Peter Reilly Peter B. Reilly

On November 18th, Peter Reilly underwent open
heart surgery at the Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater, Florida to replace
his mitral and aortic valves as well as have a double bypass done. After
completing both valve replacements successfully, the surgeon decided that a
third valve, the tricuspid, would need to be additionally repaired (not
replaced). Upon completing this, the doctors determined Peter’s heart wasn’t
strong enough to perform the bypass procedure and elected to insert stints as
needed at a later date.

 

Due to the swelling and weakened condition of his heart, the
surgeon decided to leave Peter’s chest open for a few days as to not put
pressure on the heart. Over the next few days, his heart and other vitals
strengthened. Blood pressure meds that were increasing his BP were one by one
eliminated and Peter was getting much needed rest. On Sunday the 20th,
they closed him up. A few hours later, they noticed blood clots draining from
his chest cavity and opened him up again to remedy this. He was promptly closed
again and has been since.

Peter had several “good” days. The pump which was assisting
his heart was removed. Paralysis meds were discontinued and his sedation meds were
decreased. During certain breaks from sedation, he was moving his head and
hands and seemed to be able to follow your voice. Even open his eyes. We though
he even squeezed a hand upon request, but we aren’t sure of it. Most
importantly, his vital signs remained stable. For the most part up until now,
Monday 11/28, he has remained unresponsive and shown little sign of being
cognitive.

 

Yesterday, it was determined there was inflammation in his
pancreas, gallbladder and kidneys. We are awaiting further tests to determine
what actions might need to be taken to remedy these issues. Peter is also
having his breathing tube removed today in favor of a tracheotomy. Sounds scary
but we’re told patients tend to do better with it than a breathing tube. He
wasn’t able to get off the breathing tube in a timely manner and they don’t
want to leave the tube in longer than 10 days.

 

So that’s the general nuts and bolts of the procedures thus
far. The family is doing well. Barbara has been very strong and all of her kids
have been in to offer their support and will continue to do so. We continue to
pray that the doctors and nurses, who have been absolutely amazing, can find a
way to awaken Peter in the coming days. We appreciate all your support and
concern. Please continue to send your prayers and good vibes his way. We’ll
continue to add updates daily or bi-daily to this site in the coming days.
Please feel free to send invitations to others who might want to follow or
monitor Peter’s progress. Anyone who logs into this site will have those
permissions.

 

Kelly is with our Mom and Dad now and will probably have the
next update. We hope to have positive news for you all soon!!