Kara made it through surgery yesterday! Praise the Lord for His faithfulness!! Thanks to all of you for praying! The surgeons had a difficult time removing the lead from Kara’s vein going to the heart due to many adhesions from being in over 7 1/2 years but they finally got it out. The surgery lasted longer than expected because of that. The lead was fractured in multiples places. We are grateful that Kara never received an inappropriate shock as a result of the bad lead. 

We were able to be with Kara while they were prepping her for surgery from 6-7:30, then they took her away to begin putting her to sleep and adding more arterial lines. She had six more places they put in for added insurance in case things went badly removing the lead. We got word they were closing her up at 11:30 and finally got to see her around 2:45 after they moved her to a regular room. 

She was quite tired, sore, thirsty, and feeling poorly when we saw her. John was eager to take on his duty as husband and nurse at her side. It was quite a nervous morning for all of us. Thank you to Mary, Susan, Amy and Steve who waited with us. By evening Kara was more alert and able to get in and out of bed with a little assistance. The doctor plans to release her today. Ward and I will go to the hospital mid morning to see how things are going and give John a break for lunch.  

The doctors are hopeful that this new ICD and lead will last a long time. The ICD maybe 10 years, the lead maybe 20. That would be fantastic! 

Kara will have the hard work of recovery and getting full use of her left arm back again. No lifting or driving for a few weeks, and no heavy lifting for six weeks. 

Many, many thanks to all of you! I wish I could give each one of you a big hug! We feel your love and concern for our sweet daughter. 

Love,
Linda and Ward