The time has come as Todd will head into surgery tomorrow morning to have his LVAD inserted. He will remain hospitalized 7-10 days following surgery. Those days will be intense. He will be in A LOT of pain as his body recovers. Not just surgical pain but his body will need time to adjust to a mechanical pump doing the work of his heart. He will be attached to batteries or the wall 24 hours a day. He will have a drive line wire that will come out of his tummy that will require dressing changes to ensure he doesn't develop an infection. This drive line goes directly to his heart. We both will be taught to change these dressings, as well as everything we ever wanted to know about a Heartmate III heart pump Our lives will revolve around this pump, until his heart is matched for transplant.
We are both terrified but have complete confidence in the Heart team and know that God is on our side. The surgery is expected to take 4-6 hours. He will be on a breathing machine until Friday.
Hope to see him back on the ball field this year. Coaching for now, maybe playing fall ball, maybe even summer ball! I know he would never ask this but text messages of encouragement would mean a lot. It's expected that he will have some rough days ahead and that support will keep him going.
Please keep him, as well as me and the surgical team in your prayers.
