My cell phone was ringing again this morning and, when I glanced at the number, it read "Dad cell".  Slightly disbelieving, I answered the phone and was rewarded with a very hoarse but familiar voice.   He is awake, he is alert and he is armed with his phone!  Beware o' best beloved.  He should probably not be making cell phone calls from CICU (they kicked me out for such behavior last week) but since they can't kick him out (yet) he may get a little leniency from the nurses.  Fingers crossed that in a day or two, he will be in a regular room and able to receive visitors. 

Thank you again for your wonderful prayers.  They are working.        

Thur, Aug 12, 2010 am update

So dad moved from the ventilator to the  'Bipath'  it gives oxygen and extra power, yesterday he moved to the misty mask, and today they are hoping to move him to just oxygen nose tubes.  (on those and eating on his own he can then be moved out of CICU)  Currently he is just eating ice chips and applesauce.  He will have a swallowing eval later on today and they will probably put him on a  pureed and mashed diet (liquids are actually more difficult and they would probably add something to them to thicken them and make them easier to swallow).  If he keeps it up he could move out in a couple of days and there non-'immediate-family' members could visit.  We'll keep you posted keep checking back.  Posted by Jeanette after talking with his overnight nurse just before shift change.

History of current hospitalization

For Marion and anyone else who missed the beginning:

 The doctors think that around the beginning of July David had a heart attack and didn't realize it.  This left his heart muscles raw and an artery in his sternum bleeding.  While at Falconridge Folk Festival on Sat (July 24) am he was in pain and had pressure and was rushed by ambulance to neaby town of Great Barrington where they gave him some anti coagulants (sp?) and sent him to Baystate Medical Cardiac Unit, in Springfield, Ma.  There they put a shunt in an artery and he was doing well- sitting up talking, calling people.  That night things got worse- they decided that his kidneys were too stressed and they thought a balloon pump would increase the blood flow too them, getting them more oxygen and help them function better.  When they went in to surgery he was worse so they sedated him and put him on a ventilator and dialysis.  5-8hrs later- because cat scans showed blood in his (heart sack, lungs and stomach) they performed open heart surgery and looked for a tear or rupture in his heart wall.  They found none and they put in the balloon pump.  At 3 am Mon they again went in due to the fact that he was still bleeding- they found a bleeding artery in his sternum area and sutured it and removed the balloon pump.  After this operation Tue (July 27) progressed much better- his vitals and numbers were all up and no more bleeding.  He was sedated and on machines-  waiting until fluids drain and monitoring for the next couple of days.  They removed the sedation and it took dad almost 4 days to come out of it.  He tolerated turning the vent down and was responding (wiggling toes etc.) and they moved him to an oxygen mask.  After a day on that they re-intubated him and put him back on the ventilator because he was too weak-he was working so hard to breathe and not getting enough oxygen.   Monday, Aug 9th, they performed a procedure to put a perma cath in under his skin on his upper chest to make dialysis easier and less risk of infection.  He was up and feisty when I got there at 9:40.  I was able to get some translateable writing and grades for the class he was teaching.  While I was there the infectious disease team came by and said he didn't need to see them any more and dad pumped his fist in victory.  We also had the trache team come by to explain the procedure they would do in a couple of days.  Then we spoke with Dr. Deiton, his lead and original cardiac surgeon, and found out that they would continue to try and wean him from the vent but were not optomistic that it would be successful.  After he left dad and I made a deal to put the sugical team out of work too and get off the vent successfully before they planned to do the surgery that gave him about 2 days (another inciting factor was the fact that Chris would be arriving on Saturday to give him what for and he needed to be able to talk back.  Tue, Aug 10, on the way to dropping me at the airport they reported good news and bad boy behavior- during the night dad had pulled out his 'a' line (in his hand to check oxygen and gas levels in the blood quickly) and that they had taken him off the vent and he was doing well on the mask.  He was really tired that evening from breathing all day but doing it successfully and getting enough oxygen- he was swallowing water and applesauce and they didn't even schedule the swallow test they just moved him on down to a smaller mask.  So great Job pops!  You should now be caught up to the posts from when Margs started the blog.  He is currently still in CICU and still needs dialysis because his kidneys are not working well enough (diabetees and trauma from this)  he also has a hernia but they will not fix that until after all of this is clearly under control since it is a long operation on full anesthesia- Dr. Deiton said as long as there was no pain or danger they would prefer for hime to go through rehab and then come back later for the abdominal surgery.  We all know how 'healthy' Dad was how he ate such nutritious meals, exercised and didn't over work himself at all!!!   Ha, Ha.  Hopefully this time will be the wake up call to slow down and take care of himself instead of others.  Sorry this wasn't posted by breakfast Marion Life got in the way- should have just published the beginning for you- but fell asleep with Ella.  Cheers to all and thanks again we cannot express how wonderful it is to hear all the stories and good wishes from everyone.  Each person we talk to we learn more about what a great guy our dad is.   posted by Nette 

Wed, 8-11-10, PM update and mailing address

Baystate Medical Center                  
Attn: David Henshaw
c/o CICU
759 Chestnut  St.
Springfield, MA 01199


Hospital Phone: (413) 794 - 0000  (main line)


David's Cell:        (978) 549-2538






Evening update: Dad is drinking water and eating applesauce. He has moved down to a smaller mask and is getting enough oxygen.  He talks and writes messages and is awake and aware. No more procedures are scheduled and they may try a liquid diet in the am.  The main concern is to maintain successful breathing. Keep it up POPs!  We're all proud of you.    posted by jeanette

Wed, 8-11-10, Am Update

Dad slept well- took some asprin and applesauce.  Up this am w/ glasses and whiteboard and some talking- very sleepy yesterday pm- breathing is a lot of work but doing better this time around, nurses report good numbers (oxygen wise). Swallowing applesauce and pills again this am- no news on swallow test and future plans yet today.  Be warned he does now have his cell and charger and may begin to use it when he gets time off the mask.  Thanks again from all of us for good wishes, prayers, thoughts, stories-  Wll of us appreciate it so much.  We need to keep in mind what is important in our lives and MAKE time for it- not wait for tragedies to catch up and stay in touch.  - posted by Jeanette

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Hello one and all,

My cell phone rings a lot these days and many of the numbers are unfamiliar.  There are so many wonderful people out there who are looking for information/updates on Mr. Henshaw and what's going on in his world that I thought this might be the easiest way to keep everyone up to date.  Feel free to leave a comment, send him words of encouragement and let him know you're thinking of him and praying for his quick recovery.  We will try to keep the blog current and let you know what's up with Mr. H.

Currently he is in CICU at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, MA recovering from a heart attack and a multitude of other ailments.  If you know David, you know he can't do anything small.  If I can figure out how, I'll post a link to the hospital.  He is not quite ready for visitors but cards are certainly welcome.  He is as fiesty and cantakerous as ever and doing his best to make his nurses wish for reassignment.  His prognosis is much better than a week ago but still not as good as we would like.  The wonderful team of nurses and doctors are attempting to wean him off the respiratory and make him breath on his own but he's being lazy and hasn't proven that he can handle yet.  We are hopeful that will change and the tube will come out within the next few days.  Of course, then he'll be able to talk again and we'll all wish he was back on the sedation medication. 

Jeanette was here in Massachusetts for the last 10 days and flew back to North Carolina this morning. Chris is flying in on Saturday.  Clearly, this entire hospitalization was merely a ploy to get his prodigal children to come for a visit.  In our opinion, he took it a little too far.  We do frequently get wrapped up in our own lives but there are much easier ways to get our attention. 

I want to thank everyone who has reached out with prayers and offers of help.  I am constantly in awe of how many lives Dad has touched and can not express how comforting it has been to hear your stories and know that his life is full of such wonderful friends.  Nan Gibbons told me her family refers to him as the Wizard of Oz.  Not the "Great and Powerful" but that little man behind the curtain.  We agree it's a good description.  Let's hope that little man can work some of his magic and come home to us soon.

With love,
Margaret