Man I'm glad that's over with!!!
Man I'm glad that's over with!!!
Hi, everyone -
We got home from the hospital midafternoon yesterday and are so glad to be home! Early yesterday morning they said they'd keep me another day or two until the Coumadin (INR?) was "stable" but later in the morning, they said the blood test came back stable so we could go on home if we wanted to... if we wanted to?!?! I'd changed clothes and my husband was hauling flowers and stuff down to the car about a half-hour before the nurse noticed my monitor wasn't working (because it was no longer attached...)!!! I only have to take Coumadin for three months, as things stand now. I didn't realize I'd have to take it at all so I haven't payed much attention to what I've read about it. I'll have to research that a bit more. I do realize that my Applebee's Chinese Chicken Salads might have to be put on a three-months hold! (They are enormous and delicious!)
I am so glad to have this past week, "Past," behind me! I'd forgotten some things from the last time, and of course I'm a lot older this time. The incisional pain is not as bad as the incision through the back for the coaractation repair was but other things are worse, I guess because this is basically a more traumatic surgery. The new valve is 21 something mosaic porcine tissue Medtronic, etc. I'll have to look up what it all means later and change the stuff at the end of my signature and word it correctly. Wonderful surgeon and staff!!!
The worst thing was coming off the ventilator; I really thought that thing was going to kill me this time. They kept having to suction the bottom thing - lungs, I guess (Horrible!) - and then they'd suction my mouth or something and something was laying across my gag reflex, I think it was the mouth suction thing, so I finally could not even let the thing breathe for me! The entire time I was so hot that I felt like I was absolutely roasting and of course my hands were tied down. And the entire time I was thinking, man I hope I'm not popping any stitches! It was absolutely traumatic to me! But I'd insisted I wanted as little Versed as possible too.
And this time a truly believe that my spirometer is my friend! I thought that was a lot of hooey last time. My husband said that there was a woman in the surgical waiting room who was so upset with her husband who was getting another operation of some kind because he'd refused to do his breathing exercises. Wow. I feel bad for them.
One quick question, I only have two drain holes and one is oozing with a little bit of, I guess it's a stitch, hanging out. I have a call into the new (and terrific) cardiologist's office about it (haven't heard back just yet) but figured it wasn't much to worry about. Can you say? Of course I have the phone-line blocked as I try to type this thing coherently.
My husband listened to my heart last night a couldn't believe what it sounded like; a real heart beat! And the Diovan I was having to take twice daily is, at this point, a thing of the past! I've been taking hypertensive medications for ten years now and can hardly believe that that might be over with! My husband is at Home Depot getting me a plastic chair and shower hose/sprayer thing right now; I can't wait to wash my hair! He tried that spray-on no-rinse stuff at the hospital a couple of days ago but I think that doesn't work too well on long hair; we ended up exhausted with a goopy mess.
I should edit this thing again but I just ran out of juice; more later. Mostly I feel better all the time, bit by bit. Hope the VR.com reunion was fun; I'll read the posts later.
Oh, and how are JoAnn and JetStream doing? Best wishes, ~Susan
