MISSION  "NEARLY" IMPOSSIBLE!

A SORE but NOT SORRY, grateful Elder Yates & Companion!!

Hello to our amazing family and friends,

What a way to get a day off!  The public ER? 

We still can hardly believe it ourselves, but the following is a VERY TRUE story which we never expected to experience, especially on a mission!  Early in July following a cold/flu illness, Elder Yates wasn't feeling very well.  He wasn't able to exercise strenuously, so we took it easy.  He complained mid-July of a little tightness in his chest when we took our morning walks in the forest. Thinking it was left over from his flu cough, he ignored it.  Asking if we shouldn't go get it checked out, he quipped, "No, I'll be all right!  I don't want to deal with an international medical bill." The same conversation was repeated with other walks where he felt slight 'tightness" in his chest with Sister Yates asking that we PLEASE go to a doctor.  On July 25th just when we began our walk, he had some pretty hefty pain in his chest which scared us both!  "Now will you go to the Doctor?" I begged.  

Elder Yates heads to his angiogram-- a short procedure, yes?

Yep, we called mission doctor who ordered us to head for the nearest ER---Logan Hospital. After 12 hours and several standard tests, they concluded it was NOT a heart attack, but there had to be some reason for the pain. ER doctor hooked us up with a notable cardiologist at a private hospital and told Elder Yates to go home and take it easy and not even think of flying home! Elder Yates had a Priesthood blessing by two Senior Elders who pronounced that all would be well, he would heal, and we could finish our mission.  Relief! Peace! In conferring with our experienced mission doctor, he assured us that if an angiogram was required, we could be confident Drs. here are very skilled and capable with a great cardio record. He added almost parenthetically, "And if you happen to need bypass surgery, I would trust them implicitly with that as well!"  We called the next morning for Dr. Chua's next possible opening, At our Monday, 30 July appointment, the EKG (ECG here) showed a strong beating heart with no structural problems. Dr. Chua needed answers by looking inside the vessels with an angiogram, which he scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 3rd. He said we would be permitted go home if no stents were needed, and stay overnight in hospital if 1 or more stents were needed during the angiogram. 

Tim and Jen's sweet twin girls!

August 3rd turned out to be a very paradoxical day. Our son Tim and his wife Jennifer's precious twin daughters were born healthy and happy!  Joy of joys!  What a relief that all is well after a tough pregnancy. Now Mom and Dad's arms are full of beautiful heavenly newborn babes that we've long awaited!  Their names are Madison Amelia Yates and Adelyn Claire Yates and grandma's arms will have to wait a few months to hold these angel babies! Each child is such a sublime blessing from above, and we count these fraternal twins as evidence of Heavenly Father's love and trust that we mortals can raise His innocent and perfect children well.  Now siblings Brayden, Austin, Landon and Katelyn will be extra big helpers!  Adelyn and Madison are our 26th and 27th grandchildren, and it makes our arms almost ache to hold them and to give hugs all around to each one of our incredible grandchildren whom we adore!  

Back to the not-so-sublime part of the day.  Elder Yates was wide awake through the short angiogram and could see the stark evidence in the arteries that all was not well!  The procedure was short because it was very clear that the blockages discovered were too bad to be rectified by stents, so Coronary Artery Bypass Graft surgery was needed ASAP!  Shock of all shocks!  Not just bypass surgery, but a triple bypass!  Three important arteries were badly blocked---the left main 70%, the right coronary artery 60%, and the circumflex artery, otherwise known as the "widow-maker" was 95% blocked! The circumflex is called the widow maker because it usually gives NO SIGNS of a heart attack before doing massive damage and often causing immediate death.  Doctors feel Elder Yates was fortunate because he had enough symptoms, probably due to the blockage in the other two arteries, to seek medical attention! They said he was a "walking time bomb" and we were very lucky he hadn't had a heart attack already!  The nurse frankly told me, "It's not a matter of months or weeks, but of a few days or hours before the 'big one.' You should be glad he made it here in one piece!" Dr. Chua had the surgeon, Dr. Wall, come to our bedside and explain the bypass surgery.  Our heads were swimming with a million thoughts!  A triple bypass?! You could have knocked us both over with a feather, we were so shocked at the news!  This angiogram was going to be more than a "three-hour tour," as Gilligan's Island theme song declares!  

Aug.5th, just before surgery: Butterflies in tummies, but peace filled the day!  Pathway student Aggy visits us.

The "Dream Team" supports Sister Yates during surgery: L to R;  Miss. Pres.; Clydes, Osbornes, Briggs (new mission Dr.) 

Together, we "can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth" us!  This "health mission" is possible, too!

Elder Yates was admitted immediately into Holy Spirit Hospital and plans were made for surgery ASAP.  Dr. Wall had to put a team together and book an operating theater in this premiere heart hospital.  We were reassured that it was the best in Queensland, by far! Glitches popped up but Dr. Wall pulled some clout and the surgery was performed Saturday, Aug. 5th. That was about the longest 5 1/2 hours of my life, but finally came the good news from surgeon Dr. Wall that all went well.  David was still unconscious and intubated, but I was able to see him briefly.  By morning, they brought him out of unconsciousness and the slow recovery began. His pain was off the charts, but able to be controlled soon.  Within a very few days he was only on mild Panadol. He is our champion, and a patient, tolerant patient.   

Elder Yates in ICU where he had his own nurse 24/7.  Success is waking up!

Where does one find a good artery?  In David's left arm!

   We feel so blessed to have had such marvelous doctors and nurses throughout the whole 9-day hospital stay.  Though each day and each task was a challenge, small baby steps forward were observed daily!  If you're squeamish, skip the next part.  However, bypass surgery is NOT FOR WIMPS!  Three large arteries had to be harvested from David's own body to use for the 3 bypass grafts.  Since he's had trouble with his leg veins, the doctor elected to use an artery from his left arm and two from his own chest. The arm picture was what prompted one of our children to reply with the "tattoo" man.  

What?  No rest?  1st Walk 3 hrs. after becoming conscious! The sooner they are up and moving the better the recovery. No post-op pneumonia in this hospital. What marvelous care Elder Yates received throughout this whole experience!

Babies Madison and Adelyn go home from the hospital the same day Grandpa Yates moves from ICU to his own very private room at the end of a hall with big view of eucalyptus trees. Now sleeping can begin for everyone in earnest.   

This surely doesn't look like a missionary tie!  Dear Elder Yates and Sister Yates hung on to the beautiful words given to him in a blessing before his bypass surgery.  Elder Watts and Elder Briggs (brand new mission doctor)  pronounced that "this surgery will provide the means for the prolongation of your life." That unusual word 'prolongation' stood out to us like a beacon of hope and a promise that things would go fine and he would be sustained during and after surgery. Prolongation, after all, means "to make something continue or last longer; an added part."  How truly grateful we are for this precious blessing of being preserved until proper help was available.  It surely makes us appreciate the wisdom of the Lord in not sending us to a 3rd world country on our mission!  Wouldn't that have been disastrous? ! :( We see the hand of the Lord very plainly in the timing of this unexpected event.  He truly does know the end from the beginning at all times. Humbly we acknowledge His mercies and miracles in this experience!

Amidst  the tubes and hospital sterility inside, outside late winter Queensland beauty continues--a cheery azalea delight!

"Create in me a new heart!"

There might be many questions floating in your minds that will remained unanswered.  But people here keep asking us the same few questions, so perhaps you'll like hearing a couple of those answered:  

#1) Why didn't you just fly home for the surgery? Answer:  From the get-go when we went to the Emergency Room, David wasn't allowed to do anything strenuous.  I began driving, hauling the loads of projectors, etc. as he was not to exert or be stressed at all.  A heart attack was imminent, but we DID NOT know that!  After the surgery, we asked Dr. Chua, who said, "I expected to find something of this caliber in the angiogram when you described your pain."  Also, flying with the stress and sitting so long can contribute to bringing on a heart attack. 

What's the best way to stop the chest pain?  A nice foot massage! We await word that we're free to go HOME!

#2) Will you be able to finish your mission?  A resounding and happy YES is our answer!  We felt all along from the blessing David received in the ER that whatever  was going to happen would not prevent us from finishing our mission and that David would HEAL!  That is proving to be true. :) The Mission President said to me during the surgery when he visited in the ICU waiting room that  Salt Lake Mission  Hdqtrs. had indicated that we should fly home as soon as he was able to fly after the surgery. " Well, "quipped President McSwain, "why do they need to go home to recover after he's recovered enough to travel?"  SLC agreed that by the time he recovers sufficiently to fly, he'll be able to resume most of his Self-Reliance Missionary duties.  

Home at last! A sweet service was the loan of the big recliner from a dear ward member so Elder Yates can relax and keep his sternum straight! No bending, lifting, twisting, reaching nor pushing off!

 #3) How long will the recovery take?  Many activities he can do by 6 weeks, and most all activities can be resumed by 12 weeks.  Sedentary work he can do 4-8 weeks out.  We're fortunate that lots of our missionary work is preparing lessons for teaching PathwayConnect (Pathway's new name!) and other assignments.  Even now, he works on his computer more each day. We have been holding our team Self-Reliance meetings at our flat to keep him in the loop!  Doctors want him up and moving and not just sitting----blood clots are still a danger.  He has exercises to do and starts physical therapy next week.  By 6 weeks out (Sept 16th) doctors' goal is walking at a good pace at least 1/2 hour twice daily!  So each day we take walks which started out at a snail's pace, but are picking up nicely!  

What does the future look like for keeping healthy?  No more deep fried fish and  chips, but EAT YOUR VEGGIES!  The darker the color and the bigger the helpings, the better!  Above is the beautiful dish of Libyan Lamb curry and fresh salad made by our awesome Libyan neighbors, Sallah and Najah.

#4) Didn't Elder Yates have a good physical before the mission?  Yes, of course he did and passed the stress test on the treadmill with flying colors!  Then why could this happen so quickly?  Stress tests don't show everything, and David is very healthy overall there was no reason to require further testing.  We learned from the cardiologist here that up to 80% of having hardening of the arteries is due to genetic predisposition.   David's Father had similar troubles at about age 83--a heart attack and subsequent stroke.  Also, his Father's mother died of a massive heart attack at age 80. Still, 20-30% of factors are dependent upon diet!  Therefore, all with ears to hear and a heart that you love, always consider the far-flung effects of what we put into our mouths!  Ah!  We are what we eat, for sure! 

This blog needs a little nature to cheer the month of medical issues we've encountered.  Elder Yates and I have resumed small neighborhood walks which started as a stroll.  Being early springtime, insects and creepy crawlies have begun to emerge!  In the last few days we've seen two huge lizards in our back bush---about 2 feet each!  Walking on a short trail in the Karawatha forest yesterday, we were greeted by a surprising BROWN snake baby---with a greenish cast!  He was about 2 feet long and just a foot off the path on some leaves!  WARNING:  They are the 2nd most deadly snake in the world and even a newborn has enough venom to kill 20 people.  Respect it, we did and took a wide berth around it.  No post-op snake bites allowed!   The birds are out in massive numbers this early spring. Yet another innocent- looking bird turned out to be a menace to Elder Yates' HEAD! This cute but evil-eyed Noisy Miner tried and very effectively let Elder Yates know exactly how she felt as we apparently walked into its nest territory while on our neighborhood walk!  

These cute birds feed in our bottle brush trees (right) and are usually very nice.  But they have turned into mobsters the past 2 weeks as they defend their nesting territories.  They form temporary coalitions for specific jobs like mobbing a predator! Noted as being very territorial and aggressive, they'll target initruders---which they thought we were!  Three times now in the three times we've walked by a certain area on the public sidewalk, this bird has dive-bombed Elder Yates' head!  Making a screeching noise like none other, it flapped him in the head with its wings and tail creating a big smack.  Obviously I didn't catch it on camera, but someone caught the above picture of a Noisy Miner attacking their pet who wandered into its territory.

Our hearts and prayers go out to those people in the Houston area who are so badly affected by the unprecedented downpour after Hurricane Harvey.  How wonderful to see so many volunteerw working together to relieve the suffering of so many in dire need.  What a beautiful world it would be if we all gave so freely of our time, resources, and loving concern for our earthly brothers and sisters at all times. 

 We send our love to each of you, our sweet neighbors, family, and friends all!  How fortunate we are to know you and we celebrate our cherished relationships with you. We thank each of you who have been so kind to exercise faith through your prayers and fasting in behalf of David.   Again, we give thanks to our dear Father in Heaven for His kindness in guiding us through this medical emergency with the peace and comfort that comes from Priesthood power.  We have witnessed  many blessings and miracles as a result.  

With all our love to you and yours, 

Elder and Sister YatesDad and MomDavid and Marsha Grandpa and GrandpaThe happiest,  most blessed missionaries in all of Australia!