To all Friends, Family and Loved Ones,
We know from the incredible outpouring of love and support that our mother, Linda Six, has impacted so many people’s lives and has been such an incredible mother, nanny, friend, confidant, sister, etc. and the list goes on. Linda will be referred to as mama in this journal, because she is originally from the south and anyone from the south or anyone who is aware of it’s implication in the south, “Mama” is such an incredibly endearing term that encompasses so much and that is exactly who she is to not just her family, but all who know her.
Last week (week of Thanksgiving), mama had appeared to have come down with the flu bug or something along those lines. Well, when Thanksgiving rolled around, our family was super excited, because like so many others, Thanksgiving is such an important holiday for us because of the focus on family and spending that irreplaceable time together. Something however, was different this Thanksgiving, our strong willed, constantly moving, loving mama, was quite reserved and kind of sitting off to the side, with little movement, wrapped in a blanket and feeling really down and out.
At around 10:30pm, when we were getting ready to get her home to rest in her bed, she starting talking about hurting all-over, began vomiting and was quite incoherent among other things. We decided to take her to the hospital, because something was definitely off. When we got her to Silver Cross Hospital, she was taken care of in the Emergency Room and based on their findings, they decided to admit her. After speaking with multiple doctors, specifically the Cardiologist, much to our shock and disappointment, it was revealed to us that mama had suffered, not just a mild, but at least a moderate to significant Myocardial Infarction/Heart Attack.
The doctor scheduled an Angiogram for Monday the 28th, to determine the course of action that would need to be taken to get mama’s heart back on track. The Angiogram results showed that she has Triple Vessel Coronary Artery Disease. Unfortunately there was significant blockage on all 3 primary arteries (Right Coronary, Circumflex & LAD), ranging from 60% to 95% . Needless to say, this is an extremely serious and concerning matter, for anyone dealing with these conditions. These conditions could not be remedied by a stent or angioplasty and would require surgical intervention. Unfortunately, in addition to the concerning heart condition, it was also revealed that mama is also dealing with kidney disease, which has advanced due to her being a diabetic. Silver Cross Hospital is not equipped to perform the open heart surgical procedures, therefore mama was transferred from Silver Cross to Palos Community Hospital on Monday evening. Consequently, the doctor scheduled Open Heart Surgery for Wednesday, November 30th. While specifics can always change when the procedure is underway, the determination is to perform Quadruple Bypass Open Heart Surgery on Wednesday the 30th.
She is actually first on the docket for Wednesday, so she is scheduled to go down to the operating room for surgery at approximately 7:00am. The procedure itself is scheduled to last approximately 3-4 hours. However, there is post-op, recovery and so forth. The hospital transfer went well, she was able to get some good sleep Monday night and Tuesday (29th) was for the most part, a fairly good day for mama. She will probably remain in the hospital 5-7 days after the surgery, for recovery, observation and rehabilitation. After this time, she will be discharged to go home, which obviously makes our family very happy and we are looking forward to getting her back home, as she is herself.
Anyone that knows our family, knows that there are 2 predominant traits of our family, a strong faith and a strong family bond. Both of which have been so very prominent during the whole stay in both hospitals. Mama has been so incredibly blessed and encouraged by the absolute landslide of prayers, love and support from all of you and it means so much to us, that she has received so much from so many.
As I am sure you can all understand, our mom has impacted so many and as such, there are so many people who want updates on her situation and condition and rightfully so, we want to update as many as possible. Unfortunately, it gets very difficult to do that in light of the circumstances, with so much going on and so many people to update. Therefore, based on it’s incredible reputation and the wonderful service it offers, we will be utilizing CaringBridge.org (
http://caringbridge.org) for all of the updates. The site is actually quite simple, people are notified of the site address (though link text, phone call, etc.) and then you sign up with your email address or cell phone number (able to receive texts), you will then be considered following the site page. Then, whenever a new update is posted, everyone who is signed up to follow Linda’s progress, will receive an immediate update as to her condition/progress. You will also be able to customize your notification settings for the updates. In addition to receiving updates, you will also be able to leave personal messages for Linda on the page, so that you can let her know how you’re feeling, that you’re praying for her, that you love her and so on. In addition to being able to leave a regular personalized message, you can also leave what is called a “Carepost” (by Hallmark), which is a visual message, essentially it is an online e-card, complete with graphics and everything (including balloons and smiley faces), that will be available for her to see on the page itself, without needing to visit a separate site. So it really is a great interactive site for updates, messages and interaction between a loved one who is enduring a medical situation and those who love and support them. We really hope everyone will take advantage of this opportunity and utilize the page to it’s fullest potential.
Regarding visitors, while the support and physical visitation is always uplifting and encouraging, mama is in the CardioVascular ICU at Palos Community Hospital and as such, the visitation can be somewhat astringent. During the 48 hours immediately following the procedure itself, visitation will be extremely limited and unfortunately will only be open to immediate family, due to the severity of the procedure itself and the recovery that follows. After that (from Friday afternoon on), visitation will be open, although we do humbly request that anyone interested in visiting, please contact the family and let us know of your plans to visit, so that we can do our best to coordinate and accommodate those wishing to visit her. We do however request your patience and understanding in regards to visitation, in that there may be times that visitation will prove to be difficult in light of hospital/medical circumstances. The hospital will not allow anyone under 18, due to the flu season warning and in an effort to minimize, if not eliminate the possibility of patients contracting anything that can affect their immune system. They also do not allow any flowers in the patients room, however cards are acceptable and welcome. Unfortunately, these are the rules of the hospital, we have no control over these limitations/restrictions and wish to honor and respect their regulations.
Thank you all so very much for your love, prayers, encouragement and support. It has been so very encouraging to mama and definitely helps in dealing with the tremendous weight of what lies before her. She does not fear the procedure, for she knows that the very One who created our beautiful planet and universe, hung the stars in place and spoke everything into existence, holds her heart and controls the outcome of the procedure itself, He being the Great Physician Himself.
Thank you again and we trust that this page will help everyone in receiving the updates and status of our girl, Ms. Linda Six. Take care and God Bless.
The Six Family
