T
TIM W.
Hi all,
As you all know by now I came home Thursday. Had planned on being released Tuesday, but my blood gases slipped down to 82 - 85 and my doc wouldn't let me go until I got back into 90's. Wednesday I woke up, the nurse put the machine on my finger and I hit a 97!!! Yahoo!!! A short while later, the doc's assistant came in to go over the release instructions and to look me over once more. "Looks like you have an infection starting around your incision", she said. Started me on antibiotics, "just in case", and ordered a CT Scan to check it out. Turned out to be no infection, just tape sensitivity. So, I was released Thursday and it's great to be home!!!
Waking up with the tube in my throat wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. For those still waiting, just remember to pay attention to what the nurse says, follow her directions EXACTLY, and the tubes come out quickly. Everything the nurse says and does is like little "tests" to see how alert you are. Once she knows you are fully alert, she gets the tube out.
As my wife told you all, the worst of my pain was from the chest tubes. Each breath was a very, very painful experience. This caused me to use very light, quick breaths. Forget the deep breathing!!! I couldn't get the spirometer over 500!!! Then the nurse gave me a good dose of Toradol and I was in heaven. I was told it is an anti-inflamatory. They figured the chest tubes were inflaming some muscles along there path so they tried it and it was the best thing for me. I never had morphine again. I think I only had 2 or 3 shots of it and the rest of the way I got Toradol. Some in the "waiting room" may want to remember this and suggest it to there doctors. The day before release, I was switched to Relefen (another anti-inflamation) and it is working well for me.
Like most of the rest of you "veterans", I did end up with one nurse in ICU who "knew it all". Fortunately, I only had her for 4 hours because she was like an overlap nurse. I asked for a shot of Toradol, explaining the previous nurse tried it as a morphine substitute and it worked well. This nurse didn't like being told something from another nurse, so it was morphine or nothing!!! I am usually not a name dropper and unfortunately for her I never mentioned my cousins position to her (although it was in my chart, in big red letters. Must be she didn't read my chart too thoroughly either). To make a long story short, my cousin reported the incident to the ICU Nurse Manager.
My first walk scared the hell out of me, (day 2, ICU, 8AM) I went about 25 yards down the hall, then back to my bed. When I got back, I was really short of breath, light headed and dizzy. Come to find out later it was all caused by the chest tube pain and not breathing well enough as I walked. (Remember, the night nurse gave me morphine???) After the Toradol, my walking was great. Each hour, I walked a total of 560 feet. I thought it was a nice idea that the hospital had markings so you knew how far you were going.
Surgery details. My surgeon said the best way to describe my valve was "one of the nastiest he had ever seen". He said it had enormous vegitation all over it. He said there were 2 "strings of calcification" about 2 inches long he felt were ready to break away, turning into blood clots, and giving me a stroke. He felt we made the right choice for timing of the surgery. "Got it done just in time", he said. He was able to use the valve we decided on earlier, a Stentless Bovine. He used a 27mm. He said I will have a remarable increase in cardiac output. Diameter increased more than triple!!!
I don't know if I ever said this, but my surgery was done at Hamot Heart Institute in Erie, Pa. Dr. Stephen Pett was my savior, or did I mean to say surgeon
At 8 days post-op, I still have pain when I cough. I can't get a good, deep cough yet. However, I am getting enough "little coughs" to coax up the phlem from my lungs. My upper chest, neck, and shoulders are still sore, but only when I try to stand up, sit, or lay down. If I don't use those muscles, they don't hurt. I need a break for now so I'll finish this later. Thanks for all the support you sent for my wife and I and I am so glad to be on this side now!!!
I am going to post a message later on "For the Big Guys" that will have some helpful and useful info I wish I knew beforehand.
As you all know by now I came home Thursday. Had planned on being released Tuesday, but my blood gases slipped down to 82 - 85 and my doc wouldn't let me go until I got back into 90's. Wednesday I woke up, the nurse put the machine on my finger and I hit a 97!!! Yahoo!!! A short while later, the doc's assistant came in to go over the release instructions and to look me over once more. "Looks like you have an infection starting around your incision", she said. Started me on antibiotics, "just in case", and ordered a CT Scan to check it out. Turned out to be no infection, just tape sensitivity. So, I was released Thursday and it's great to be home!!!
Waking up with the tube in my throat wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. For those still waiting, just remember to pay attention to what the nurse says, follow her directions EXACTLY, and the tubes come out quickly. Everything the nurse says and does is like little "tests" to see how alert you are. Once she knows you are fully alert, she gets the tube out.
As my wife told you all, the worst of my pain was from the chest tubes. Each breath was a very, very painful experience. This caused me to use very light, quick breaths. Forget the deep breathing!!! I couldn't get the spirometer over 500!!! Then the nurse gave me a good dose of Toradol and I was in heaven. I was told it is an anti-inflamatory. They figured the chest tubes were inflaming some muscles along there path so they tried it and it was the best thing for me. I never had morphine again. I think I only had 2 or 3 shots of it and the rest of the way I got Toradol. Some in the "waiting room" may want to remember this and suggest it to there doctors. The day before release, I was switched to Relefen (another anti-inflamation) and it is working well for me.
Like most of the rest of you "veterans", I did end up with one nurse in ICU who "knew it all". Fortunately, I only had her for 4 hours because she was like an overlap nurse. I asked for a shot of Toradol, explaining the previous nurse tried it as a morphine substitute and it worked well. This nurse didn't like being told something from another nurse, so it was morphine or nothing!!! I am usually not a name dropper and unfortunately for her I never mentioned my cousins position to her (although it was in my chart, in big red letters. Must be she didn't read my chart too thoroughly either). To make a long story short, my cousin reported the incident to the ICU Nurse Manager.
My first walk scared the hell out of me, (day 2, ICU, 8AM) I went about 25 yards down the hall, then back to my bed. When I got back, I was really short of breath, light headed and dizzy. Come to find out later it was all caused by the chest tube pain and not breathing well enough as I walked. (Remember, the night nurse gave me morphine???) After the Toradol, my walking was great. Each hour, I walked a total of 560 feet. I thought it was a nice idea that the hospital had markings so you knew how far you were going.
Surgery details. My surgeon said the best way to describe my valve was "one of the nastiest he had ever seen". He said it had enormous vegitation all over it. He said there were 2 "strings of calcification" about 2 inches long he felt were ready to break away, turning into blood clots, and giving me a stroke. He felt we made the right choice for timing of the surgery. "Got it done just in time", he said. He was able to use the valve we decided on earlier, a Stentless Bovine. He used a 27mm. He said I will have a remarable increase in cardiac output. Diameter increased more than triple!!!
I don't know if I ever said this, but my surgery was done at Hamot Heart Institute in Erie, Pa. Dr. Stephen Pett was my savior, or did I mean to say surgeon
At 8 days post-op, I still have pain when I cough. I can't get a good, deep cough yet. However, I am getting enough "little coughs" to coax up the phlem from my lungs. My upper chest, neck, and shoulders are still sore, but only when I try to stand up, sit, or lay down. If I don't use those muscles, they don't hurt. I need a break for now so I'll finish this later. Thanks for all the support you sent for my wife and I and I am so glad to be on this side now!!!
I am going to post a message later on "For the Big Guys" that will have some helpful and useful info I wish I knew beforehand.
