4 weeks post surgery with 3 chidren

[Jenayah]

Hi everyone I am new to the site and am hoping that you are able to help with with advice. I had my pulmonary valve replaced 4 weeks ago today. I am feeling better, however I still get really tired quite easily and am still sore. I have a 9 year old, 4 year old and 5 month old baby. My partner has another 2 weeks off work and then is suppose to return however I dont think I am going to be capable of looking after the baby by then. Has anyone else been through this and have an estime of when I would probably be ok to manage being a "mum" again.. THanks really appreciate any advice

 

[Greg a]

First and foremost
WELCOME to our family of brothers and sisters sharing OHS

There is a wealth of knowledge here to be shared and there are many that have walked the same road that lays ahead of you I think of "Malibu82" as a young mom with two children who recently went through OHS.... as to my personal knowledge I am sorry that I can't be of much help but can assure you that you will be able to mother those children sopon enough

 

[malibu82]

hi there! welcome

i had surgery in may. at the time my girls were 5 months old and 17 months old.

i had to have someone with me at all times because of the 5 month old. i couldn't lift either child until 7 weeks. until then, i had someone with me 24/7 to help out. during the day my mom, sister, or mother in law would come over after my husband left for work, and leave after my husband came home.

your situation may be a bit different, i dont know how much your 9 year old can help with the lifting.

the way i knew i was okay to lift the babies was i had no pain, and no "shifting" in my bone area. i felt "normal"

it will be hard always having to have someone with you. and it gets boring real quick. i couldn't wait to get back to being mom! but it will go by fast and everything will get back to normal for you

any specific questions please just ask!

 

[Jenayah]

Thanks for your replies
Malibu82 was it 7 weeks before you were able to start lifting your baby or until you where able to be on your own with your baby? Are you still in pain now? And how long did it take to start feeling better?
I feel better every day but still hurts when I sneeze, cough etc I just want life to go back to normal but saw my doctor yesterday and he said after OHS you are in pain for a long time sometimes 18 months before no paind!!! I didnt know that my surgeon never told me.. I go for my echo on 6/12 and chest xray to see how things are mending then back to my surgeon on 13/12. I hope to get the all clear then so hubby can go back to work and bring in the $$$ we dont really have anyone to come and sit with me to help out so if its not him its no one

 

[Greg a]

This may sound DUMB but what about a sports bra or sternum shirt http://www.mcdavidusa.com/store/index.asp?DEPARTMENT_ID=226

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Welcome Aboard Jenayah !

Most surgeons in the USA give their patients a Lifting / Pulling / Pushing Limit of 5 lbs for X weeks (I forgot how long) with a gradual increase. You may want to call your Surgeon's office and ask for a Lifting Schedule (i.e. how many pounds can you lift at 4 weeks, 6 weeks, etc.)

For patients with NO complications, most are able to return to Desk Jobs with NO lifting requirements at 6 to 8 weeks post-op. Physically challenging jobs take longer. At 6 weeks, the sternum is healed to 80% of its strength but it typically takes 12 weeks to reach 100%.

Recovery Always takes Longer than we would like. As long as you can see progress on a week by week basis, you are probably doing well. You WILL continue to tire easily for several weeks. Walking and slowly increasing your activity level will help. When your body tells you it needs to Rest, then REST. When your energy is gone, it is GONE. NAPS are GREAT!

You may need / want to look into some sort of Day Care for your children for a few weeks until you are better able to attend to their needs All Day Long.

You may also want to discuss how to manage your recovery and family needs with your Primary Care Physician.

Here's hoping things work out for you.

'AL Capshaw'

 

[Allisoninoz]

Hi. I'm 42 and have a bicuspid aortic valve which will need replacing soon - i'm due to see my cardio next week actually. I'm currently in the 'waiting room' and my regurgitation is 'moderate to severe'. I'm in Melbourne so can't help you practically but you're welcome to private message me if you want to talk to somebody a bit more 'local'.
Don't you have some sort of network through school, kinder/mum's group who could help you? Sometimes you just have to swallow your pride and ask for help.
I'm glad the surgery went well and you're feeling ok physically. There was another Perth woman on this forum recently - i think called skigirl, she might have some helpful suggestions ... good luck

 

[scott.eitman]

This brings back memories. 13 years ago, I had a 10 month old when I had my surgery. My wife and other kids went away for the weekend within my first 6 weeks. I had to go to my parent's in order to be both babysat and to have my 10 month old babysat. This is a tough time. Best of luck to you.

We had a lot of fun being able to sit and cuddle during recovery. So there is an upside. Of course she was old enough to crawl up to my lap with a little assistance.

Scott

 

[malibu82]

Thanks for your replies
Malibu82 was it 7 weeks before you were able to start lifting your baby or until you where able to be on your own with your baby? Are you still in pain now? And how long did it take to start feeling better?
I feel better every day but still hurts when I sneeze, cough etc I just want life to go back to normal but saw my doctor yesterday and he said after OHS you are in pain for a long time sometimes 18 months before no paind!!! I didnt know that my surgeon never told me.. I go for my echo on 6/12 and chest xray to see how things are mending then back to my surgeon on 13/12. I hope to get the all clear then so hubby can go back to work and bring in the $$$ we dont really have anyone to come and sit with me to help out so if its not him its no one

Hi again!

At 4 weeks, it did still hurt when I would cough or sneeze. I think you are on the right track to recovery. Sounds pretty normal!


It was 7 weeks until I lifted my baby and 18 month old, and then I was on my own again. I think once you are able to lift them, you will be able to be back to being on your own. I cheated a few times, I was able to hold them after about 5-6 weeks if someone passed them to me. But I could not bend over and lift them up.

I am no longer in pain, I was pretty much pain free by 7 weeks. However, every so often I will still get a light pain in the sternum. I think it depends on if I was being crazy that day with my kids (lifting them up in the air playing, running around) It also took awhile before I could move my body certain ways without worrying about my sternum healing correctly. I couldn't "stretch" or open my arms wide for about 12 weeks. It took awhile for me to be able to do sit ups because I felt like my sternum was digging into my stomach for a few months. I really didn't want to ruin the healing process because I didn't want to have to go through it all again if my sternum didn't heal!

I will say that at 6 months out now my sternum feels about 90% normal. But now I can do all exercises I want to do, as well as any other activity.

I know it's hard, and you might feel like a huge burden to your husband. But it's important you don't ruin your healing process and make it so that your husband has to stay home even longer! I wish you had someone to stay with you. Please ask your friends if they could take shifts coming over to stay the day with you while your husband is at work! You might feel bad asking them, but it will be worth it if your husband can go back to work!

I know it seems really hard, but you will feel back to being yourself in no time