Surgery Date Sept. 29th

[puckparent]

I thought I had the "luxury" of taking my time, going out-of-state to meet with surgeons before deciding on whether to use a local surgeon and had planned on doing the surgery the end of October or beginning of November. That all changed after meeting with both Dr. Mailaise and Dr. McCarthy at Northwestern who both told me that my aortic stenosis had reached the critical stage of 4.6 and that the surgery had to be done as soon as possible. That was 2 weeks ago. The soonest date that the surgery could be scheduled was Sept. 29th. It has been hectic with gum issues being resolved, including pulling a tooth, tests at Northwestern, cath and carotid ultrasound at Highland Park. I decided to use Dr. McCarthy. Just had better vibes with him and he did a great job on my son's surgery. It will be a tissue valve since that is what both doctors said to use since I am 68. I had a scare after the cath as when it came time to get up out of bed to go home I had no feeling in my right leg. That lasted a few hours. They were going to keep me overnight in the hospital but thankfully it wore off and I was able to walk and go home. It seems the nerve was also numbed and the medication needed to wear off.

When I was given the surgery date while sitting in McCarthy's office it was a shock at first that it was going to be finally happening and then it felt like a calmness came over me that I didn't have to worry anymore about who and where. Now, I am a nervous wreck and really scared. I am taking Lorzaepam twice a day now to take the edge off the nerves. We are going to go to our Wisconsin vacation home this weekend and I hope that I will feel more relaxed there. I will be glad to get through this next week and finally get it over with. I know my life will be much better afterwards.

Anyway, my surgery date is Thursday, September 29th at Northwestern. It is on Rosh Hashanah and all my friends tell me that is a "good" date as it will mean a good and healthy start to the "new year".

I want to thank everyone who answered my private messages and questions about various doctors and hospitals.

 

[escargome]

Well, congratulations on getting your surgery date. When I was waiting for my day to finally arrive I found I just got calmer cause as you said, no more worrying about the who, when or how of the situation. Hope your time at your vacation home allows you to fully rest and relax. See if you can get someone to keep us updated when the big day comes. Just think how great it will be to kick up your heels without having to struggle to breathe. Best Wishes To You.

 

[Bill B]

Remember that worry on its own accomplishes absolutely nothing useful. If worrying about a problem helped you to come up with a better solution to it, great, but in this case you've got one of the best cardiac surgeons there is with a terrific track record doing a surgery that is more or less routine and with an overwhelmingly safe and successful outcome. Try not to waste any more time worrying and just think about how much better off you will be after you get this fixed.

 

[Allisoninoz]

Good luck. The waiting is far worse than the reality. Promise.

 

[scott.eitman]

Mozel Tov and happy new year!

 

[rvrkumar]

Best wishes for your upcoming surgery. I am sure everything goes well and we see you posting in post-op section sharing your recovery tips.

 

[Jkm7]

The waiting really was the worse for me with my second OHS. My first was an emergency and that was pretty brutal.

Much better you have your date, you have picked your surgeon and you can prepare yourself.
All best wishes.

 

[Superbob]

We all know what you're going through with the waiting and we have empathy. Try to relax as much as possible, do whatever prep you need for recovery, and then just settle in. You will be fine. Keep us posted. We'll be sending best vibes.

 

[AgilityDog]

Well that WILL be a Happy New Year, won't it? And how nice to know everyone will be in Temple praying (for you) that day.
Best Wishes for an easy surgery.

 

[nngbwh]

Good luck with surgery on September 29th. We will all be crossing our fingers here, hoping everything will be ok.

 

[rubywhistle]

I can relate....I have been wanting a date so bad...then suddenly i got one and was like 'Nope that does not work for me' .....In fairness to my very scared self i did have a wedding to go to ...
Now my family thinks im a flight risk and the drs have already talked about sedation for the night before and morning of ...
Walking in 'there' to do 'that' will be hard! But it sounds like you and I have come to the realisation that we will feel so much better without it hanging over us.

Just want to say best of luck today! You can do it!