Bruce Poff Recuperating!

From Fletcher Swanson concerning Bruce Poff...

The following is the thread of emails I received from Bruce Poff and his wife Judy. I am sure he would love to hear from many of his Conrail friends. Emails to Judy can be sent to: judpo7@aol.com


5/14

Fletcher, Yesterday Bruce was transferred to the rehab floor. His blood pressure was low this morning,so no rehab. His address is UPMC Mercy Hospital 1400 Locust St. Pittsburgh, PA. 15219 Room 7430

or our home, 105 Heritage Drive Oakdale, Pa. 15071 Thanks for your prayers and concern, Judy

5/11

Fletcher, I'm sure Bruce informed you about another surgery. He made it through it !!!

After about 8 hours I got to see him. Sunday he was released from ICU and now has a room with a view, in Mercy Hospital. He's improving every day. Thank you for your concern and prayers, Judy

5/4

Here we go again. I am having heart surgery this Friday(5/7/10) at Mercy Hospital here in Pittsburgh. This is to repair a second aneurysm in the descending Aortic Arch. The first one was in the ascending arch. This aneurysm is causing a lot of problems in my chest, not the least of which is the almost complete loss of my voice. The aneurysm will eventually be fatal if not repaired.

The operation will take 4 to 6 hours, and I will be on a heart lung machine throughout the procedure. They will also repair least one and maybe 2 90% blocked arteries. One is critical and the other not as critical and they will repair it if access is available. The operation will go through my side versus the chest for the first aneurysm repair. This is why the second blocked artery may not be accessible. I'll let you all know how I come through this ordeal. The good news is, that if successful, I will have virtually no restrictions to exercise and live a pretty normal life. There are risks like infection, stroke and death, but my doctor says these are minimal (less than 10%) versus. the certainty of eventual death if this problem is not fixed.

Not looking forward to this ordeal again, but hopeful this time will not have the complications that I had the first time.

I should awake about 5 hours after surgery. For the first time I was not expected to wake up for 2 weeks.

I don't know why the wake up expectation is so much lower but we'll see how it goes. These are all of the important facts I have to give you. Thank you for your support in the past and I look forward to seeing all of you in the near future.

5/2

I have another aortic aneurysm, plus 2 90% blocked arteries. I will probably have surgery this week once they line up all of the doctors etc. Judy will keep you informed on my progress. Again it is serious and I may not survive. Thank you for the offer but there is nothing that you can now but pray.

Our minister said last time that God got so tired of hearing that name, Bruce Poff, that he might as well go ahead and make him better so people would leave him alone. My doctor is the best in the field of aortic aneurysm repairs, so I'll be in good hands.

Bruce