Husband's Surgery May 7, Northwestern (and a Thank You)

[AmandaPS]

Greetings,

I have been lurking on this board for some time and decided to de-lurk today in order to thank you all. My 36-year-old husband is having his bicuspid valve replaced on Monday by Dr. McCarthy at Northwestern in Chicago. He was born with a BAV, so we always knew surgery would happen someday. Once "someday" had a name and date, though, it has been a whirlwind of activity and info overload.

I am immensely grateful for this board. I think I've read TheGymGuy's weekly surgery and recovery recaps about 6 times (also had the hubby read them) and they've really helped us prepare. I will try to take good notes in the coming weeks and collaborate with my husband so that I can hopefully give back by writing a couple posts myself.

I've been coping by buying things that help me feel prepared, including a heart rate monitor so we can compare current heart rate to post-surgery/recovery heart rate, Adam Pick's e-book, a recliner, some pillows, a heart pillow with my husband's favorite baseball team logo, and these easy on and off 'shoulder shirts'. After the shirts, I had to stop myself! I guess I'll be able to report soon on how useful or not useful these items are.

Thanks for sharing your stories. You've really helped me.

Amanda

 

[escargome]

Amanda,
Welcome to the valve family. i am glad that you and your hubby have been able to glean information that has answered your questions, made you laugh (I hope) and generally made you feel informed. We will look forward to your postings to update on on the 7th and going forward. The very best wishes to you both for a successful surgery and a great recovery. Also don't forget to take care of yourself Amanda, you need your rest also. :biggrin2:

 

[RTZdad]

Welcome Amanda! My thoughts and prayers will be with you and your husband on Monday. I'm confident that the surgery will go well. I look forward to reading your reports from recovery. Take care.

Tom

 

[clfhangr]

Hey there Amanda tell your husband that he and I will have the same anniversery date and I look forward to celebrating it with him in 2013 and the years beyond.
I will be having a total root with avr done on the 7th.
Lots of love to you and your husband.
Keith

 

[clfhangr]

By the way this is my second go around. I had my aortic valve replaced in 05 with a mechanical valve.

 

[AmandaPS]

Thanks for the kind notes.

Keith, I'll be thinking of you on Monday and sending good thoughts and positive vibes.

 

[Greg a]

WELCOME WELCOME WELCOME, I have added you to the family calendar and as such you will be in the family thoughts and prayers on Monday//////keep us updated on the journey

Godspeed

 

[epstns]

Amanda - Say HI to Dr. McCarthy for me! He is a pretty serious guy, but he is VERY good at what he does. Actually the entire team there at Northwestern are very good at all they do. They made my stays there a lot better than I thought they would be. (I was there for my valve/bypass/pacemaker, and then again a month later for a digestive system tune-up after the surgical meds messed me up.)

While I was in ICU, my wife and daughter stayed at a hotel around the corner from the hospital. That way they could conveniently visit at odd times without having to drive all the way back home.

If you have any specific questions about Dr. McCarthy, Northwestern or any of what I did/experienced there, just shoot me a PM.

Tell your hubby he will do fine. As Dr. McCarthy says. . . "I have to admit that I am not the number 1 guy in the country for your procedure, but I AM number 2."

 

[Bean Counter]

Best of luck to him.....he will be in great hands there.

 

[TheGymGuy]

The toughest part is waiting now. Things are going to work out just fine. Take care of yourself Amanda, rest and eat well. Remember that you are there to support your husband, but you also need rest. Observing my wife post surgery I can tell you that it was hard on her, possibly even harder than it was on me.

 

[AmandaPS]

Thanks again, everybody. Your thoughts and posts are comforting.

Steve - love the quote from Dr McCarthy. Devon (my husband) really liked Dr McCarthy's straightforward approach and personality. He immediately trusted him. I tried to get a room next to the hotel, but the Restaurant show is in town and everything is sold out. I'm going to have to play things by ear.

Thanks, TheGymGuy! Your posts have been so great in helping us prepare. The anxiety of waiting is definitely difficult. I threw a "May the Fourth Be With You" party last night in support of Devon and to get all of our friends together to offer good vibes. It was a good night.

Now we prep for Monday, 5:30 am....

Thanks again.

 

[epstns]

Well, if worse comes to worse, once Devon is out of intensive care, the regular patient rooms in the heart ward are all private rooms and each room has a pull-out bed so that a family member can stay the night. At least you would have a place to sleep, and couldn't be much closer. I just can't say how often your sleep would be interrupted.

Hang in there, both of you. We're here for you and will be here when you come back to post Devon's great post-op progress reports.

 

[Mike59]

Best wishes for successful surgery

My prayers are with you

 

[bocco]

Hope all is going well and we will be hearing good news soon.

 

[AmandaPS]

Thank you! Surgery went well, no problems and Dr McCarthy said he was very pleased. Devon is in the ICU now, and I know he's desperate to get his breathing tube out. They say he's breathing well but he's having some trouble staying awake and the machine has to kick back in. Hoping it all wears off soon so he can be tube-free soon.

 

[Bean Counter]

Great to hear!

 

[TheGymGuy]

Excellent news!!!!!! Looking forward to seeing you guys out of ICU and in the step down. I hope to read a took my first walk post soon

 

[Mom2izzy]

Great news!

 

[epstns]

Cool! Soon they will have the tube out. After that sleep is so much better. . .

 

[Gregg]

Amanda

Like Steve, I am also an alum from the Northwestern / Dr. McCarthy team....

Please feel free to contact me with any questions you guys might have.

Gregg