This post is a big lengthy but it covers my entire hospital stay. I have been enjoying my time home. Thoughts of the hospital have been making me a bit queazy so I delayed writing this post until I felt my stomach could handle it.
Tuesday- Tuesday was the easiest day for me and the hardest for everyone else. It was easy for me because I was drugged up and don't remember most of it.
I had to be at the hospital at 5:30 in the morning for my surgery that was scheduled for 7:30 am. I got up at 4 (I'm using "got up" loosely as I only slept for bits of time here and there). I had to shower using a MRSA preventer provided to me during my pre-op appointments a couple weeks ago.
Mom, Dad, Brin and Matt came with me to the hospital. I was instructed during pre-op to report to the ambulatory surgery center(on the 6th floor). I got there and was put in a room where they had me change into a gown, they took an ECG, had me re-shower with the MRSA preventer, change into a second gown and reviewed a lot of paperwork. I was ready for surgery but there was some confusion about whether or not the surgeon was ready for me to move to pre-op. During this time one person was allowed to be with me at a time so everyone rotated. By the time 7:30 rolled around, I was still waiting for the surgeon's OK to move to pre-op. My nerves were through the roof at this point and I was ready to walk down myself to see what the hold up was.
Luckily the transport person showed up and I was taken (by wheelchair) down to pre-op on the 2nd floor. Everyone came with me but had to get off on the third floor to go to the surgical waiting room. It was a little awkward to be saying goodbye in the elevator while the old guy sitting in a wheelchair next to me was hanging out but that's how things went.
By the time I got to pre-op they had been waiting for me so three people came running over to get me moving. The anesthesiologist spoke with me and put some IV's in my arm while a couple PA's went through my paperwork and had me verify what surgery I was supposed to have. The surgeon stopped in to talk with me and explained the hold up had been that they had a big team meeting to discuss the possibility of saving my valve and asked if I wanted that if he could do it. I said yes (more on this in a later post). He asked if I was ready and I asked if he was ready and then the drugs started kicking in and I just relaxed. I was wheeled to the OR and the only thing I remember was commenting that the table felt very warm (I don't know why but the heated blankets on the operating table really surprised me).
While I was out: I went into surgery around 8:30. My crew (aka Mom, Dad, Brin and Matt) were updated twice during my surgery. Once at 9:15 to say that I was on the heart and lung machine and once a little after 11 to say that the repairs had been made and I was back to doing things on my own (ie off the heart and lung machine and my heart was working). They also met with the surgeon while I was moved to the Open Heart Unit (OHU-this is an ICU just for open heart patients). The surgeon explained that everything went well, he was able to save my valve but that my aorta looked bad so he was glad that we did the surgery and did not wait. All things that are positive to hear from the surgeon after surgery!
After visiting with the surgeon everyone stopped in to see me. I was still under but vaguely remember them being there. I remember the surgeon coming to see me as well. I don't think I opened my eyes while he was there but I remember him holding my hand and saying the surgery was over and went well. He told me he saved my valve and that he was glad my aorta was gone because it was ugly (I only have a very vague memory of this and asked Matt over and over on Tuesday night and Wednesday if it really happened). I do remember the feeling of relief that washed over me as my brain registered that it was over and I was OK.
Sometime after that I woke up with the intubation tube still in my throat. It was not painful but it took all my concentration to relax and just leave it alone. I had no real sense of time for the rest of the night. Sometime soon after I woke up Matt and Mom came back and I waved at them from bed when I saw them through the window. I asked for paper and pen to write some notes that included being really thirsty and that I was OK.
They pulled the intubation tube and I was so thirsty they told me to drink slowly but I chugged water and apple juice, which upset my stomach. I was still very drugged at this point so I kept asking the same questions, drinking a lot and throwing up. When the night nurse showed up he limited me to ice chips and kept my meds at a level that allowed me to sleep.
Wednesday- I posted a quick update from Wednesday already. The rest of Wednesday went about the same. I got up and sat in the chair in my room for a couple hours Wednesday. There was a very critical patient in the OHU this night so everyone was sent home. This was the only night I spent alone. This night and the rest of the nights in the hospital consisted of serious night sweats and broken sleep. They also had some trouble controlling my blood pressure and heart rate so they woke me up a lot to give me meds. Sometime late this night I went for a short walk with a walker.
Thursday- The first few hours of Thursday morning consisted of lots of sweating and nausea. They switched my pain meds up again and that seemed to help. I took a little walk in the hallway with the PT and Mom helped me take a shower. The rest of my lines were removed except for 1 IV in my hand and I was moved to the regular cardiac floor. Upstairs (7th floor) my room was pretty quiet. I did a little more walking and rested more.
Friday- I woke up only mildly sweaty and felt pretty OK. I saw the PT who took me for a long (5 min walk) that included going up and down one flight of stairs. She deamed me independent and told me to aim for 5 -5 minute walks a day. I felt pretty good all day and there was lots of chatter about the possibility of me going home Saturday. Of course I met the challenge of the 5 walks, but on the last one my heart rate spiked a bit.
Saturday- I woke up feeling lousy again. This was one of the worst head ache days and I was sweaty. Going home quickly turned into waiting one more day. The cardiologist and NP warned that these were the effects of pushing too hard on Friday and that I need to really listen to my body and baby myself.
I slept until noon and woke up feeling a bit better. I took it easy the rest of the day and continued to feel better. This was the first day I Skyped with Aiden and only took a sponge bath because the shower was freezing! I took both as signs that I was done with the hospital and ready for home.
Sunday- I woke up feeling pretty good and everyone agreed it was go home day! It took until early afternoon for them to get my paperwork ready. They removed my final IV, pulse oximetry and ECG monitor that I had worn for my entire hospital stay. I had one more bought of nausea for good measure, I guess.
I got home around 1:30pm. Mom and Matt said I went to my room laid down and said "Ah, my bed" and passed out for an hour. When I woke up I took a shower and felt like a million dollars.
Aiden was napping when I got home which worked out quite well. I was able to rest, shower and get settled on the couch before he woke up. When he woke up he called to Matt and I answered him. I told him to come to the living room and he exclaimed, "I hear my Mommy out there!" Lots of cuddling ensued.
I forgot to mention the head aches. My neck and shoulders got very tight from sleeping in a recliner (this helped with the chest/incision pain) that I woke up every morning with a killer head ache. It would kind of subside to bearable during the day but by evening it was back with a vengeance. Sleeping meds and pain meds were helpful (but I ultimately figured out they were the root of the nausea and sweating). Overall I had much less incision site pain and much more general yuckiness feeling. When I think about the hospital it brings back a little wave of nausea. This is subsiding a little every day. Sunday night Matt rubbed my shoulders for a long time and alleviated a lot of the knots which helped a ton with the pain.
I didn't mention much about the people who helped in the hospital, however, every nurse and aide I had was awesome. They allowed someone to stay with me 24/7 (minus Wednesday night) even though visiting hours are limited on both the OHU and Cardiac Unit. They were all very kind and gentle and very helpful through the whole process.
