J
John M C
I had my surgery on Monday, May 12 at University of Penn. All went well and I was released on the following Saturday. I am 53yo and received a tissue aortic valve. I had read this site completely prior to surgery and becasue of that I was very well prepared in most areas. But I was not prepared for the post surgical life style.
It is now June 27 and for the first time I have been able to sleep through the night so I feel that I am finally getting back to nurmal.
The nights were the toughest for me otherwise the pain was an minor annoyance unless of course there was a cough or sneeze. [My first sneeze was June 3rd. Funny that I should remember that] The amount of sleeping really took me by surprise.
I had put a recliner in my bedroom at the suggestion of a friend. What a great idea. There was something about trying to sleep even with medication in a lying down position. That recliner saved quite a few night sleeps.
I was really not aware of the "life style" that was to be after surgery during the day. I was planning to get a whole bunch of "light" projects done around the house. I had never been off from work like this before and I was optimistic about what would be done on my "light work" to-do list.
Answer: Nothing. Those first four weeks were spent just sleeping and doing my two half hour walks a day. Never napped so much in my life. I'd try to do "computer" type things between naps only to find that my concentration was just not there and I'd give up on the effort.
I decided to cut the lawn on a tractor on the 4th week after surgery. I had forced myself to walk behind a spreader the third week following surgery; so how could cutting the grass be a big deal. What a mistake!! All that turning made me sore for at least the next 2 weeks; a major setback
My lesson learned. Give yourself time to heal and don't push it as I did.
In my case there were no recovery issues associated on the heart/valve side of the surgery; the chest bones and muscles were the ony things that affected me.
It is now June 27 and for the first time I have been able to sleep through the night so I feel that I am finally getting back to nurmal.
The nights were the toughest for me otherwise the pain was an minor annoyance unless of course there was a cough or sneeze. [My first sneeze was June 3rd. Funny that I should remember that] The amount of sleeping really took me by surprise.
I had put a recliner in my bedroom at the suggestion of a friend. What a great idea. There was something about trying to sleep even with medication in a lying down position. That recliner saved quite a few night sleeps.
I was really not aware of the "life style" that was to be after surgery during the day. I was planning to get a whole bunch of "light" projects done around the house. I had never been off from work like this before and I was optimistic about what would be done on my "light work" to-do list.
Answer: Nothing. Those first four weeks were spent just sleeping and doing my two half hour walks a day. Never napped so much in my life. I'd try to do "computer" type things between naps only to find that my concentration was just not there and I'd give up on the effort.
I decided to cut the lawn on a tractor on the 4th week after surgery. I had forced myself to walk behind a spreader the third week following surgery; so how could cutting the grass be a big deal. What a mistake!! All that turning made me sore for at least the next 2 weeks; a major setback
My lesson learned. Give yourself time to heal and don't push it as I did.
In my case there were no recovery issues associated on the heart/valve side of the surgery; the chest bones and muscles were the ony things that affected me.
