CLEVELAND, Ohio (WJW) — Rick Nelson has been recovering at his Seven Hills home for 10 days after a 10-day stay in the hospital. He and his family are grateful he could see his daughter get married, and be home for his 37th anniversary and Father’s Day because he almost didn’t make it to any of them.
On May 31, six days before his daughter Rachel’s wedding, Nelson was feeling chest pains. He was quickly taken to the Marymount Emergency Room. Within minutes of being there, he was taken via helicopter to Cleveland Clinic’s main campus in Cleveland.
A mechanical device was put in his heart to keep it pumping and he was given blood thinners after it was discovered he had severe blockage. Because of the blood thinners, it wasn’t safe to perform open-heart surgery for several days.
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It was scheduled as early as possible, which turned out to be June 4 — just two days before the wedding.
The surgeon who performed the procedure, Dr. Faisal Bakaeen, told FOX 8 that it takes five days to be healthy enough to be discharged after a procedure like this, but Nelson was telling every caregiver he could that he needed to be at that wedding…