travelers who came so far to be here just so that I felt their support, my love for you is immeasurable.

For the countless prayers from so many friends that crossed a wide variety of religious beliefs, I believe it's safe to say that you reached God on my behalf. I will continually ask Him to richly bless your lives.

For those that camped out for days at the hospital providing my family with so much support, you are the salt of the earth.

For all the many flowers, gifts, cards, "treats" and otherwise, I wish you to know that they all seem to come at a point when a special lift was so important.

I look forward to reaching out to each and everyone once my strength returns, to thank you in person. For now, I send my sincerest love and gratitude to "life changing" friends!

Thursday...not a great day but getting better.

Well, Jerry slept better last night!!! He has experienced a series of negative symptoms that we have been concerned about so we called the doctor today. They said the night sweats are a reaction to being on life support during the surgery & should subside within a few days. The headaches are from the fluid restrictions that the doctor imposed but they have lifted that so hopefully he will get some relief once he gets enough water intake. His lack of appetite will probably continue for a couple more weeks. I can tell that he is losing weight & I'm sure the lack of food, specifically protein, is hindering his energy levels. The doctor stressed the importance of protein for the healing process so I'm going to do my best to incorporate as much as possible into his diet. Jerry is very quiet and his color isn't too good today & he refuses to lay down because he says it makes him feel worse. The nurses & doctors encouraged him to get showered & dressed in the morning & stay up all day with small resting periods from time to time. I think the key is to push through because exercise increases your strength & gets you on the road to recovery faster. We are trusting that God will bring everything together & Jerry will be back to himself very soon :) God bless all of you.

Hebrews 11:1 KJV
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Before surgery

A few pics the week before surgery :)) We had about 15 or so of Jason's friends over to celebrate his birthday...Jerry baked two of his famous chocolate cakes haha..it was so much fun :))

Wednesday...

Last night some of our dearest friends...Darin, Narissa & Courtney (unfortunately Trev was out of town & couldn't join us) came over to have dinner with us. Narissa cooked a delicious homemade meal...roast, mashed potatoes, garden fresh green beans & corn, mac & cheese, salad, rolls, cherry cobbler & ice cream! Narissa is an amazing cook!!! Jerry was able to visit with them for a little while...as well as our pastor & his wife earlier in the evening. Everyone has been so generous & loving to our family...I don't know what we would do without them :) Jerry is having some difficulty sleeping since they want him to sleep on his back until the sternum heals. The pain meds are also causing night sweats & nightmares so his sleep is interrupted frequently. His heart is strong but physically he is feeling pretty weak. He is walking & doing breathing exercises very well. He is trying to stay up most of the day & rest from time to time. His appetite has not returned yet...so a few bites each meal is about all he is taking in. Overall...things are going as we anticipated. It's just a long process to "normal" & we are working on that everyday. In the meanwhile....the stress levels are high so please remember our family in prayer. My blood pressure has been high all day & I don't normally suffer from blood pressure problems. I'm sure it will all level out once we get a more consistent schedule & Jerry is able to walk safely without assistance...I'm very paranoid that he will fall & rip the sternum open so that keeps me on edge. Thanks for your continued prayers....much love to all :)

Out of the hospital

Jerry was released from the hospital this morning & we are finally home!!! We all went straight to bed & slept all day so forgive me for not answering messages. Jerry is very weak but glad to be in his own surroundings. His doctors are very happy with how everything turned out...it was truly amazing! Jerry will begin doing basic things slowly until he builds up his strength & then he will start cardiac rehab in about four weeks. The recovery will take several months & within a year he should be completely back to normal. You can hear the valve tick when it's quiet in the room & you are close to him but that's actually a reassuring sound since it lets us know that the valve is working :) I will continue to update the blog so everyone can know his progress. He will be unable to take calls for a week or so. Right now he gets really exhausted with basic tasks so we want to save his energy for walking & breathing treatments. Thanks again everyone...much love from the entire Garland family!

Great report...3 days post op

Jerry had a good night. Dr. Kempe came in this morning and said they are taking all the tubes out today and if he walks good and does well he will probably go home tomorrow!!! His oxygen dropped 10 points too low last night but kempe says it's normal and he needs to prescribe me a sedative because I'm worrying too much...I told him that would be just fine with me hahaha

Dr. Kempe came by this morning and said that Jerry is progressing as he had hoped. He decided to wait another day to remove the chest tubes so everything will probably come out by tomorrow. Jerry's temp spiked during the night but his fever broke around 7:30 a.m. He is having a great deal of arthritic pain in his arms and legs due to the low temps in the operating room and the restraints that were used during and after surgery. This makes things difficult since he must walk four times today and he is currently unable to walk outside his room due to the pain. We attempted a shower at jerry's request but this has really worn him out for the morning. He is eating a normal diet now and we can bring in whatever he likes. Please continue to pray for his deep breathing...he only had 9 deep breaths yesterday and he needs 3 per hour. He did about 6 breaths during the night but has been unable to do any in several hours. The nurse has warned us that the spiked temp is the first sign that pneumonia is settling into his lungs. However, he is clear so far and we hope to keep it that way.

Long day...

Jerry did well today. We are still working on breathing and trying to get off oxygen. Breathing deep is very painful but must happen to avoid pneumonia....please continue to pray for Jerry to be able to do this part because we don't want complications after such a great start in his recovery. He walked three times today for about 25 feet and hopefully tomorrow he can go a little more. We had several visitors today and Jerry was able to talk to most of them. Tonight he is feeling a little more pain in his chest and was very weak after his final walk. He is sleeping now and I hope he will have more time to rest since we are out of ccu. Nite all.

Making progress...only day 2!!!

The cath, left iv's and neck tubes are out. We only have one iv, 3 chest tubes and the electrical wires that are attached to his heart remaining. He sat in a chair for about an hour and actually ate a real breakfast...eggs, muffin and a little oj. The surgeon and cardiologist came and are pleased with the post op progress. Jerry gets a little dizzy which is common until the heart adjusts to the new valve. They can't remove the oxygen yet...his levels drop a bit below desireable range when they remove it. Breathing deep seems to be the biggest obstacle...but he is workn hard on that...he can only take about three deep breaths per hour right now. Jerry will be released from ccu by noon and go to a private room and he will begin short walks.

Good morning...Jerry did good through the night. Holly and I stayed here but he is so determined to get well that we can't do much with him. His vitals are excellent and heart strength measurements are strong. A couple of lab tests came back slightly low. He has to work on deep breathing to get enough oxygen into his lungs which will regulate his lab work. If he can get everything to the perfect levels they will take the lines out of his neck...he really wants that to happen! They may leave the chest tubes a little longer...there is clear blood drainage which is good but they dont want that to build up around his heart. They plan to get him up to walk later today...not looking forward to that at all! The nurses helped him sit up for 10 min last night...very painful. They plan to get him into a chair this morning once his pain meds kick in. He is drinking water by himself now and will have a little breakfast this morning...probably jello but we are making progress. He is answering us and saying short sentences and doesn't want us making a fuss over him. If all goes as planned he could be moved out of ccu which is major progress! He has been so touched by everything that friends and family are doing. Also, every time I go in his room he tells me how thankful he is to have this surgery over with...it's a huge burden lifted off his shoulders.

The breathing tube is finally out and the restraints have been removed! Jerry is able to answer us and say a few small things. You can tell that he feels so much better already. The doctor had nothing but positive things to say about jerry's surgery and current condition. Jerry is winking at me and giving thumbs up haha. We are so relieved by the progress so far. We have a long way to go but if I know my husband like I think I do....he will recover in record time. We just can't stop thanking God for such a perfect outcome....it was amazing to watch it all unfold.

I apologize if I haven't returned calls and texts....my phone is dead at the moment. Thanks to everyone that came to the hospital..the ccu nurse said they could tell what a great person Jerry is by the number of people that have come to see him. We are also doing our best to write down all the names of those that were praying, calling, texting, etc so we can read the details to Jerry when he is feeling better. Thank you to our chicago friends for the early morning prayers and all the love and support....i have been trying to tell jerry as he wakes up for short periods of time. We love all of you very much!!! Thank you also to narissa , rachelle and Sharon for the huge gift basket filled with drinks and snacks...that was so generous!!! Thanks rachelle for bringing things to keep all the kids occupied...they enjoyed it so much. Thank you Bro. Darrell for staying with us all day and being there to pray with jerry when he woke up...that was so special to us. Thanks to our church family at Bethany...you all are so faithful to us in prayers and support...we love u! Sis April, Bro. Jeff, Lisa, Tony, Darin and everyone that was here....it's hard to name all of you but we love you!!! Thanks also to everyone at InnerWorkings for your encouragement...Jerry will be anxious to see all of you soon! Thank you to all of our friends from coast to coast....your support has been amazing. Finally.... Thanks to our family in KY and jerry's mom, dad, brother, sister, nieces and nephew
who traveled from Chicago and Wisconsin..we couldn't have made it without you! Rob, I know you would have been here if you could have...we love you! I hope I remembered everyone...but if I didn't please know that we appreciate all of you more than words can say.... Much love to all :)

Jerry is in ccu and looks great!!! He is not completely awake but is giving his nurse a hard time haha. He wants the breathing tube out and he hates the hand restraints. He is writing letters on the nurse's hand...telling her what he wants. Dr. Kempe says everything went great!!! Everyone is amazed at how good Jerry looks...his color is good and when I gave him a kiss he opened his eyes really wide...he obviously hasn't lost his sense of humor haha. His blood pressure is a little high so they are working on it but so far so good. Thank you all so very much for all the prayers....God truly was with him and our family. We love you all very much :)

We have received three update calls from surgery. About 8:00 am they had made the incision and cut through the sternum....this was the most difficult call since we knew Jerry was dreading this part so much. The second call came around 8:45...they had disconnected his heart and connected Jerry to the heart/lung machine (life support). They fitted him for the mechanical valve and tested it for an hour. They also did a internal echo cardiagram before the fitting and afterwards. Our third call came 10 minutes ago... The valve is in, Jerry is breathing on his own and they have disconnected life support. They told us that the doctor is very pleased and the surgery was a success! They are closing the sternum now. The doctor should be out to talk to us in about an hour. Also they did not have to take his heart out to replace the valve and there was no additional heart componant replacements necessary as they originally thought. We are so thankful for the good report...we will update soon.

Surgery started...

Surgery began at 7:30. Saying goodbye was so hard but everything will be okay very soon. Jerry was remarkable. God gave him such peace last night. We couldn't sleep so we just talked until about 1:30 this morning....it was a special time just for the two of us. I cried the whole time but he was in total control.....only God can give a person that much peace at a time like this. We should get an update very soon so I will post something as soon as we get the call.

Clarification... Surgery will take place at 1120 south Utica, Tulsa ok. After surgery Jerry will be taken to the heart institute.

Jerry is being prepped for surgery then the family will be able to visit with him until he is taken in. We were just told that surgery should begin at 7:15 -7:30.

Surgery Schedule

We just found out that Jerry is scheduled to arrive at the hospital for surgery prep at 5:30 a.m. tomorrow. They said the surgery will begin between 6 to 8 a.m. but we won't know the exact time until we arrive at the hospital. The surgery will take about 3 1/2 hours & then he will be taken to cardiac icu. We will do our best to post his surgery progress as the surgeon sends word to us. Thank you to everyone that has posted comments, texts, called, etc. We are overwhelmed by the love & support & we can feel your prayers. We love you all very much & appreciate your continued prayers... much love to everyone from our entire family.

Jerry, Barb, Holly, Aaron & Jason

We had our final visit with the surgeon yesterday. Dr. Kempy has a very reassuring presence & puts everyone at ease....great doctor! He said half of the blood that is suppose to go through Jerry's heart is leaking out. This makes Jerry's heart work very hard to get enough blood through. We already knew that but it helped the kids & Jerry's mom understand what was going on. Jerry is getting very tired now & in much need of rest but he is pushing himself to stay awake & enjoy his family...that is the most important thing to him right now. After visiting the heart institute we went to Santa Fe to celebrate Jerry's 44th b-day! He said it was one of his favorite birthdays. Some of our dearest friends...the Toliver's gave the entire family tickets for Discoveryland....so we finished the evening watching Rogers & Hammerstein's famous outdoor musical...Oklahoma!!! What a great day!!!

15 kids, 5 adults & 1 dog!!!

Well...today is Jason's 14th birthday!!! That means that tomorrow is Jerry's 44th birthday & we are going to have another busy day. For tonight...just a few days away from surgery...when everyone should be relaxing & tranquil...we are anything but that!!! We had a spur of the moment urge to invite 15 kids to our house to celebrate Jason's birthday!!! They have spent the evening playing laser tag & now on their way home to enjoy pizza & two amazing chocolate cakes courtesy of, none other than, Jerry Garland!!! After that they will spend the night...but first they will probably take a midnight swim in the lake & play air soft guns in the woods lol We are probably not the typical pre-open heart surgery family. We are trying to stay positive because you can't stop living & you can't stop enjoying life. God is with us & we are confident that He will be with us every step of the way!!! So for tonight...we are celebrating in true Garland style...& Jerry is always the life of the party & that will never change. Nite all :))