Jan1948
Member
Hi everyone,
Thank you so much for all your thoughts and prayers. Open heart surgery on December 19th went well. I don't remember much about the prep and nothing at all about the surgery. Thank goodness. My first memories were of blurry visions of people looking down over me and speaking to me. I had no idea who is was or what they were saying. My waiting room family consisted of my husband, daughter, youngest son, sister, brother-in-law's wife, and several family friends.
The heart tower (6th floor) at CMC in Charlotte was wonderful. The ICU staff had the most compassionate nurses. Two of the male nurses were my favorites. They were always looking after my pain and discomfort and were able to help me keep it to a minimum. Dr. Stiegel is a superb surgeon. After he replaced my aortic valve, he was able to repair rather than replace my ascending aorta. This allowed for a much shorter surgery, 1-1/2 hours compared to 4 or 5. I was in ICU for 2 days while they tried to get my heartbeat to normalize. I do remember having the drainage tubes removed - no fun there, but at least it was over quickly.
I began doing all the things the doctor and nurses told me that I needed to do to have a faster recovery - lots of deep breathing exercises to keep the lungs from collapsing; walking to build up my strength; and stretching exercises to keep me from 'closing up my sore chest area like a clam'.
I was worried about having the surgery during the Christmas holiday, but there were plenty of staff onhand to meet my every need. On Christmas Eve morning, I was released. It was good to be home for Christmas. I had decorated the house prior to surgery.
I'm on a low salt, fat free, low sugar diet. Did I mention that I also quit smoking on Dec. 19th? I am progressing nicely and getting stronger each day - still doing all the breathing and stretching exercises as well as a good bit of walking. Hydrocodone is helping me get through the pain of the sternum healing process. I have cut it back once and tried to cut it back again even more. That was a mistake. I was warned not to let the pain get 'ahead of you'. I'll try again next week. I was also warned not to lift anything more than 5 pounds or to reach too far, etc. You definitely pay the price when you don't follow that advice.
My daughter was my nurse during my first week home and my youngest son has now taken over. Both did a fabulous job. Hubby has been wonderful, too.
I have a home health care nurse that stops by now twice a week, and I see my surgeon for a follow-up on the 18th. I will do cardio rehab at some point in the future to help me to continue to recover.
I've been doing crossword and jigsaw puzzles, sudoku, reading, and 'getting to know my new laptop computer'.
Looking forward to playing tennis again in the spring, doing some gardening, and getting back to my little building projects.
Thanks again for all the support. It was and is truly appreciated.
Thank you so much for all your thoughts and prayers. Open heart surgery on December 19th went well. I don't remember much about the prep and nothing at all about the surgery. Thank goodness. My first memories were of blurry visions of people looking down over me and speaking to me. I had no idea who is was or what they were saying. My waiting room family consisted of my husband, daughter, youngest son, sister, brother-in-law's wife, and several family friends.
The heart tower (6th floor) at CMC in Charlotte was wonderful. The ICU staff had the most compassionate nurses. Two of the male nurses were my favorites. They were always looking after my pain and discomfort and were able to help me keep it to a minimum. Dr. Stiegel is a superb surgeon. After he replaced my aortic valve, he was able to repair rather than replace my ascending aorta. This allowed for a much shorter surgery, 1-1/2 hours compared to 4 or 5. I was in ICU for 2 days while they tried to get my heartbeat to normalize. I do remember having the drainage tubes removed - no fun there, but at least it was over quickly.
I began doing all the things the doctor and nurses told me that I needed to do to have a faster recovery - lots of deep breathing exercises to keep the lungs from collapsing; walking to build up my strength; and stretching exercises to keep me from 'closing up my sore chest area like a clam'.
I was worried about having the surgery during the Christmas holiday, but there were plenty of staff onhand to meet my every need. On Christmas Eve morning, I was released. It was good to be home for Christmas. I had decorated the house prior to surgery.
I'm on a low salt, fat free, low sugar diet. Did I mention that I also quit smoking on Dec. 19th? I am progressing nicely and getting stronger each day - still doing all the breathing and stretching exercises as well as a good bit of walking. Hydrocodone is helping me get through the pain of the sternum healing process. I have cut it back once and tried to cut it back again even more. That was a mistake. I was warned not to let the pain get 'ahead of you'. I'll try again next week. I was also warned not to lift anything more than 5 pounds or to reach too far, etc. You definitely pay the price when you don't follow that advice.
My daughter was my nurse during my first week home and my youngest son has now taken over. Both did a fabulous job. Hubby has been wonderful, too.
I have a home health care nurse that stops by now twice a week, and I see my surgeon for a follow-up on the 18th. I will do cardio rehab at some point in the future to help me to continue to recover.
I've been doing crossword and jigsaw puzzles, sudoku, reading, and 'getting to know my new laptop computer'.
Looking forward to playing tennis again in the spring, doing some gardening, and getting back to my little building projects.
Thanks again for all the support. It was and is truly appreciated.
