G
Guest
I selected a mechanical valve, which was decided by the surgeon would be a St. Jude Regent valve. I required only the valve replacement and not any aortic graft work. This allowed my surgeon to perform a minimally invasive procedure where and incision was made on my right side and one rib was detached from my sternum for clearance, then reattached once the surgery was complete, using a titanium plate.
9/7/2016
Surgery day. I arrived at the hospital before 6AM with a scheduled start time of around 8:30AM. I had the usual prep work done including the body shaving. During this time I was given a "happy shot" in the butt. That is pretty much all I remember. My wife said I was "feeling pretty happy" at that point and was rolled back with a big smile on my face.
Surgery started at 8:40AM. The surgeon stated that it should take about four hours. Updates were given to my family every hour to hour and a half. With the noon update it was stated that they were still working on me a bit longer. At 3PM they called to say that I was being closed up and that I was off bypass.
About 15 minutes later the surgeon came out and said that there was a leak from my incision which he needed to take care of. At 5:30PM the surgeon came out to say that he had resolved the bleeding / leak issue. Apparently I had more muscle than he had originally thought, and that made the procedure take longer than expected. My wife was assured that there was nothing to worry about.
10PM - breathing tube removed. I do not remember this, fortunately. My mind is a blur during this period, which was fine with me.
9/8
9:30AM next morning - moved from CVRU to intermediate care.
10:45 AM - Up and walking around. I think I walked two or three "laps" around the floor with the assistance of a stand-up cart which supports your outstretched arms.
In the following days my walking increased greatly and I no longer needed the cart on the second day.
9/9
10AM - EKG "showed a change".
11:45 - ECHO was performed and pericarditis was diagnosed.
9/10
10AM - Two chest tubes out, catheter out, central line out. At some point I lost my voice.
5PM - Coumadin started
9/11 - Nothing notable that I can remember
9/12
INR was 1.3. I still had pericarditis. Voice is coming back, though.
Pacing wires removed. I could barely feel this.
9/13
INR 1.75
Started eating much better and tapering back on pain meds. Up until today I have really only wanted to eat fruit and yogurt.
Last drain removed
9/14
INR 2.01
Discharged from the hospital
At home I feel great and although there is still some pain, I am only taking a single pain pill at night to help me sleep. Since I had the minimally invasive procedure and not the full sternotomy, I am easily able to get out of bed and move around. I can still do the "sit up" movement which is helping my mobility greatly. I feel very fortunate to have had the minimally invasive procedure. I am most comfortable sleeping on my back. I was able to sleep in my bed from the first day. I have not had to wear compression socks at all.
I have been on a mission to walk more and move every day, and since I feel great, it is hard not to keep pushing harder... Last weekend I started too get a low-grade fever (99.5 dg or so) one night, so they put me on an antibiotic. This of course affected my INR level (decreased it to about 1.9), so I was advised to increase Coumadin dose to 5MG, and I will be rechecked tomorrow to see where I stand.
I think that today and one other day, one day I did over-do it a little bit. This just resulted in my over-exhaustion. Also the nurse said I looked a bit pale which is quite common, so they did blood work and have had me increase my aspirin dose to aid with my platelet count being a bit too high. Also I was told to eat red meat, which I have been having fun doing for a few days now.
I can't really say my brain is 100% normal, but I am getting there! I have had some weird dreams, night sweats, and a few other normal effects. The very odd thing to me is that since I have been home and even in the hospital, I have been so happy. I cannot even explain it. I have been kissing my wife a lot and generally I am just very happy to be alive. Even when waking up with night sweats or having weird dreams, I am laughing to myself and my wife. I have been very chatty at night which I am pretty sure is getting on her nerves.
But she's so awesome and is taking it in stride, also quite happy that the hard part is behind us.
"Heart - Strange Euphoria". How appropriate.
Thanks SO MUCH to all the members of this forum for the great insight and peace I have gained which allowed me to prepare myself for this! I feel like it's all minor details from here! I already feel a lot better and I am ready for my minimal scar to heal the rest of the way, and to get on with life!
9/7/2016
Surgery day. I arrived at the hospital before 6AM with a scheduled start time of around 8:30AM. I had the usual prep work done including the body shaving. During this time I was given a "happy shot" in the butt. That is pretty much all I remember. My wife said I was "feeling pretty happy" at that point and was rolled back with a big smile on my face.
Surgery started at 8:40AM. The surgeon stated that it should take about four hours. Updates were given to my family every hour to hour and a half. With the noon update it was stated that they were still working on me a bit longer. At 3PM they called to say that I was being closed up and that I was off bypass.
About 15 minutes later the surgeon came out and said that there was a leak from my incision which he needed to take care of. At 5:30PM the surgeon came out to say that he had resolved the bleeding / leak issue. Apparently I had more muscle than he had originally thought, and that made the procedure take longer than expected. My wife was assured that there was nothing to worry about.
10PM - breathing tube removed. I do not remember this, fortunately. My mind is a blur during this period, which was fine with me.
9/8
9:30AM next morning - moved from CVRU to intermediate care.
10:45 AM - Up and walking around. I think I walked two or three "laps" around the floor with the assistance of a stand-up cart which supports your outstretched arms.
In the following days my walking increased greatly and I no longer needed the cart on the second day.
9/9
10AM - EKG "showed a change".
11:45 - ECHO was performed and pericarditis was diagnosed.
9/10
10AM - Two chest tubes out, catheter out, central line out. At some point I lost my voice.
5PM - Coumadin started
9/11 - Nothing notable that I can remember
9/12
INR was 1.3. I still had pericarditis. Voice is coming back, though.
Pacing wires removed. I could barely feel this.
9/13
INR 1.75
Started eating much better and tapering back on pain meds. Up until today I have really only wanted to eat fruit and yogurt.
Last drain removed
9/14
INR 2.01
Discharged from the hospital
At home I feel great and although there is still some pain, I am only taking a single pain pill at night to help me sleep. Since I had the minimally invasive procedure and not the full sternotomy, I am easily able to get out of bed and move around. I can still do the "sit up" movement which is helping my mobility greatly. I feel very fortunate to have had the minimally invasive procedure. I am most comfortable sleeping on my back. I was able to sleep in my bed from the first day. I have not had to wear compression socks at all.
I have been on a mission to walk more and move every day, and since I feel great, it is hard not to keep pushing harder... Last weekend I started too get a low-grade fever (99.5 dg or so) one night, so they put me on an antibiotic. This of course affected my INR level (decreased it to about 1.9), so I was advised to increase Coumadin dose to 5MG, and I will be rechecked tomorrow to see where I stand.
I think that today and one other day, one day I did over-do it a little bit. This just resulted in my over-exhaustion. Also the nurse said I looked a bit pale which is quite common, so they did blood work and have had me increase my aspirin dose to aid with my platelet count being a bit too high. Also I was told to eat red meat, which I have been having fun doing for a few days now.
I can't really say my brain is 100% normal, but I am getting there! I have had some weird dreams, night sweats, and a few other normal effects. The very odd thing to me is that since I have been home and even in the hospital, I have been so happy. I cannot even explain it. I have been kissing my wife a lot and generally I am just very happy to be alive. Even when waking up with night sweats or having weird dreams, I am laughing to myself and my wife. I have been very chatty at night which I am pretty sure is getting on her nerves.
But she's so awesome and is taking it in stride, also quite happy that the hard part is behind us. "Heart - Strange Euphoria". How appropriate.
Thanks SO MUCH to all the members of this forum for the great insight and peace I have gained which allowed me to prepare myself for this! I feel like it's all minor details from here! I already feel a lot better and I am ready for my minimal scar to heal the rest of the way, and to get on with life!
