On April 10th at about 8:00 we got a call from the Mayo Clinic that they had a heart for Margaret. Both of the kids happened to be home so we packed our luggage and the kids drove us to Palwaukee (sp?) Airport for our chartered medical flight to Rochester Minn. They had already evaluated the heart from test results but until they physically see the new heart there is a chance that they would just send us home. Due to storms our 1 hour flight took 1 1/2 hours and was initially delayed due to bad weather going through the area. We landed at about 1:30 AM Monday and go to the hospital at about 2:00 where they immediately started preping Margaret for the surgery. At about 4:00 AM it was a go and I let the kids know so they could book the first commercial flight to Rochester in the morning. They got an 8:30 AM flight to Rochester landing at 9:45 getting to St. Mary's at about 10.
At about 9:30 Margaret was moved to ICU where they did some more test and checking before they would let anyone see her. The kids got to the hospital at about 10:00 and we all went to visit her together. She was still pretty much out of it with lots of tubes and wires coming out. The Doctor said the 'procedure went without a hitch and the new heart was in great shape and should last a long time'. He also mentioned he was surprised that her old heart was working so well given it's appearance and how bad it was.
They started waking her up a few times and she started to fight it and they put her back under. At about 2:00 they woke her up and at about 4:00 PM they took her breathing tube out and she was able to talk. Later that evening she was able to drink fluids, specifically cranberry juice which she was not allowed to have for years since it interfered with her blood thinners. She was also able to elevate the bed and sit up. Not bad given she had major surgery to replace her heart less than 18 hours before.
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