Dear Friends and Family,
I am having surgery on my right renal artery to remove an aneurysm on June 29, 2011 (8:15am), at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
The anuerysm was discovered last year. The doctors told me to get the defibrillator implanted and heal up from that surgery before having this one. (I am doing well, by the way) The aneurysm is about 2.9 cm and is located at a branch point of my aortic artery leading to my right kidney. For those who may not know, I had my left kidney removed in June of 1997.
My Vascular surgeon is Dr. Bruce Gewertz (Chief surgeon at Cedars) and Dr. William Cohen is assisting.
I will be at Cedars-Sinai for about 4 to 5 days. I may be in ICU the first day. Recovery will be about 6 to 8 weeks.
Please pray for the following:
1. I have to stop taking Warfarin (coumadin) on Friday the 24th and on Sunday and Monday I will have give myself a shot of Lovenox into my abdomin twice a day. I am not looking forward to this, but thankfully it is only for two days. Pray that my blood would the perfect consistency for abdominal surgery.
2. Pray that my blood pressure will remain stable and that I stay healthy up until the surgery date.
3. Pray for wisdom and skill on the part of the doctors as they do the surgery. There are two approaches the doctors could take, but they will not know until they open me up. Plan A is to do a patch on the site where the aneurysm is removed using a vein from my leg. If Plan A is not possible, Plan B is to do bypass surgery using a vein from my leg.
4. Pray that the surgery will be a complete success with no complications and no infection.
5. Pray that my heart can handle this surgery since I have Congestive Heart Failure and Cardiomyopathy.
6. Pray that I am a godly testimony to my caregivers and others I may be around in the hospital.
7. Pray for a speedy recovery and that I will not have problems with pain medication.
8. Pray for my family as I go through surgery and recovery.
God is so good! He has carried me through many trials and He will carry me through this one.
Thank you so much for your prayers and support!
Kerry Philpot
Monday, June 20, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
January 17, 2011 Update
Dear Friends and Family,
It is hard to believe that it has been 17 years since the Northridge Earthquake hit at 4:31am. So much has happened since then. Craig was almost 3 years old. He will celebrate his 20th birthday in February. Emily was 5 and 1/2 years old. She will celebrate her 23 birthday in August.
I had my defibrillator/ pacemaker surgery on December7. My surgery was a success, except for a small complication. A puncture between the right lung and the chest wall created a pocket of air. I had severe muscle spasms in my back and front areas. I went to the ER on the Saturday night after the surgery and was given some medicine to help. I am feeling better now. It will be six weeks since the surgery tomorrow. There is a lead wire coming from the device that is very close to my right shoulder and right by where my incision is. It is causing some discomfort when I move my shoulder towards thelead wire. The incision area is still very tender and I get shooting pain there when I move in certain directions. I saw my cardiologist this last week and he gave me a good report and removed my restriction to not lift my right elbow above my shoulder. The doctor said that it can take about two months or so for everything to settle into place. He said if things are still causing discomfort after two months, he would make adjustments on my lead wires (further surgery). Dr. Levey said that making adjustments might cause problems in other areas. My defibrillator/ pacemaker is working well for now. I will be receiving a device in the mail soon that will be hooked into our phone line that will send 24/7 information about my heart to my doctor via bluetooth. This defibrillator/ pacemaker will not make my heart better, but it is there in case my heart suddenly goes into cardiac arrest, it will put my heart back into a normal rhythm. I do ride my exercise bike everyday. I am up to doing one mile in eight minutes.
A recent CT scan shows that I have an anurysm in my right renal artery and a hernia at the incision site where my left kidney was removed (was removed back in 1997).
Praises and Prayers:
1. Praise God for His steadfast loving kindness and provision!
2. Pray for healing of my heart and recovery from my defibrillator surgery.
3. Pray for more energy.
4. Pray for me as I have an echocardiogram on February 18.
5. Pray for wisdom on how and when to have my hernia and anurysm taken care of.
6. Pray that I can be a godly testimony to those I am in contact with daily.
7. Pray for our family as we go through this trial.
8. Praise God for such a wonderful husband, who puts up with me every day!
Thank you to everyone for your love and support.
Love,
Kerry
It is hard to believe that it has been 17 years since the Northridge Earthquake hit at 4:31am. So much has happened since then. Craig was almost 3 years old. He will celebrate his 20th birthday in February. Emily was 5 and 1/2 years old. She will celebrate her 23 birthday in August.
I had my defibrillator/ pacemaker surgery on December7. My surgery was a success, except for a small complication. A puncture between the right lung and the chest wall created a pocket of air. I had severe muscle spasms in my back and front areas. I went to the ER on the Saturday night after the surgery and was given some medicine to help. I am feeling better now. It will be six weeks since the surgery tomorrow. There is a lead wire coming from the device that is very close to my right shoulder and right by where my incision is. It is causing some discomfort when I move my shoulder towards thelead wire. The incision area is still very tender and I get shooting pain there when I move in certain directions. I saw my cardiologist this last week and he gave me a good report and removed my restriction to not lift my right elbow above my shoulder. The doctor said that it can take about two months or so for everything to settle into place. He said if things are still causing discomfort after two months, he would make adjustments on my lead wires (further surgery). Dr. Levey said that making adjustments might cause problems in other areas. My defibrillator/ pacemaker is working well for now. I will be receiving a device in the mail soon that will be hooked into our phone line that will send 24/7 information about my heart to my doctor via bluetooth. This defibrillator/ pacemaker will not make my heart better, but it is there in case my heart suddenly goes into cardiac arrest, it will put my heart back into a normal rhythm. I do ride my exercise bike everyday. I am up to doing one mile in eight minutes.
A recent CT scan shows that I have an anurysm in my right renal artery and a hernia at the incision site where my left kidney was removed (was removed back in 1997).
Praises and Prayers:
1. Praise God for His steadfast loving kindness and provision!
2. Pray for healing of my heart and recovery from my defibrillator surgery.
3. Pray for more energy.
4. Pray for me as I have an echocardiogram on February 18.
5. Pray for wisdom on how and when to have my hernia and anurysm taken care of.
6. Pray that I can be a godly testimony to those I am in contact with daily.
7. Pray for our family as we go through this trial.
8. Praise God for such a wonderful husband, who puts up with me every day!
Thank you to everyone for your love and support.
Love,
Kerry
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