Hello. As of last night my dad was put in the step down unit. He hasn't walked much yet. I hope today they get him up and moving. He still complains of shortness of breath. The surgeon said the valve and heart are good. Good the surgery alone cause the shortness of breath. He felt better after his first OP surgery 6 years ago. Ugh! Mom and I are a bit stressed but he's moving along. We haven't called the hospital yet this morning but we are going there in a few hours. I get so nervous calling.
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Dad looks better today. He's more alert. He even went on his cell phone. He did develop subcutaneous emphysema in his right chest area which cause him to talk funny. They did a chest X-ray. Just needs time to go away. Anyone ever hear of that? It feels like Rice Krispies. It's air under the skin they said.
pellicle
Professional Dingbat, Guru and Merkintologist
Glad to hear your dad is on the mend 
Don't forget to take a step back and a deep breath yourself too
Don't forget to take a step back and a deep breath yourself too
My dad is home. He is on the mends but he is getting shortness of breath. He walks a few feet and it happens. He says it goes away with rest. He did get scared a little too. I'm scared. My mom is with him. I'm 35 mins away but a wreck today. Trying to get caught up on laundry and such. I'm just nervous because I'm not with them. Anyone else have shortness of breath like that after surgery? It's a week today.
Hi Joanne - a week out of surgery is a very short time. Many of us will have felt pretty rough, and that's without going through a second surgery like your dad. I had to go and see my GP 10 days after surgery and I could barely walk due to pain and other issues like fluid balances. If your parents are worried they should contact their GP, no point in being stoic, things change from day to day in the first few weeks so it is good to be able to speak to a doctor who can be involved. All the best….remember it's very early days.
Thank you for responding. Your right, it's very early in his healing stage. The thing is my dad had these symptoms before surgery so not getting the instant fix and feeling even worse scares him. And worries us. We were told shortness of breath is part of the healing process. Still so scary. He walks a few feet and it happens. He says it goes away with rest but one or 2 times it happened at rest. But went away. Just scary. I'm a nervous Nellie to begin with.
My dad is in the mend. The shortness of breath has subsided. It's not as bad as it was. He's walking and doing ok. Healing. But yesterday he developed bad heartburn. He's had it on and off now. It's affecting his sleeping. He's not sleeping good to begin with and I know that happens after major surgery. But the heartburn concerns me. I'm nervous about that. He's on a lot of medications and only one of them is new. I worry is this a heart attack or heart burn? It comes and goes. Horrible when he lays down. He burps a lot. He took some over the counter stuff which helps but the heartburn comes back. Anyone else experience this? My mom is calling the doctor today.
carolinemc
Well-known member
Hey guest, come back in to tell us how your dod is doing!
