Ken Yangula
Donation protected
In 2005 my father, Ken Yangula had a widow maker heart attack. In the last 14 years he has had multiple angiograms, angioplasties and stents placed as we have prepared for the time when he would inevitably have to have open heart surgery. That time came this past April when he had a triple bypass surgery on April 2, 2019. He was hospitalized for about a week and was sent home to recover. Dad was having trouble with shortness of breath and a lot of pain in his chest. When he went in for a followup visit, they found that he had a lot of fluid in both lungs, his left lung was partially collapsed, the stitches in his sternum had come undone and he had broken his sternum. He was readmitted to the hospital that night and had surgery the following day. They restitched his sternum, put in metal plates to help stabilize all of the fractures, and placed chest tubes to drain his lungs.
While he was in the hospital recovering from surgery we received devastating news. My mom had been at home and called 911. She passed away unexpectedly and quickly from a massive heart attack on April 27, 2019.
The hospital released Dad the following day and we went about the details of planning Mom's funeral. Her wishes were to have a memorial service in Ohio, where my parents had lived for the last 25+ years, but to be laid to rest in their hometown of Lower Burrell, Pennsylvania. We made that happen while also doing our best to keep Dad comfortable and manage his recovery. He was still in a lot of pain, being only a few days after his last surgery.
We spoke to his doctors and managed to make the drive back to Pennsylvania so that he could be with his family and attend his wife's funeral. Mom was laid to rest on May 2. Early in the morning on May 3, Dad started experiencing bleeding from his incision site and we had to call 911. He was taken by ambulance to Presby hospital in Pittsburgh.
When Dad was admitted to the ER, they told us he had a very serious infection, mediastinitis. They were going to take him to the OR and they would do their best, but there was no guarantee that he would make it through surgery. Even after surgery, they told us he had a 50/50 shot at recovery. He was sedated, on a ventilator and they could not close his chest. They had to remove all of the repair work from the previous surgery and had to remove his entire sternum. They told us they would likely have to keep him on a ventilator, he would probably need a tracheostomy, a feeding tube, etc IF he made it.
Dad kept fighting though, and made it through each step, bit by painful bit. He made it through each painful dressing change, each trip to the OR. He got the feeding tube placed, the tracheostomy placed. And he was able to make it through to the reconstruction surgery.
Dad has no sternum. They had to use muscle to close his chest. He just got clearance to eat real food and he hasn't been able to stand up in over 4 weeks. That is one of our biggest goals right now. He also has strict precautions on how he can move his arms and shoulders because of the way they used his muscles to cover his chest.
He still has a tracheostomy. He still has a feeding tube. He still fights hard every day since almost every bit of his energy is going to healing the wounds in his body. He is still on IV antibiotics and will be for a while yet. He's still not out of the woods yet. One of the nurses told us that although his chances were 50/50, only about 20% of people in his condition actually make it this far. That is huge, and also hugely frightening to think how close we have come to losing both parents so close to one another.
Now we do one of the next hardest things we have ever done - ask for help. With all of this happening, and happening right now, we need help. My parents have always been ones to give help rather than to ask. But right now, we really need help to cover the bills that are starting to pile up. Dad's recovery is not a fast process. It's slow and painstaking. It's day by day and it's rough. Dad has insurance, but it doesn't cover all of the copays. And there's not enough income to cover the cost of this. We are asking for any help you can give to help us focus on Dad's recovery as we are fighting through the grief of losing Mom as we help him. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all of the prayers, the good wishes, the meals, the clean beds, the shoulders, the calls, and every other kind thing that has been given to us through this all.
While he was in the hospital recovering from surgery we received devastating news. My mom had been at home and called 911. She passed away unexpectedly and quickly from a massive heart attack on April 27, 2019.
The hospital released Dad the following day and we went about the details of planning Mom's funeral. Her wishes were to have a memorial service in Ohio, where my parents had lived for the last 25+ years, but to be laid to rest in their hometown of Lower Burrell, Pennsylvania. We made that happen while also doing our best to keep Dad comfortable and manage his recovery. He was still in a lot of pain, being only a few days after his last surgery.
We spoke to his doctors and managed to make the drive back to Pennsylvania so that he could be with his family and attend his wife's funeral. Mom was laid to rest on May 2. Early in the morning on May 3, Dad started experiencing bleeding from his incision site and we had to call 911. He was taken by ambulance to Presby hospital in Pittsburgh.
When Dad was admitted to the ER, they told us he had a very serious infection, mediastinitis. They were going to take him to the OR and they would do their best, but there was no guarantee that he would make it through surgery. Even after surgery, they told us he had a 50/50 shot at recovery. He was sedated, on a ventilator and they could not close his chest. They had to remove all of the repair work from the previous surgery and had to remove his entire sternum. They told us they would likely have to keep him on a ventilator, he would probably need a tracheostomy, a feeding tube, etc IF he made it.
Dad kept fighting though, and made it through each step, bit by painful bit. He made it through each painful dressing change, each trip to the OR. He got the feeding tube placed, the tracheostomy placed. And he was able to make it through to the reconstruction surgery.
Dad has no sternum. They had to use muscle to close his chest. He just got clearance to eat real food and he hasn't been able to stand up in over 4 weeks. That is one of our biggest goals right now. He also has strict precautions on how he can move his arms and shoulders because of the way they used his muscles to cover his chest.
He still has a tracheostomy. He still has a feeding tube. He still fights hard every day since almost every bit of his energy is going to healing the wounds in his body. He is still on IV antibiotics and will be for a while yet. He's still not out of the woods yet. One of the nurses told us that although his chances were 50/50, only about 20% of people in his condition actually make it this far. That is huge, and also hugely frightening to think how close we have come to losing both parents so close to one another.
Now we do one of the next hardest things we have ever done - ask for help. With all of this happening, and happening right now, we need help. My parents have always been ones to give help rather than to ask. But right now, we really need help to cover the bills that are starting to pile up. Dad's recovery is not a fast process. It's slow and painstaking. It's day by day and it's rough. Dad has insurance, but it doesn't cover all of the copays. And there's not enough income to cover the cost of this. We are asking for any help you can give to help us focus on Dad's recovery as we are fighting through the grief of losing Mom as we help him. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all of the prayers, the good wishes, the meals, the clean beds, the shoulders, the calls, and every other kind thing that has been given to us through this all.
Organizer
Kelly Yangula Asfour
Organizer
Garrett, IN