In celebration of 5 years ago this week...

[knightfan26917]

...the below Emails are what my sister sent to friends/family ... about me. Some, of which, also made it to groups/message boards....

>>"cort's surg.", 01/06/2003, 8:14pm<<

hello all:

it is about quarter til eight, jan 6. i just arrived home from the

hospital (children's memorial).

cort's surgery took approximately seven and a half hours by our estimation.

he was told to arrive at children's memorial around six for surgery by

seven thirty, but once we arrived we were told that nothing would begin

until seven, and that surgery wouldn't begin until eight thirty. i believe

they took him into the operating room around just before nine o'clock. we

were updated about every two hours on his status, which was good with every update.

sometime between four and four thirty i think it was, the doctor came out

to tell us that they were finished, and that it would take about another

forty-five minutes to an hour to close up the opening. they replaced the

artery. they also replaced the valve using a pig's valve instead of the

human valve. there was another valve between the two heart chambers on the right side of the heart that was "leaking" that was also repaired. they

did not have to perform the arrythmia procedure b/c cort's heart regulated

itself. that would have added time to the procedure. the pacemaker was

placed in his abdomin, and according to the doctor it is one of the best

pacemaker's available. it can be programmed from outside his body,

eliminating the need for further minor surgery to change the program if

need be.

when we left (that is--cort's best friend, heather, my boyfriend, eric, and

i) we had seen cort in the icu. since this is really the first surgery i

have been fully aware of, seeing him in the icu may have seemed more

extreme to me than it really was...he looked pale, but he was breathing

well on the ventilator. he was under sedatives to keep him from moving,

and pain killers. there were a lot of tubes running everywhere and you

could see his heart beating in a sense...but the doctors and the nurses

said he was doing well. mom and dad will be staying at the hospital until

later this evening, but will be coming home to sleep in their own bed

tonight if his condition remains in good status.

eric, heather, and i will be staying the night at home as well, and headed

back to the hospital in the morning. the nurse told me that they would

decide in the morning when to wake him up. the three of us should arrive

home around four in the afternoon (tuesday) and that will be when i will

send the next update unless his condition changes at all.

to sum it up, he is doing well, recovering in the icu. he is still on the

ventilator and has a lot medication going through him to keep him from

moving, and to help for pain he might have. they will most likely wake him

up tomorrow, and go from there on taking him off the ventilator.

please feel free to email if you have any specific questions. i will try

to check my email tonight and tomorrow morning and respond to what i can

before we head back the hospital in the morning. please excuse any

gramatical and spelling errors as it has been a long day with not much rest

from the night before...

God Bless,

Joylyn aka Cort's lil sis.

>>"cort update", 01/07/2003, 04:20p<<

hello again:

thank you all for the many emails of encouragement. this morning when i

checked email mom and dad were with me, and we were all able to look at the

emails together. i am sorry if i don't email all of you back personally...

we all slept very well last night, and that rest was much needed.

cort had a good night as well. he was taken off the paralytic medicine

this morning. when the doctors were in this morning they were happy with

how he was doing. he is still on the ventilator, and taking breaths on his

own every once in awhile. he is still not awake. mom and dad are staying

at the hospital until later this evening, and will call if he wakes up

tonight. if he does, his friend, heather, and i might head back to the

hospital tonight.

i will return to work tomorrow (wed.) and won't be able to see cort again

until tomorrow evening. i will send another update later tonight, if he

wakes up, or i will until after we have seen him tomorrow evening.

again, thank you all for the love, support, and prayers. i will pass

everything on to cort when he is aware enough!

God Bless,

joylyn

>>"another update", 01/08/2003, 12:52a<<

hello again:

mom and dad were at the hospital longer than anticipated because cort was

awake and wanting to communicate some tonight. he was motioning and

writing a little bit, asking how everything went, and questions like that.

he still is not yet breathing on his own, and he motioned for his tubes to

be cleaned. he probably won't remember what all went on this evening, but

we are hoping by tomorrow he will be even more alert.

i am looking forward to seeing him tomorrow evening, and i will send

another update after i get to see him again.

again, thank you for the amount of support all of you have shown. i have

printed off so many emails for cort to read in the hospital my eyes are

crossed! ;-).

God Bless,

joylyn

I can hardly believe it has been 5 years.....

Cort:34swm."Mr Monte Carlo.Mr Road Trip".pig valve&pacemaker

WRMNshowcase.legos.HO.models.MCs.RTs.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort

"My ticker's ticking like they say it should" ... Montgomery Gentry ... 'Lucky Man'

[daves87rs]

And glad to see you are still doing well, my friend.

[Drew Dowdell]

good to see things are still going TICK-TOCK

[Dsuupr]

Glad God kept you around for us (selfish moment :AH-HA_wink: ).

[76ChevyTrucker]

Cort, glad to see that you're still hale and hearty (no pun intended)

[Sixty8panther]

God Speed in your Monte Carlo adventures!

I hope you live to be a hundred... and ten.

[knightfan26917]

Thank you, Dave, Oldsmoboi, Dsuupr, 76CT and Sixty8!

good to see things are still going TICK-TOCK

LOL!

And, Sixty8...I'm not sure I WANT to live that long...guess it all depends .

Cort:34swm."Mr Monte Carlo.Mr Road Trip".pig valve&pacemaker

WRMNshowcase.legos.HO.models.MCs.RTs.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort

"Looking at me now you might not know it" ... Emerson Drive ... 'Moments'