Lessons From My Dad's Recovery

Today marks exactly two months since my dad underwent life-saving surgery and it's been over six weeks since he was discharged from Montreal's Royal Victoria Hospital.?

Years ago he was diagnosed with a frightening condition - an abdominal aortic aneurysm.

In this type of aneurysm, the lower part of the aorta - the main and largest artery in your body that carries blood from your heart to the rest of your body - becomes weakened and bulges out. Medical illustrations show a swelling bulge that looks like a balloon.?

For a long while the aneurysm wasn't a concern because it wasn't doing anything. Its existence was not reassuring.

Then the aneurysm in his belly started to grow.

It kept growing, centimeter by centimeter.

Soon it was pressing on a renal artery and surgery was urgent. The aneurysm was affecting a kidney and it could rupture at any moment.

My dad is 92 years old.

On the day of his surgery, September 1, 2022, everyone in my family was nervous. There was no way of knowing whether he would survive the surgery or die from complications afterwards.

During the surgery at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) - Royal Victoria Hospital, he bled more than expected and his kidneys were clamped for 20 minutes. After the surgery he spent days in intensive care, in a medically induced sleep state.?

Photo credit: Suanne O'Hanley/Facebook

A few days after the surgery, I went with my mom to see him in the intensive care unit. He wasn't there. There was a woman in the bed where my dad had been the day before. We panicked a bit until we learned from a nurse that he'd been moved late the night before.

When we found him in his room in the coronary care unit, he was confused and delirious. He told us about not being able to sleep but having strange dreams. He thought something in his room was moving. He didn't like the hallucinations. They weren't enjoyable. It was interesting that he knew his delirious thoughts and hallucinations weren't real.

Later the delirium ebbed and we saw signs he was beginning to recover. Every day he became stronger.

Soon he was zooming down the hospital halls, his hands firmly grabbing a walker. His progress was quicker than expected.

Fifteen days after surgery my dad was discharged and headed home to recover.

What does any of this have to do with business or with life?

Two things made a huge difference for my dad. Preparation before surgery, and willpower. A successful business requires these ingredients.

Before the surgery my dad spent six weeks in a prehab program. He walked a mile and a half each day and followed a special diet to improve his nutrition. His daily regime included exercises designed to strengthen the muscles in his legs.

I believe that program was the reason my dad recovered more quickly after surgery. The exercise and diet strengthened his body and the program provided discipline, goals to meet and accomplish.

As he recovered in hospital his situation didn't always look rosy.

But he pushed through. Though he didn't have an appetite, he ate as much as he could because he knew it would help him get better.

My mom and sisters were his most frequent visitors during his first full week in the hospital. I wanted to go more often, but my partner and I had bad colds that we didn't want to pass on to my dad. In addition, my partner was about to undergo radiation treatment for prostate cancer, so he couldn't risk contracting COVID-19.

When I visited the hospital during that second week I had a chance to spend time with my dad and watch his recovery close up.

I'm amazed by how quickly everything turned around for him. I believe his determination to get better, his sheer will to push through when everything felt difficult, was key.

One night he didn't sleep well. The room was cold and even though his hearing aids were out, he could hear hospital staff chatting at the nursing station. I stayed over that night and I didn't get much sleep either.

A surgical team came by early the next morning to add a suture to repair my dad's seeping incision.

When a nurse arrived, I told her my dad was feeling cold. She suggested getting a blanket from home and I relayed the message to my mom, who brought a thick blue blanket with a faux sheepskin lining. The blanket helped. That day he slept a lot.?

His surgeon said he would be in the hospital for another week where he would continue his rehabilitation before heading home.

The new suture made it even more crucial that my dad not use his abdominal muscles.?

With a catheter bag and an IV tower in the mix, getting in and out of bed was challenging. We had to ask for help because it was so easy to end up with a tangled mess of tubing. My dad was not supposed to involve his core muscles and he wasn't to use his arms to grab the sides of the bed.

But when the hospital physiotherapist dropped by, she taught him how to get out of bed using his legs to inch his way down the bed. Once he stood up he made his way to a nearby chair.?

The physiotherapist encouraged him to use a different type of walker. It was red and looked a lot sportier than a standard walker. It had a chair he could use in case he felt tired.

Once he was standing up and gripping the walker, my sister tried to walk beside him, guiding the IV tower as they went down the hospital corridor. But my dad was going so fast she could barely keep up and the physiotherapist kept telling him to slow down.

A few days later, the IV tower was gone and I watched my dad climb stairs in the physiotherapy room. He wasn't tired at all. His physiotherapist said most people she saw recovering from the same surgery were usually out of breath and couldn't climb stairs. And many of them weren't anywhere near 92 years old.

During visits from Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Geriatrics, the Vascular Surgery team and more, my dad listened to every instruction, keen on doing well and exceeding expectations.

Two days after his surgeon said my dad would be in the hospital for another week, a doctor said the incision was healing well and he was medically cleared for discharge. My dad's surgeon stopped by later to confirm this news. My mom didn't have the house ready and we had to negotiate him staying till the next day!

Health problems have made it difficult for me to pursue a full-time career. As I ease back into freelance work, the lessons I learned from my dad's recovery will help me to better serve my website clients. Preparation can lead to great outcomes. So can willpower. The ability to do your best and achieve your goals in spite of adversity is something I admire.

I'm a journalist turned front end developer who helps nonprofits, small businesses and individuals build an online presence. If you need support with building, maintaining or writing copy for your website, you'll find me at stephanieohanley.org