Surgery tomorrow..and half of me says " wait

[Praline]

not yet" the other half says "hurry up and get it over with". I was up till 2:00 a.m. last night but then slept till after 8:00 this morning. I was not up worrying. I was just watching TV and did not feel like going to bed. I taped another old Perry Mason rerun to watch when I come home.
I am not sure I will be able to sleep tonight. I am not sure if sleeping tonight is important. I would rather not take anything to make me sleep. I am SO sensitive to any kind of meds...
My allergies are acting up but I don't think it matters. I went to my PCP Friday after work and she said it was okay.. just take Zyrtec..I do not have a temperature, I feel fine..I felt the same way last Thursday when I went for pre-op and when I mentioned it, they said my lungs were clear... nothing to worry about.. ( How do you do that... not worry??? )I don't have a head cold..it is hard to explain unless you suffer from allergies..then you know what I mean.
Ever since I got up this morning, I keep thinking...tomorrow at this time!!!...and I get butterflies in my stomach.
Got to go take some things to school..then back home to WAIT !!!!
I would be even more of a basket case if I had not found this site. That picture of Michelle sitting in her bed with her thumb up that big smile on her face did more for me than she will ever know.
Thank you for again .
I wish the sun was out. This gloomy day gets to me.
__________________

 

[PJmomrunner]

I think worrying is unavoidable and appropriate given your circumstances right now. Perhaps instead of thinking of tomorrow at this time you could try to think of two days from now at this time (the operation will be behind you, your valve will be working better than it has in years--perhaps better than ever, your blockage will be stented or otherwise remedied so that your bloodflow to the affected area (heart?) will be better than it has been in years and your A-fib will very likely be gone) when you have a repaired body and the task of rehabilitating it ahead.

Guiding children through the acquisition of good reading skills and listening to emergent readers read takes tremendous patience and perseverance, so you are uniquely qualified for the task before you!

 

[Ross]

Ah yes, I felt like spiraling right off the face of this planet the day before. It's natural. I found it very hard leaving the house in the dark a.m. hours to go to the hospital too. Once you get through the doors and start getting undressed, you begin to calm down a bit. Until then, your a cat on a hot tin roof.

 

[perkicar]

Praline,
what you are experiencing is totally normal. As Ross described, I too felt like I was going to go right off the deep end the day before. But by the time we drove to Cleveland and got settled in the motel, I took my shower with Hibiclens and took my xanax, LOL, I got a little sleep and was ready to go.
One thing that helped me calm down the morning of--was them wantiing a urine sample. Why, you ask, would that make me calm down? Well, I couldn't produce one (being a good girl and not having anything to drink since midnight!). What we had a good laugh over was finding out they wanted to run a pregnancy test on me! didn't figure that out until I was in the holding area and asked what that purple thing was on the bedside tray! Considering I haven't had a period in over 10 years, I told them it was HIGHLY unlikely that I could be pregnant! If I was I could forget the heart surgery because I had obviously been "chosen" for something more important! And surely in the midst of that my heart issues would be taken care of!
So take a deep breath, pack your bag,call a good friend and go out to lunch, have a glass of wine and relax. Tomorrow this time it will be done and you'll be on your way to feeling much better!!

 

[Cooker]

Wishing You Well

Wishing You Well

Wishing you well. I will be praying for you and all involved and that you will be surrounded by a peace. Remember you will be in much better shape soon!

 

[bvdr]

Praline, I know the feeling so well. I was so antsy before surgery it was really hard to sit down and relax. I was ready for surgery but not the pre-surgery wait. I had to be hospitalized before surgery because of needing to switch over to heparin from warfarin so I was there the night before surgery sitting in my bed and watched the hands go round and round. It was a long night but it too passed and now it's 2 1/2 years ago already. You will be in my prayers and I'll be watching for you to post afterwards.

 

[Tom F.]

In my opion the most difficult times are the days and weeks before surgery. What you are feeling is normal. We have all, I repeat, all, been there. But do not back out. The surgery will be over before you know it. Just look forward to the day when you are all better again.

 

[catwoman]

Praline:

We'll see you on the other side of the mountain. Will you have someone post updates for you?

 

[ultimategirl63]

Hi Praline, just think that next week you will be back telling me not to worry about my mom lol.. I am sure everything will go smoothly and I will be there with you in thought and prayer!! Wishing you a speedy recovery..

Lots O Hugs

Carolyn

 

[ArleneT]

Praline, I have absolutely no words of wisdom since I haven't gone through it yet, but know that you will be in my heart and prayers. Wishing you a very quick and easy recovery.

Please have someone send an update.

Arlene

 

[Praline]

Just came back from school...

Just came back from school...

I did not go to work today but I dropped by school to fill out absence sheets for one day last week and today. I told the kids that there was something wrong with my heart and that I was going to the hospital to get it fixed. I gave each of them a hug. One little girl called me over as I was leaving and said," I hope you have a good weekend at the doctors."
Then I came home to get my husband and we went to lunch at Copeland's.I had cheese toast and blackened catfish. I wanted a glass of wine but decided to skip it. My stomach has so many butterflies I did not want to get any of them drunk. I really do not want to do anything to get my stomach upset.
I am doing some laundry..or I should say the washer is..doing laundry is such nonwork to me. My favorite comfy clothes were all dirty and I need one comfy outfit for tomorrow. It is supposed to be freezing in the morning so sweat pants and a sweat shirt are called for.
It feels like the day is going by so slowly but tomorrow morning is coming so quickly...that does not make an ounce of sense but .... only 13 more hours until I leave for the hospital and 14 more hours until I start getting prepped for surgery.
Again , thank God for this site and all you people. Y'all kept me from going crazy.

 

[MikeHeim]

Happy thoughts coming your way. I was actually quite calm the night before surgery. I was just so thankful that I was about to get it over with. Hopefully the same will set in with you as well.

 

[tobagotwo]

Just try to let it flow over you, Praline. Your only job now is to get to the hospital. All the rest goes to someone else.

You'll be in my thoughts. It will go better and faster than you think. You may well be surprised how much better you feel right away.

Best wishes,

 

[JCDavis81]

Praline,

The best advice I've seen on this site is that which Bob H just gave you -- to echo his words, just let it flow over you.

The hard part is over, take some deep breaths and relax as much as you can for the rest of the evening. Tomorrow morning will probably be hard but in my experience, once you get to the hospital, your body and mind just go on autopilot. The Docs are incharge now and believe me, they certainly know what they are doing.

You're going to be okay and BETTER than okay 24 hours from now.

Hang in there! And good luck!

Joe

 

[Phyllis]

If the OR and ICU seems crowded Praline- it's all of us cheering you on. You will do fine and we look forward to your first post-op post!

 

[Granbonny]

Praline

Praline

Keep thinking..GOOD-FEEL SHOT..which they will give you when you arrive. before anything major...prepping, ect....and you will be sooo happy. My family came back to see me...and I told Nurse to give my big, burly Policeman son a shot. He needed it.. but has always been a Mama's boy...the rest of my family was great..and they knew to take care of him.. ..when they came to see me in recovery room..he was weepy..and they sent him home. Telling him..I was going to be fine. He came back the next day....and was surprised to see me sitting up in bed, make-up on, ect. NO tubes......You will do fine...Drugs are GREAt. Bonnie

 

[Nancy]

Wishing you all the best, Praline. You will do just fine.

 

[susieq14]

Praline,

Since I'm still in the waiting room I can't give you any first hand advice but based on what I have read here from all these kind and experienced folks (and just from human nature) what you are experiencing is perfectly normal behavior the night before your big event. Of course you're scared and rightly so but you should also find solace in the fact that your problem was found (granted a little too quickly!) and that this surgery is going to give you a new lease on life.

Just remember that you've got a whole classroom of little ones anxiously waiting your return and lots of new friends here on the board too including me who will need your support "someday"!

Do take care! You have my prayers and good thoughts and here's a big hug too - (((((((((((((((((((((((PRALINE)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

 

[JAMES W]

You'll Be Fine....

You'll Be Fine....

Praline,

To echo the others words....You will be ok...We anxiously await word that you've joined us on the good side of the "Mountain." Our prayers and good thoughts go with you...

 

[Kathy Canistro]

The wait

The wait

Hi Praline,

The waiting and anticipation were horrible, my husband took it so bad that we had to medicate him. I remember that at the time I was angry because when I needed him most he fell apart, he told me after that he thought it was my last day alive. I do believe that everything has a reason and if he hadn't acted up so badly I may have dwelled on myself more so he did do some good afterall. I was prepped at 5 am on Thursday June 30, 2005. I met several of the people who were on my team and one IV was started and that's all I remember until 3:10 that same afternoon. They removed the ventilator then and I had ice chips, the first 24 hours they kept me medicated so I really only remember 10 mins of every hour and the next day Friday I was walking not all that fast or good but walking and Monday I was home, I had some discomfort and my collar bone hummed for a few weeks nothing I needed pain meds for. By the third week I was sewing all kinds of oputfites for a new grandson due in Aug. I was out of work for the full 6 weeks and I did tire easily, but it was nothing compared to the pre-op stress.

We will all be with you, Please let us know how you are.
Kathy