How much time off work?

[vtwhip]

My husband will be having aortic valve replacement surgery soon, although it's not scheduled yet. My question is how much time from work should I expect to take off? From the research I've done, it sounds like three weeks, approximately. What are your experiences?

 

[Nugrandma1]

Yes 3 to 4 weeks for a non stress job I would think, no heavy lifting a desk job. Then 8 weeks for one that you have to pick things up and move them, an more manual labor job. Take as much time as your allowed. Go on short term disability from his company.
Good luck
My hubby came home today, he's feeling so much better, took a long nap after a late lunch..now he's up and walking around the house. He's so very happy to be home. and doing so well.
So am I...long hard stressful week. Tomorrow I'm going to go in the pool and float around for the afternoon with a tall cold drink.

Good luck I found this site only a few days ago and learned a lot. Wish I had found it before surgery.
Pati

 

[ALCapshaw2]

The USUAL recommendation from surgeons is for a 6 week absense from work for OHS, assuming NO complications.

Complications are assessed on an individual basis.

Some patients find it necessary to start back on a part time basis for a couple of weeks.

FULL recovery 'back to normal' can take several months
(6 to 18 months is not uncommon).

 

[Susan BAV]

My husband will be having aortic valve replacement surgery soon, although it's not scheduled yet. My question is how much time from work should I expect to take off? From the research I've done, it sounds like three weeks, approximately. What are your experiences?

Welcome to the site.

Since you are new, I hope you find this reply because I see it is the first reply on the second page. I had a little trouble when I first joined, keeping track of posts and pages and such. [edit - I see the administration has begun a new thread for you here; nice.]

So, your question is, how long should you take off work to help your husband following his valve replacement?

I'll give you a quick run-by of my experience: my husband was with me at the hospital for a week. Then I was kind of sick and weak with some post-op A-fib/A-flutter for another week, not wanting to go back into the hospital. I eventually did go back into the hospital for a couple of days to be put on an antiarrhythmia medication. When we got back, I did like for him to be pretty close for a few days. Some members have recovered even more quickly, and some have needed more care, but three weeks might be enough for you to help your husband. From the experiences I have read here, it seems that at least one post-op complication is not unusual, such as an arrhythmia issue or pericarditis.

He probably will be told not to drive for 6-8 weeks, so he will need someone to take him for some followup visits to the doctor's and such; and if he is put on Coumadin, he will need someone to take him for the blood draws during that time also.

Many members here have also gone to cardio rehab following their surgeries. Some begin fairly quickly, after a few weeks, and some begin later. If your husband goes to that before his driving restriction is lifted, he would need transportation for that also.

Feel free to start your own thread, either in pre-surgery or heart talk or wherever you feel fits your questions. Hoping all goes well for your husband. Best wishes and take care .

 

[Bina]

My case is a far extreme....OHS in Oct 2005 and hubby had 5 wks vacation. After that I was still very weak and it was the middle of a bad winter so Hubby then worked from home for another 2 months.

 

[WayneGM]

I was told 10 - 12 weeks. I took the 12. However, I had short term disability benefits at work so there was no financial considerations to deal with.

 

[Superbob]

If I understand correctly, you are asking about how much time should YOU expect to take off to help your husband with recovery, before he is able to do enough for himself during the day while you are away at work.

Of course, that will vary according to how recovery is going. But I would say that for a recovery with no complications, three weeks sounds about right. I can speak only from my experience. By that time, I was puttering around the house pretty well. Of course, it would be prudent to have some backup plan, perhaps someone nearby to help out if he had an unexpected setback while you were at work.

 

[shellyb]

My husband had his surgery out-of-state so we were gone a week and a half for that. I stayed home with him the day after we got home and then he encouraged me to go back to work. I think it really varies depending on if there are any complications or not. I filled out paperwork for FMLA but ended up missing less than two weeks of work.

shellyb

 

[MNmom]

These responses are interesting to read! I just had surgery June 4. My husband took about a week off work- the day before surgery (Tuesday) through the weekend and was back to work the next Tuesday, the day before I got "released" from the hospital. BUT- I was very fortunate to have my parents, my aunt, and my sister in law to help with me and the kids and driving, etc. so my husband could go back to work without leaving me home. All in all, I had help until my driving priviliages were reinstated- 4 weeks for me. If you are lucky enough to have people nearby offering to help- take it! Now is the time! We accepted more help than ever in our 8 year marriage.
Best of luck to your husband, and to you! I think after going through it all, my husband's job was worse than mine. I was well taken care of
Ingrid

 

[tobagotwo]

Most private insurance and disability programs allow six to eight weeks for recovery from an uncomplicated AVR or MVR (or repair). They tend to be frugal about these things, but that's a fair time span for most people.

However, most find that when they go back, it takes quite a bit more out of them than they expect for thte first few weeks. Stress is a bigger player in work than most people realize.

Best wishes,

 

[Cooker]

Depends on what the work is but I had my surgery on the 21st of February and back to work on April 1st.

 

[PairoDocs]

From Pairodocs-Laura

Welcome to the site.
So, your question is, how long should you take off work to help your husband following his valve replacement?

I, too read with interest the different replies, but I quoted Susan because I assume that is the question you had. My husband had to have an emergent mitral valve repair. Because we have two small children, I had to take the two days off before his transfer, and I had to go with him since he was unable to give consent or anything. He was hospitalized for 8 days at the hospital where he had his OHS, which was 120 miles from our home, so I had to stay there with him. I went back to work the day after he got home, and the only reason I got to do this was that my mother-in-law came and stayed with the kids and then stayed on to take care of my husband for a total of three weeks; my sister then came for a week and helped. All this during the Christmas holidays, too, but friends from church and school helped her as well. We were truly blessed to have all this help. My job was a new job, and I was worried that they would let me go if I couldn't keep up my end. By the time my sister had to leave, my husband was allowed to drive.

It's odd, but the only times my husband and I have been alone since the kids came have been when we've needed surgery. The only reason the kids didn't come with us is that we both had to have our surgeries so far from home. At times, as bizarre as it sounds, it was almost like a second honeymoon (without the "hanky-panky"). There is a lot of time to talk, and at times that is all we felt like doing. We both "run off at the mouth" when we get relieved of an anxiety-ridden situation, so you can imagine...

Remember the FMLA law states you can take 12 weeks, although none of them have to be paid.

Cooling off a bit in Idaho,
-Laura

 

[perrypiratesdad]

I was 8 weeks and that was mainly because I had to wait for the sternum to heal enough that I could drive.

 

[EVELYN]

Hi VT

From your post I thought you were asking for how much time YOU would have to take off from work to care for your hubby. If that's the case, I would suggest 2-3 weeks. Two would be the absolute minimum, IMHO, and three to give yourself some rest. I know my husband was pretty up and about, but not driving to appointments, etc. Personally, I just wanted to be with him though it all.

Evelyn

 

[pamela]

Hi VT,
Now is the time to lean on family and friends. Take as much time as you need to be with him and to assure yourself he's getting along well. If your insurance covers homecare post-op then that can be an avenue to make sure he's getting a nursing professional's advice and input regularly.

If he's got a parent or sibling he wouldn't mind spending time with and who is able to give some time to you, then asking for their help would be a smart move.

Finances can be an added stress, I'd take any assistance available that you're comfortable with. Your husband will be happy napping and taking walks throughout the day. Your help will come with meal prep and his bathing and dressing, the rest of the time will be what keeps you happy and comfortable as well.

Take Heart, my hopes for a smooth and speedy recovery are with you, too.
Pamela.

 

[kfay]

My husband took off about 3 weeks...however, we had to travel for my surgery and I was in the hospital for 9 days plus several days before hand for tests. So, I really only had him home with me afterward for 1 week which was fine. I didn't have any problem once he went back to work.

Kim

 

[russell55]

I'm probably not typical but...

I'm probably not typical but...

Because of a possible infection, I stayed a little longer in hospital. When I came home I was able to get out of bed by myself, cook do anything I needed to. So my wife only took off the day of the operation and that's about it

Now I should say that I was also on a home IV and therefore had a daily visit from a nurse. There was no real need for my wife to stay home.

Jim

 

[terryj]

When my husband had his AVR I was able to use sick leave and stayed out of work three weeks. He was in the hospital for eight days. He went back to work after eight weeks on light duty. He works in a factory as a Maintenance Mechanic. He was back on full duty after three weeks.

 

[cday]

I would think as little as 2 weeks would be fine if you have the sort of job you could take him to rehab or run home at lunch if needed.

 

[vtwhip]

Thanks

Thanks

First, I have to thank the administrator for moving my question to its own thread , being new to this I really didn't know what I was doing. I appreciate the advice from your experiences. We don't have any family here in Vermont so I'm a little nervous about what to do after my husband's surgery. I'm a teacher so this is going to coincide with the beginning of the school year, unfortunately, but my principal has assured me that I can take whatever time is needed. Transportation to appointments will be tough after I'm back to work. I'm so happy to have found this forum to air my concerns to someone other than my husband and add to his stress.