Heart Surgery in my elderly father

So he had the surgery a week and two days ago.  He had to have a triple bypass, a valve replacement, and his aorta completely replaced (he had an aortic aneurysm).  The surgery took 5 hours and went without a hitch.  We waited in the family waiting room for the doctor to come and brief us afterwords.  And waited.  And waited.  Someone then called to say that they couldn't get his bleeding to stop.  It had been a few hours and they tried everything.  Then the doctor came out, looking grim.  He said there was nothing more he could do.  It was in God's hands.  I have never felt so helpless and devastated.  Even though we had now been at the hospital 9 hours, and were exhausted, the doctor said we shouldn't leave.  He didn't know if Dad would survive the night.

We went back to see him, and waited in his room while all the nurses worked on him.  A chest xray revealed that there was a mass pressing against his heart. It was either blood pooling or blood clotting.  The only way to tell was to open him back up.  So they did, at 1:30 in the morning.  More waiting...  and waiting... then the good news.  It was a clot!  He was finally clotting.

After that scare there has been the usual problems with this kind of surgery in the elderly:  lung problems (he was ventilated until yesterday), and confusion and dementia.  After one week and two days he is finally coming out of anesthesia, but he is still confused and still not all there.  I am hoping that will clear up, but an internet search has kind of scared me - a lot of elderly people are never the same mentally after this kind of surgery.  Here we were worried about him not making it through the surgery, when he ends up having a worse time with his lungs and mind.  I am hoping, hoping, hoping, and wishing that we finally get my Dad back soon.  I hope that we can talk again; he was SO scared when he went in.  He did not want to die.  I want him to realize that he did it!  He made it!  He has a second chance to live longer!  The doctor said he wouldn't have lasted even a few more months without the surgery.  But as of now, he is barely aware of where he is.