What the heck to do in hospital??

[Lisa in Katy]

OK, I'll admit it. Some people on this thread are wusses! (J/K) I felt great after surgery, at least once I was out of CICU. I got up, took showers, demanded clean TED hose because they wanted me to wear the same nasty pair for an entire week, put makeup on, and generally went about being normal. My guests commented that they wouldn't know I had surgery if they didn't see all the drains. I was a "young" 36 at the time of surgery and didn't have any complications. 8 weeks later when pericarditis bombarded its way into my body, I felt like $h!t.

 

[laurad37]

How did I miss this thread?

This one is an easy answer, Naked wheelchair racing! It's a blast.

This sounds fun Ross. I wonder if i'll be the youngest patient in the heart unit.

 

[Ross]

This sounds fun Ross. I wonder if i'll be the youngest patient in the heart unit.

You might be! I know I was. I saw a lot of 70-80 year olds have surgery, walk the floor and go home before I did too. Remember though, there are some babies somewhere else in the hospital that have gone through it too, so in a sense, no, you won't be the youngest.

 

[abbanabba]

Whether it was the drugs or something else, I had a really hard time focussing my eyes properly for the first 3-4 days after surgery, so reading was impossible (my BF brought in my birthday pressie (the latest Stephen King book) and card.. and sadly I couldn't read either - kind of funny really!). I also had to pay for a TV and since it was December, it was predominately cricket and tennis - which I hate - so I didn't bother.

I finally managed to flick through some magazines - trying to read a book was quite hard with all the other stuff going on and people interrupting you all the time - but most of the time I chatted with other people in the ward and visitors, walked, slept when I could (for some reason they kept discouraging this!) and surprisingly the days went fairly quickly.

 

[BigOwl]

I'm going to load up my iPhone with some music, and will have internet that way if I feel like it, and a book for the first day or so. After that, I'll have Owlspouse bring my laptop in for e-mail (my students have me swearing to post updates as soon as I'm able), and maybe a movie to watch. I'll be in a pretty posh hospital with cable and WiFi, but I've also got a modem if it's not easy to connect. Judging from my previous experience (albeit when I was much younger), I'll be really tired the first day or two, and then be champing at the bit to be out and about, and/or busy doing something besides waiting for food. They're supposed to have tuxedoed waiters at this hospital. Maybe a bit much, actually. After my CABG I went home in three days, but I expect things to take a bit longer this time. The more one walks about, the sooner one gets to leave.