New Official Surgery Date

[ottagal]

I finally have my new surgery date.

So....7 more weeks to go. Woo hoo!

CT angio showed that my arteries are clear (very happy to hear). I also spent 1/2 day in pre-admission today. Everyone was so great with me and my husband; however, I have to admit that the anesthetist did scare the daylights out of me with some of the what-ifs. She also told me that I am no longer in the severe category, but critical (not what you real want to hear) and I could drop dead beforehand (I think I heard that one before and not what you want to hear while planning for surgery) So, I have tucked that piece of info away and am going to try and focus on staying positive and hopefully busy and in zen mode.

Thanks for all your listening and support! It is so greatly appreciated.

 

[hall]

Glad you have your date. Hope the time goes fast for you.

 

[Eva]

I am happy to hear the good news of the angiogram, Ottawagal, and may your surgery news after seven weeks be as good and your healing be fast.

 

[Star54]

I too am glad you have your date....BTW, the pre-op anesthetist scared the hell out of me too, and sounded like Bela Lugosi. I was praying that he would not be the last face I saw, (He was condensending and I got nasty), Thank God the anesthetist that I got for my operation was good looking and really nice (whew). They all have to tell you the "What if" scenarios, it's just the way they say it. I am sending good vibes to you from NY...catch em'
Godspeed.....

 

[ottagal]

Thanks for the support, Hall, Eva and Star54.

Star, here's hoping that I get the same good looking and nice anesthetist that you had. It would make my day.

 

[deano89]

glad to hear you have your date set , i got a booklet with the risks on anaesthetic with my confirmation letter this morning ,it does make interesting reading!

 

[Mentu]

Ottawa, since you have some time to prepare, you might want to look at the book "Coping With Heart Surgery and Bypassing Depression: A Family's Guide to the Medical, Emotional, and Practical Issues" by Carol Cohan, Carol Cohan MA, and June B. Pimm Ph.D. (Paperback - Nov 1997). It seems to be a pretty practical look at some of the problems of preparing for surgery and then preparing for recovery. At www.amazon.com you can get a used copy for about $7.00. Like world class atheletes, I think we have to start this process focusing on the goal we are all reaching for, a good recovery and getting our normal lives back. I hope all goes well with you; just don't sweat the little things.

 

[escargome]

Sending positive thoughts in your direction. I will be thinking and praying for you on the 27th. Keep faith and know we are here to listen and cheer for you.

 

[Bina]

Are they letting you drive a car?
I was having a final echo just a few weeks before my surgery, and that particular cardio
looked at it on the monitor and promptly told me "NO driving."
Not exactly what I wanted to hear, but probably good advice since I had horrible symptoms.

October 27 is a Tuesday.....good day for a surgery.
Don't forget to bring along a Hallowe'en costume and candy for the nurses.
The countdown begins.......

 

[njean]

Ok, so Oct 27th is official! It is the date that you will get fixed up so that you can go on with the rest of your life, feeling better than ever before!

I will log your surgery date on the calendar & I want to send prayers & good wishes to you!

Godspeed!

 

[netmiff]

yup, gotta love those stats! I met anaesthetist-of-the-day at the pre-admit clinic, but never met the one that actually was there on the day; however, the perfusionist (the guy who runs the bypass machine) came in and said "Hi" before they wheeled me away; he was the first, only and last person I remember seeing in OR, except the voice off-stage that informed me that they were going to give me something to help me relazzzzzzzzzz . . .

Don't do any heavy lifting or anything strenous, and you should be OK. My arteries, too, were clear, and I kept saying to myself I at least KNOW I will not have a heart attack between now and then .

 

[Nupur]

Glad you have a date, pretty soon you will be one of the "graduates" : ) Wishing you the very best... btw, I loved what Robin Williams said about his anesthesiologist on David Letterman show, "I would like to thank you, but I can't remember your name, you are that good..." I thought that was funny.

 

[pamela]

Take it easy during your wait time and take advantage of all the people who offer help. They wouldn't offer if it wasn't in them to give. It will do everyone in the exchange some heart good.

I'm glad to hear you're able to wait and that you should have a happy, rested and focussed surgeon for your OHS.

Take Heart,
Pamela.

 

[ottagal]

Thank you again everyone for the well wishes, prayers and support. All of a sudden, this all became 'very real'. I know that you can all relate.

Bina, nothing was mentioned about not driving. I am wondering if it because I am not severely symptomatic. Yes, I will have to think of a Halloween costume for the hospital. Any ideas??

Nupur, that was a great line that Robin Williams used re: anaesthetist. I had a good chuckle over that. Thanks!

Thank-you for putting me on the calendar Norma and the prayers!

Netmiff and Pamela, I will try and take advantage of help offered (not always easy for me) and relax. Good suggestions.

Certainly appreciate the prayers, escargome.

Mentu and dean089, I am thinking of you both and will be sending positive vibes and cheering you on for a positive outcome with your surgeries and a speedy recovery.

 

[zipper2]

Finally (yes) Oct 27 is great and praying for you as you wait
waiting always so difficult in this but having the official date
makes it confirmed and easier to deal with.
get rested up as you need the rest for surgery and keep your
mind occupied on positive thoughts cus waitings all about worry
and what ifs.....a wasted waiting energy for us as we been there
most all of us. So happy this is nearing closer to end for you
and soon you'll be posting in post surgery your experiences to help
all yet to happen newbies....HURRAY HAPPY for you...God bless

 

[DebbyA]

I hope you have an easy glide to Oct 27. Now that you have that date, it really helps to start thinking about 2-month, 6-month, etc celebrations or excursions afterward.

 

[Mileena46]

I too, wish you the best on this journey! It must be really hard, being given a date and then the wait. I didn't really have to do this, as mine was kind of an emergency...but it seems that most of the folks here had a date and a wait. I am thankful I didn't have to do that. I am adding my prayers to all the others and remember if I can do it..(big chicken that I am!) You can do it!

Mileena

 

[Anne-Marie]

Ah, so I didn't miss your surgury. I was reading fast last night (bad habit of logging on at work and speed reading), and thought I missed it. I take back the apology!

I had a very good experience with the Heart Institute. I was told that they only hire "the best of the best"...but I can't remember who told me that.

The waiting is hard, but visiting and reading this site will really help prepare for the surgery.

A-M

 

[ottagal]

Zipper, DebbyA, Mileena and Anne-Marie. Thank you all for the encouragement and support! It means so much.

In a weird way, I am actually a little relieved. I feel like I have been waiting for a surgery date since April 08 when I was told that the condition was severe and surgery would be imminent (6 mos.-2 years). That was brutal. Hopefully, 7 weeks will fly by!! I am making a 'to do' list to keep myself pre-occupied. I am sure the week before my surgery will be the tough one.

DebbyA, I like your idea of setting some goals and making plans for 2 months and 6 months post-op. Perhaps, I can convince my husband to take that trip to Ireland that we were supposed to take last spring (until I got the bad cardio news and was afraid to leave the country ).

Another question has come to mind:
For those of you who have had OHS, were you told that it would take 4-6 Months for the sternum to heal. This was what I was told at my pre-admission appt. I had been under the impression that it would take 4-6 weeks for the sternum to heal. I presume they used months for 'fully' healed.
Does this make sense?

 

[Cozycat]

Ottawagal, glad you finally got the date. I think once you have an actual day and date to focus on, the time seems to go by much swifter (except the last day or two, which seem to drag). You are totally correct about talking with the anestheologist. I had absolutely no fear or reservations about my surgery until after talking with her. I don't know why, but after listening to her talk about the bypass machine and how it operates I felt really strange. Luckily this was just a couple days before surgery so not too much time to worry.

Think you need to take some vampire teeth with you to hospital for Halloween. By the time you get out of the hospital you will feel like you've have a swarm of them biting on your arms. I never counted how many times a day they drew blood, but it was way too many!

Personally, I don't think your sternum heals in 4-6 weeks. It heals enough so that you can drive and do some other mundane chores but I'm 7 months out and my body still tells me if I'm stressing my sternum too much. In this case, think caution is the best thing. Lifting things over my head seems to be where I get the warnings. If I go to put a box that is a little heavy on a top shelf, it doesn't hurt but I get this "tingling" feeling in the area of my incision. So I just back off and try again in a week or two.

Sending wishes for a peaceful wait.

Midge