Open Heart Surgery at 86?

reply to post by WeRpeons
Well my grandparents were both born and raised in Mississippi, I don't remember either of them ever exercising but they always worked hard. My grandfather was raised on a farm and was taken out of school for a few weeks each school year to help plant or harvest the crop so he finally quit in the 8th grade. He worked hard all his life. Thats about all the exercise they ever got. Hes had a brain tumor, quadruple bypass, knee replacement, hernia operations and no telling what else. Now my grandma on the other hand was always healthy, and pretty active, getting up around 6am to cook breakfast and 2 other meals all homemade from fresh ingredients, even after retiring. She stayed active as soon as she was partially healed from the bypass surgery she was on the move again. The only the that slowed her down was throat cancer, and she never smoked. She hasn't been right since the chemo therapy. It seems like it made the alzhiemers 1000x worse. Now she forgets where she is, what bed she sleeps in, etc.. Its sad watching then get old and slowly falling apart, My grandpa still trys to do some type of work everyday bit his artificial knee slows him down, it stays infected so he has to be on strong antibiotics, if not his knee swells up. I think it all boils down to Attitude, if your mother in law has a positive outlook and the surgery goes OK without complications then she will be fine. Make sure to research the Dr. before she agree. I hope this helps.

I forgot to add: All my grandma takes is some.blood pressure meds, before the op. she had to take thinners. Its amazing seeing how different her skin looked after the surgery, before she was pale and afterward you could see a pink tinge return to the skin.

reply to post by geldib


The way you described your grandparents sounded like you were describing my wife's parents. They too were both grape farmers and worked hard their entire life. Her dad is healthier than her mom, but they both are on blood pressure pills. He used to be on a blood thinner but now he's on an aspirin regiment.

I don't know if this means anything to you because it's slightly dfferent, but my grandmother had a complete hip replacemnt at 86. She lived to be over 100.

Yeah, it's the great American health care system. You don't wait six months and there are no death panels.

Oh, wait.......

I hope my experience proves helpful. My 86 years old dad was fairly healthy until he started bleeding heavily from his nose--soon to be followed by a complete collapse. His doctor told him that he needed open heart surgery and that if he didn't get it that he could not expect to live more than another year. Until his collapse, he had been fairly active for his age, gardening, going for long walks, working on the computer, etc.

My father did not want the operation and was afraid that he might die on the operating table. My mother pushed him into it. Well, he survived the operation but he had a minor stroke during it. That was just the start. He was a horrible patient and rushed out of the hospital after a few days. Once he was home, the nightmare began. You have to have a lot of support to help a patient recover and all of the support came from my 80 year old mother. He could not shower or do the smallest tasks alone. At one point, his body filled with fluid and he had to go back to the hospital to be drained. His recovery was long and painful and there were times when I felt he was gong backwards instead of forward in his recovery.

During the two year period after the operation he had to return to the hospital twice-- for a week or longer. He could never sleep at night and he never got off of the walker. I thought it was strange that he was able to walk to the hospital for the operation but came out using a walker that he never got off of. He basically gave up on life and became a sluggish version of his former self.

My father passed on two years after the operation--which means he lived one year longer than he would have lived without the operation. His quality of life was horrible during that time, so much so that his death at 88 was almost a blessing. The best part of his passing was that he never had to go into a nursing home. That truly would have killed him.

The only positive that came out of the operation was that he had received a warning that life was fragile and short and was able to get his affairs in order. From a selfish perspective I can attest that I got to have my father in my life for a little longer and I got to show him how much I appreciated him. I also got to see a brave man handle a painful situation with grace and style and class. He tried not to complain and his last week was a study in grace and acceptance that I will never forget.

Every individual is unique so I don't know what to say except that everyone has to make the decision on their own. Don't let a family member or doctor pressure you or a lover one to have a risky heart operation at an elderly age. It's your life and you are the one who must take that journey--bearing in mind that it could be a very painful one.
PLEASE EDUCATE YOURSELF ON THE RISKS AND REALIZE THAT YOU MUST HAVE A STRONG SUPPORT SYSTEM IN PLACE SHOULD ANYTHING GO WRONG DURING THE OPERATION. DON'T TAKE THE DOCTOR'S WORD ABOUT ANYTHING. ASK QUESTIONS AND DO YOUR RESEARCH.

My father had a GREAT GP but he passed on before my father did. He also had some doctors whom I feel were not very good. There were times when they simply did not properly address problems he was experiencing--causing unneeded suffering.

As for me, when I reach 86, I would say "no" to heart surgery or any major surgery. I consider every year after 75 as a gift and after seeing what my father went through, I know that I don't want to experience the pain that he endured just for an extra year. I will live my years fully while I am in good health and accept death when it comes rather than allowing doctors to play with my life for the sake of money.

a reply to: WeRpeons

Read this

msm-msm.com...

Quercetin and Resveratrol aid the uptake of sulphur, also slow cook at a low temperature Onions (which are high in sulphur) in distilled water leave the skins on them (as the skin is high in Quercetin) then take the skin off and eat the onion and juice

a reply to: WeRpeons

I'd get a second opinion from a surgeon NOT doing the surgery.

Ultimately, it is her decision, but perhaps the additional doctor can provide some perspective.

originally posted by: beezzer
a reply to: WeRpeons

I'd get a second opinion from a surgeon NOT doing the surgery.

Ultimately, it is her decision, but perhaps the additional doctor can provide some perspective.

Yep 70% death rate when you try a doctor against using food and having a 100% success rate
how much does the pharmaceutical industry earn every year 2.7 trillion dollars, there's no conflict of interest there obviously.

a reply to: beezzer

She declined the surgery last year, and she's doing very well on medication for over years now. I guess just because they say you have 90% blockage doesn't mean there are no other options. I would strongly suggest anyone in their 80's or older to think twice before deciding on heart surgery. The risk is too great, ask for options.