Making History at M.D. Anderson in Houston.
by Jerry Wright
On November 17, 2009 Margaret and I entered M.D. Anderson and I checked in with
the Lab Desk at 6:30am. I had my blood work done and went straight to the 6th
floor and checked in at the Cardiopulmonary Desk. Soon Gerryross Tomakin, BS,
RN. He is in the Cardiac Cath Laboratory. Gerry and Beth came to get me.
Margaret went into the prep room with me and there I met Dr. Iliescu.
At that time Dr. Iliescu told me that I would be the first patient in the world
to have a heart catheterization in a cancer institute. I wasn’t sure what that
meant so I asked. They told me that M.D. Anderson had always sent their heart
patients who needed a heart catheterization to Hermann Hospital for the
procedure. At some point M.D.A. decided to have a unit set up in M.D.A. itself.
In doing so, M.D.A. to collect and tract information to better deal with heart
related cancers. So, I was told M.D. Anderson was the first cancer hospital to
do this and I was their first patient.
Everyone was smiles and coming up to greet me. They would say, “You are making
history.” Well I got to studying on that thing and finally stated, “Now I don’t
want to go in there and find Styrofoam peanuts and plastic bubble wrap all over
the place.” They would just laugh.
So it was time to go in. Now I want to clarify something right here. This is not
the first heart catheterization; it is the first one at M.D. Anderson.
The procedure started and I could tell there was much excitement in the room.
There was a glass wall to my right and there were several men and women in
there. Some looked like nurses, some like doctors and some were wearing suit.
The way I understand it, they go to the groin area and enter an artery and a
vein. The probe is sent to the right and left sides of the heart. This probe was
checking pressure inside my heart.
Once there was a lot of laughter when I was told to take a deep breath and hold
it. Well, no one ever told me to breathe again. Of course I am laying there with
something inside my heart so who was I to argue. Finally I forced the words out
while trying not to move or deflate my lungs, “When can I breathe again?”
While on the table I visited with one man who was a representative with a
company that makes the devise that closes the hole in the artery.
I saw camera flashes during the procedure but none were taken of my face.
Later when I was in what I would call a recovery room, I spoke more with Gerry
and Beth. Dr. Mouhayar and Dr. Iliescu both came to see me. Dr. Mouhayar told me
that he call Dr. Lenihan and told him about the procedure and told him about me.
I learned that Gerry had a large part in the designing of the room and setting
up procedures. I learned that several in the team had already been working
together over at Hermann Hospital and transferred over to M.D. Anderson.
I also spoke with Dr. Iliescu who is from Romania and learned that the people in
Romania have great respect for Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia. He gave me a lot
of information on the man we know as Dracula.
The preliminary report was good and Dr. Mouhayar to me that it would give us
some more time before valve replacement would be considered.
by Jerry Wright
Margaret and I went to the Heart Clinic at St. Luke’s on Monday, January 11,
2010. We filled out all the papers and did the Pre-Op stuff. Then we left the
hospital and spent the night with Karl and Linda Caillouet. Karl is the man who
recorded all of our CD’s. We returned to St. Luke’s on Tuesday at 6:00am. The
prep for operation started around 10:30am.
At 11:30 am I went into the operating room. Around noon they started the
operation. At 1:20pm Dr. Ott came out and told Margaret the surgery went well.
Margaret visited me at 3:00 pm in Recovery. I was asleep. At 5:00 p.m. I was
awake but fighting the breathing tube. I was moving my hands and head around and
trying to talk, but my eyes would not open. At 8:15 pm Margaret came back in to
see me and I was in somewhat of a panic over the breathing tube issue. The nurse
said that I was not able to perform certain things that would show I was ready
to remove the tube. The nurse drew up blood to send up to anesthesia doctors who
would make the decision to take it out or leave it in. She told Margaret to call
to call back in an hour. The breathing tube was removed that night about 10:00
p.m.
Margaret came back in at the first visitation at 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday. She
learned that I had lost a lot of blood and Dr. Ott had been notified. There had
been a lot of drainage from the chest tubes all night. It was mentioned that I
might have to go back to surgery as something might be oozing. By the time that
the 10:00 a.m. visitation came around, they thought that the bleeding into the
chest cavity had stopped. While in ICU I received transfusions of 6 units of
blood and 1 unit of platelets. On Wednesday Margaret gave a unit of platelets
and a unit of Red Blood Cells at the Blood Center at St.Lukes.
From then on through Thursday, Margaret was in the waiting area all day and came
in for each visitation period. In ICU there are 4 times each day and you can
visit for only 30 minutes. I was ready to be moved into a room, but none was
available until about 11 p.m.
Friday was my first day in a regular room. I was to be out of the bed and
sitting up in the chair all day. I was taught how to get up and down without
using my arms and stressing the sternum (which had been sawed in two for the
heart surgery.) I was also to get out and walk the halls. I managed to do all of
that several times that first day. I was also on a regular diet and my appetite
was pretty good.
On Friday the Restless Leg Syndrome tried to kick in but the medicine provided
stopped it. On that same day a cough developed. Now there is a cough that goes
along with this type of surgery but this isn’t it. This cough is a symptom that
goes with Carcinoid Syndrome, the cancer that I have. I sure didn’t need that,
it is a dry cough.
On Saturday a friend came to see me. While trying to find me, he ran into my
anesthesiologist. The doctor said to my friend, “The man was amazing. While
waiting on major surgery, he was passing out CD’s and inviting people in the
room to attend a music festival in Palestine.”
Saturday rocked along pretty good. I had a good bit of coughing and felt like I
probably broke a rib. A pulmonary specialist was put on my case.
On Sunday the doctor said that I was very anemic and my hemoglobin was too low.
I was given two more units of blood on Sunday evening. That did perk me up and I
did not feel so tired. So Sunday was mostly centered on my breathing, coughing
and building up my strength. And now it is 10:30pm on Sunday night.
These are a few of my wonderful doctors at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in
Houston, Texas.
Dr. Busaidy She told me that I had cancer.
Dr. Iliescu He did the heart catheterization.
Dr. Tayar The cancer has given me arthritis. He treats it.
Dr. Mouhayar
Dr. Yao
Dr. Yao - my cancer doctor.
Dr. Mouhayar - my heart doctor at M.D.Anderson in Houston, Texas. Dr. Mouhayar is the doctor that decided that I should have the heart surgery. He sent me to St. Luke's where Dr. Denton Cooley is. Dr. Ott did the actuary surgery.
This is Dr. Ott at St. Luke's. He did the operation on my heart.