Peaceful thoughts as you were just about to go under before surgery

[Heart Of The Sunrise]

Thanks, to all. The waiting is extremely difficult. I have difficulty sleeping.....afraid I won't wake-up....I know this makes no sense....I am fine during the day when focused on work or household chores...I am managing to get by on minimal sleep.....I will soon meet my surgeon ...he is one of the best.....next up.......follow-up to last weeks tee and cath with cardiologist....prelim said mitral valve ok and no coronary blockages.....so I am facing the typical BAV-AVR and AR repair. Keeping my mind off the pending surgery is extremely difficult. I looking forward to the results of cardio/surgeon consultations and learning what my options are. Thanks to all. I look forward to being on the other side of the mountain so I can help others with facing these life changing events and decisions.

 

[katm]

I agree night time is the worse, when you have no distractions. How was the cath? I get that done on Thursday.. I think also the reaction you get from people when you tell them that you are going to have this surgery doesnt help, lol. Some actually gasp in horror. I guess I would have too before all this. I am so happy for this site and all the conversations that go on. They have provided a great deal of info that I dont think I would have gotten from my surgeon without asking the questions first. I too am still on the fence about which valve to go with. My husband and surgeon are advocates for the the bovine but in reading some of the threads here, the mechanical sounds better long term. MOstly the reasons my doc is somewhat discouraging to mechanical for me, these threads say the opposite. I know everyone is diff and basically my opinion is to have the surgeon put in the one that seems best suited for me at the time of surgery. Time will tell.

 

[Heart Of The Sunrise]

The cath went fine... do not remember a thing. I was on what I think is called conscious sedation. I had the cath and a transespohgeal echo at the same time. I am lucky that my significant other's son works in the cath lab. Most of the staff have been to our house. I was treated like family.My cardilogist is excellent and his practice is associated with the University of Pennsylvania where I will be having the surgery done by an excellent surgeon.
Initially they thought they could do the cath through my wrist. But, then determined that the groin was the better option. Results of cath and TEE. Mitral valve fine, absolutely no coronary heart disease. Only, minor issue was bleeding from my cath wound after my first walk. Quickly, stopped. They used a "Star Closure" to close wound. I left dressing on for three days. No other problems. I was advised not to drive, so I carpooled with a co-worker. All and all as uncomfortable as I am with this I am blessed that I recently found out about this.The upcoming operation will save and improve my life. I agree this site is a blessing and I will be on it regularly long after full recovery to help others who must face these fears and challenges

 

[Superman]

Prior to going to sleep, I focused on nailing my opening joke for the nurses for when I woke up from surgery and had the breathing tube removed. For the record, the joke was "Am I in heaven or . . . Cleveland?"

OK, it wasn't a great joke and it didn't get huge laughs, but under the circumstances I thought it was pretty good.

The opening line is a good thing to prep for if you can. Mine was more spontanious. When they noticed I was awake, they asked how I was doing. My response, "Feeling pretty sexy.". Not sure where that came from, because i wasn't - but those were the first words out of my mouth.

For the record, that did get a laugh.

 

[VegasBAV]

When they noticed I was awake, they asked how I was doing. My response, "Feeling pretty sexy.".

That's a good one!

 

[Gail in Ca]

For my 3rd surgery, I was talking and joking with the anethesiologist, my husband, the nurse, at 6am, and then they began wheeling me to the OR. I was out before I got there!
When I awoke, it was over, I was amazed at how good I felt. I kept wanting to reach for the ice chips and my personal ICU nurse, a great guy, had to keep telling me to stop reaching and let him do it.

 

[Debbrn]

My third OHS came to a surprise to me. I already had surgery at age 6 weeks and 6 years of age. I thought all of my surgeries were done. When I was 25 I was told I would need a tissue pulmonary valve placed. Being a nurse I knew that tissue valves did not last for ever and the this surgery also meant future surgeries. I went from thinking I would not need any more surgeries to knowing that I would always have a surgery in my future. I was angry, scared, etc. My mother knew I may need future surgery but did not feel it was important to tell me.

Anyway, when I found out I was scared out of my mind at first. I had 6 weeks from diagnosis to surgery. I was admitted the day before surgery. I had come to a complete peace that everything was going to be ok. God was going to take care of me. I slept 8 straight hours the night before surgery. When they were taking me to the OR 2 different staff members made a comment that they thought I was a christian because of the big smile on my face. I had no idea I was smiling. All I know is that I was relaxed.

My fourth surgery I had times when I was scared but not that bad. Having the pre-op MRI was the worst. The day of surgery was busy enough I did not have a lot of time to be scared.

Debbie