Dad UPDATE II

Today, the doctors went in to sew up the incisions on dad's calves.  Robin called around 3:00 to say that he was back in his room, but that they weren't allowed to go in and see him yet.  They won't know for several months about muscle or nerve damage, but are concerned that it's going to be awhile before they can start physical therapy to get him up and moving around.

They put THREE stents in his aorta, which increased the blood flow from 10% to 80%, so the BIG surgery may no longer be needed.

There's still no prognosis on how his kidneys are doing, and they are still concerned about his pancreas, which has been acting up in the last couple of days.

They did the intibation during the surgery, so he now has a tube down his throat to help him breathe.  They are hoping that there are improvements by Friday.  If not, they'll have to do a tracheostomy, where they'll cut an incision through the front of his neck to help him breathe better.  We're hoping it doesn't come to that!

He will continue to stay in the ICU, at least through Friday.

Keep those prayers/good thoughts/happy vibes coming, and direct a few at mom and Robin, who are currently sitting in the waiting room with four aunts, an uncle, a cousin, a longtime family friend, and two friends from Mt Ayr.  I'm SURE it's quite the "gathering"...

Pray also for the doctors to get it under control...when Robin and mom went into the ICU ward to see how things were going, they got to witness "surgeon pride" in the form of the vascular doctor and the "lead" doctor yelling at each other in the hallway.  GET A GRIP guys...