Surgery in April

[Guest]

I am new to this board. I am scheduled for surgery in April to replace my aortic valve due to a thoracic aortic aneurysm. I am a little unusual - my aneurysm is quite small, but I am very small (4'10", 100 lbs). I am 41 years old. My sister recently had the same operation (successful!). I am just wondering if there is anyone else like me on these boards. I have young children, so I was also hoping to get some tips on managing home life after surgery.

 

[AZ Don]

Welcome to the board. Like you I had an aortic aneurysm and two years ago I had a valve sparing aneurysm repair. My children were older and my wife was able to get them to and from school so I only had to look after myself during the day while she was at work, and that was not an issue for me. Generally at about 6 weeks the restrictions on driving are lifted. By that time you may be able to do many of the things that you did before, but until then you should plan to take it easy. If that means you need others to help with your children then you definitely want to arrange for that ahead of time so that you can focus on your recovery after surgery.

 

[cldlhd]

I had my surgery almost a month ago and we have an 8 yr old son. I definitely agree having someone else do most of the child care is needed post surgery. My wife has been taking care of both of us-think I might be starting to get on her nerves,

 

[dornole]

If you don't have people in your family and extended family who can cover what needs doing re the kids, Care.com is a pretty decent place to find a temp nanny.

See if you can enlist your most organized, PTA-mom type buddy to organize your friends, faith community (if you have one) etc. to bring meals, 3x a week is ideal, if your spouse doesn't cook. People bring enough that you can eat that all week. Have them organize it not you. : )

Scheduling a service to come clean a couple times a month is also helpful if that's usually your job.

In general, if you have resources to exchange some cash for less stress on your spouse and whole family unit I'd totally make that exchange for a while. Otherwise, just try to spread the load to as many people as possible.

I didn't have open heart surgery but due to weakness and having 27 month preemies after my heart incident (plus three toddlers/preschoolers) this is what helped us survive. Others can help you estimate how long you're likely to need what kind of help better. Good luck!