Meet My Dad!!

My dad, John Newton Ryland, III, (or Jack) is quite an amazing man. He and my mom Darlene have been married 54 years and live in Danville, Virginia. He is affectionately know as "Peepaw" to his three grandchildren Catharine, Emily and Jacob and "Pops", "Peeps" and "Daddy" to his four children: Jack IV, Dave, Suzanne and Kathleen. He is Uncle Jack to his nieces and nephews who are very near and dear to his heart. My dad has a great sense of humor and very quick-witted. He can also be a stubborn, strong-willed individual and needless to say is determined to recover quickly so he can return home. He is a Virginia Tech Hokie fan and is looking forward to football season! Since he missed his beach trip in July, my dad is also looking forward to some R & R at Emerald Isle in late September...maybe a birthday trip for both he and my mom!!

My dad is here at Duke because of Aortic Stenosis. Aortic stenosis is a narrowing of the valve. When this happens, the heart has to push harder to get blood through the smaller opening and less blood circulates through the heart and to the rest of the body. In older patients, aortic stenosis may be caused by calcium that builds up on the valve. This buildup also hardens the valve, which can hinder its ability to open and close properly.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

July 19th, 2011...Hospital Check-in

Whew!!  It is 11:35pm and we have finally made it to the hotel.  Kathleen and I arrived at the hospital and of course my dad was busy talking!!  Imagine that!!  He has been chosen to take part in some sort of research program for heart patients and was not allowed to be disturbed for several hours as he was being tested.  More info later....He was taken to X-ray, EEG's taken, peed in a cup, and had to scrub himself down in the shower and now looks quite jaundiced!!  Lots of doctors drawing pictures and explaining everything that will happen tomorrow.  Pops is doing quite well, very relaxed and making jokes.  My mom is another story.  She is very stressed and my dad is trying his best to put her at ease.  Sound familiar???  Very tired....will be up at 4am to go back to the hospital..surgery will begin at 8:45am but we need to be there early before they take him to the OR so we can see him off....IS supposed to last about 6 hours....
Posted by at

3 comments:

  1. Cheryl & Bob RylandJuly 20, 2011 at 9:23 AM

    Uncle Jack,
    Please know that all of us have had you, Darlene & your family in our thoughts & prayers these last weeks & as you have your surgery today. I'm sure that you agreed to the surgery begrudgingly, but it sounds like it was a necessary evil & will help you out. Hope your surgery goes well & you are up & running footraces shortly. We love you dearly & look forward to talking w/you soon.
    Love,
    Cheryl & Rob

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJuly 20, 2011 at 11:10 AM

    Said a little prayer for him (and you too!) this morning. I hope all goes well!

    ReplyDelete
  3. SuzanneJuly 20, 2011 at 11:30 PM

    Thanks so much for taking the time to post a comment!! We appreciate all of the many, many prayers and they are definitely being answered.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)