Good News

Johnathan and I were overwhelmed with the good news we received last night.  As you may know, his mother, Cathie Hoover, had what became emergency open heart surgery on Friday to remove a tumor from a valve in her heart.  The surgey was a success, the entire, non-cancerous tumor was removed, and she recovered all weekend in the ICU.  Although recovery in the ICU was going well, there was a minor concern with her heart beat, which was only about 20 -  30 beats without an external pace maker.  Sunday morning before we left the hospital, one of the cardiologists tested the rate of her heart without the pace maker, and again, it dropped down to about 30 beats.  He assured us that this was common, and they would continue to monitor her in the ICU until the time came to decide whether she should have an internal, permanent, pace maker.  Of course, we did NOT want that to happen, but were happy the surgery was a success and she was recovering back to her normal self.

Last night, around 8:30 p.m, we received a telephone call from her husband letting us know that after another attempt of turning off the external pace maker (to see what her normal heart rate was without it), her heart rate stayed at about 60 -  65 beats... GREAT NEWS!  They were able to remove the external pace maker and she continues to improve by the hour. 

This morning we learned that she should be moved to a normal hospital room today.  A HUGE thank you to everyone who has helped us pray for her.  Now, let's pray for a speedy recovery at home.