Any Post Valve Surgery Hospital Stay Tips?

[PeteCrev]

Hello all-
I scheduled my Aortic Valve Surgery for January and would like to know if you guys have any tips to make the hospital stay that much better.

 

[tom in MO]

Bring a robe. They give you all the clothes you need, but a robe is nice.

Bring your cell phone charger.

In the hospital treat everyone as a person, no matter if they clean the floor or open up your chest. That means say Hello, Thank You and Please. Be friendly, honest, and patient...be consciously nice.

After surgery walk as much as you can; use the spirometer as directed.

 

[PeteCrev]

Bring a robe. They give you all the clothes you need, but a robe is nice.

Bring your cell phone charger.

In the hospital treat everyone as a person, no matter if they clean the floor or open up your chest. That means say Hello, Thank You and Please. Be friendly, honest, and patient...be consciously nice.

After surgery walk as much as you can; use the spirometer as directed.

Thanks Tom...Always nice...takes much more effort to frown than smile.

 

[knotguilty]

Once I had the catheter out after the first day, it was nice to put on some pajamas. And a freshly charged cell phone helps.

 

[Heart Of The Sunrise]

Sound deadening headphones...... used to protect hearing ,,.....add these to a pair of headphones with waves or pleasant music and you might actually get some sleep.
They let me drink my own Gatorade. boxer shorts for those hallway walks or flannel leisure pants. ...walk...walk...walk.....

 

[escargome]

I agree with all the suggestions. Also, do not try to be 10 feet tall and bullet proof. If you are experiencing pain, politely ask your nurse for medication. If not then just do your hallway stroll as oftern as you can and use that spirometer. Keep your eye on the prize, getting better and stronger each day. Best Wishes to you.

 

[Rachel]

Bring your own food - LOL!!!!

I had my husband bring me in some of my favorite yogurt.....even though things tasted different for me for a while after surgery I just couldn't eat the food there - yogurt hit the spot for me.

 

[pellicle]

I recommend taking in some Korean "KimChi" and having a little of that on the side with your meals.

First days back on the ward after ICU often result in your bowels not moving stuff. No movement, little food ... all the usual culprits.

KimChi will help you avoid the movicol (or worse) and get back to a more natural movement ;-)

 

[pellicle]

Once I had the catheter out after the first day...

I have a strange experience with this. There was an amount of gas blown into my bladder during the removal (which I didn't know at the time) ... soon I had the urge to pee, and right at the end the gas came out with the sound of like ... well like a "chipmunk fart"

cracked me up so much it hurt!

 

[neil]

no chasing the nurses till the 3rd day

 

[clay_from_nj]

When I had my first OHS, the table-tray-thingy had a very large storage area just under the lift-up top. I filled it with Legos and kept myself occupied very well. I'd have done it for the second surgery if I still had the Legos. (Although I did the next best thing - Minecraft on my tablet.)

 

[pellicle]

I filled it with Legos and kept myself occupied very well.

Cool!

I've got an idea for my next visit now ...

 

[ski girl]

Planning on being there a while pellicle? (This from a person who bought a 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle of white swans on a dark lake, what was I thinking, and took two weeks to make the border - then gave up.)

Back to the topic - for me personally, spending a week in pyjamas and robe was the last thing I wanted to do; I wasn't going to be sick, and that's what sick people do. If you are of a similar mindset, consider sweatpants and large t-shirts instead of a robe and pyjamas. I often got mistaken for a visitor instead of a patient on my hourly walks, and I kinda liked that!

 

[Jkm7]

I found hospital visitors to exhaust me. I asked DH to keep most people away and only have the few visitors he knew I wanted to see. You need to nap when you can and some people don't have sense enough to drop by for a quick visit and leave.

 

[OldManEmu]

Heart of the sunrise

Sound deadening headphones...... used to protect hearing ,,.....add these to a pair of headphones with waves or pleasant music and you might actually get some sleep.

this is great advice, the circus that goes on in the cardiac wards with sundowning would keep anyone awake for the rest of the night. I just wanted to get out of the place after both my surgeries because of the night time madness. If you do not know what sundowning is, Google it and dementia.
Sundowning must be the least discussed issue with dementia, I never knew about it until my stays in cardiac wards first with endocarditis and then both my VR's.

 

[Freddie]

Ear plugs, slippers and maybe one of those things that cover your eyes to block out light.

I didn't use anything else except my own slippers. Wish I had ear plugs or something to block out the noise once I was moved from ICU. People coming and going throughout the night during my 3 or 4 night stay in a 8 patient Cardiac room, didn't get much sleep.

Otherwise I just used what the hospital provided me with, which was good enough. Sweatpants is a good idea, I think I wore them for trip home.

 

[PeteCrev]

Thank you guys for all of the advice and the encouragement.

 

[marc_kowal]

Bring some pictures of your loved ones. That will provide some good motivation to get your butt out of bed and start your walking.

 

[Rachel]

Bring some pictures of your loved ones. That will provide some good motivation to get your butt out of bed and start your walking.

Heck - I brought pictures of myself running to get me motivated!!!! That also helped the nurses/doctors and staff learn a little more about me and sparked some great discussions..... I think bringing anything that shows your personal interests allows the staff to see you more as a person....if that makes any sense

 

[Paleowoman]

I have made a card with a collage of a photo of dh, ds, and me and dh on holiday - I'll put this on my bedside. I've also loaded on to my iPod my favourite music to listen to as I know it will relax me. And I'll get dh to bring me my laptop when I'm out of high dependancy so I can watch my favourite DVDs - I hate TV so won't be watching that.