Tom,
I am sure your anxiety level is at the bursting point about now and I know nothing anyone can say will lower it. I will say that my experience was not nearly as traumatic as I had anticipated. I went in Friday morning of Memorial day and came home on Monday. I watched the Indy 500 (aka Danica Patrick 500) from my hospital bed. I am now four weeks post-op (May 27) and feel fine other than bouts of irregular heartbeat which I am told is normal for a while. I see my cardiologist on monday for my first post-op visit. I saw the surgeon last week and he said I was doing great and cleared me for driving. I am a little older than you (58) but very active and in great shape which I'm sure helped my recovery.
The worst part for me was waking up in ICU with the breathing tube in me. I lasted about five minutes before they concluded that I was not too pleased and I was breathing okay and pulled it. Having the surgery over was a relief and I ended up watching television for several hours before I went to sleep. The next morning they transferred me out of ICU to another room. I sat up and walked a little and had a shower on Sunday. I took my last pain pill Sunday about 2:00am. As with any hospital stay sleeping is difficult. My back hurt more from the hospital bed than my chest. I actually had more pain and trouble sleeping when I had my knee scoped a couple of years ago.
I was able to sleep on my back and side within a couple days. Positioning yourself takes a little patience, but I had no problems once in position. I had a few spells of light headiness and walked slowly for a few days after I got home, but I am now walking about an hour a day and other than the irregular heartbeat periods, feel fine.
Try not to worry and best of luck with the surgery. let us know how it goes.
Craig
