A message from over the Mountain

[tomkanis]

Had the operation last week on Friday the 13th. All went well and I was out of the OR in about 6 hours. The surgeon said that the AV was almost monocuspid and would have caused some big problems in a short while. We put in a 25mm Bovine pericardial valve, and the TEE (wouldja believe they sent home a video copy of it with me) says it works well. Open-to-close time was about 6 hours.

Post-operative pain was a problem at first, so the second day is a blur, then things got better. Two bouts of A-Fib kept me in some extra time, and anesthesia-based nausea still is causing some problems. I can hold down ice-cream just fine-go figure.

So, I?m home, walking, eating and resting. Appointment with surgeon next Thursday. More as it develops.

Interesting notes:

1. Hey, you guys in prep, you missed shaving the outsides of my knees! Literally, they shaved everything else on the front of my body. Don?t they tell these guys what?s going to be done I the OR?
2. Every doctor buddy of mine showed up to check on me. The office sent three folks and two of my sportsmen?s? club guys came. There was a traffic jam in the room once.
3. Hospital food: both bland and expensive. Outside food: both covert and appreciated.
4. Guy next door: NYHS Class III CHF, AVR. 3 CABG?s, undiagnosed Type II Diabetic. Clueless? Hardly. An OB-GYN Surgeon.
5. Guy down the hall-In Cub scouts with me 50 years ago. Cool!



Tom in Cincinnati
AVR 10-13-06

 

[geebee]

Tom,

Welcome home and glad the Cincy area medical community took good care of you as they did me.

You look great and sounds like you have everything under control. Don't overdo things but do remember to walk and rest.

Take care.

 

[sue943]

Nice gown

Welcome back.

 

[PJmomrunner]

Whoa! They even shaved your upper lip! Looking good, Tom! Take care.

 

[Phyllis]

Glad you are home and doing all the right things- walking, resting, eating. Best wishes for an uneventful recovery.

 

[tommy]

Tom,

Congratulations. I'm not particularly superstitious, but OHS on Fri the 13th? Sounds like you are doing wonderfully. Keep it up!

 

[Marguerite53]

I'm so glad you posted! Was hoping to hear something soon!

You sound great and that's a nice scar you're sporting now!! I'm glad it went so well for you.

Time to relax and rest, rest, rest! You'll be amazed at how good you'll be feeling in a few weeks. Right now, it's bound to feel pretty strange with your general weakness and malaise.

Now see, friday the 13th isn't such a bad day!!

Marguerite

 

[Mary]

I'm glad you're home,Tom.

 

[MSG Morrissey]

Good Job SIr

Good Job SIr

Now Recover!

 

[aussiemember]

Glad to hear everything went so well Tom. Those of us in the waiting room like to hear these success stories - and a great picture as well.

 

[marky]

Welcome home
Let the healing begin!!! Ice Cream? why yes ice cream and chocolate are cure alls for m
Sounds like all went well! Cool that you met up with an old buddy in the hospital..what are the odds?

 

[BackDoc]

excellent post. extremely encouraging to us who are in the waiting stage. Thank you.

 

[pipersmith]

Awesome news!!

Awesome news!!

Another great success story - keep em' comin'
Take care of yourself.
Prayers and best wishes for continued success.

 

[KMS]

Loved your post

Loved your post

Welcome back...you look terrific!

Now the mantra: walk, breathe, sleep. It's a great recipe for success.

Warmest regards,

Kristine

 

[temp69]

congrats! sounds like you're doing fine. take it easy, breathe deeply and know that you'll be fine. congrats! CONGRATS! you made it!

 

[StretchL]

Thanks for the post!

Thanks for the post!

So glad to hear all's going well.

Posts like yours are music to the ears of those of us in the waiting room!

 

[MSG Morrissey]

Where's the update? How are you doing?

Where's the update? How are you doing?

Looking for a SITREP (a SITuation REPort for all the civillians here) from you

 

[CathyK.]

Another "waiting room" reply. Glad to hear all is well! Keep up the good recovery Tom. Let us know how it is going!

 

[tomkanis]

Situation Report

Situation Report

It will be three weeks since the surgery tomorrow. The surgeon saw me today and said that it was time to turn the case over to my Cardiologist.

On Monday morning at 0100, I woke up with a lap full of blood. I had a nosebleed that wouldn?t quit. I called my sister who came over and drove me to the ER. We checked the INR there. It was 6.3. Total blood loss was about a pint and a half. The ER docs said that that wasn?t uncommon when getting coumadin going for a case. Changes were made in my dosage and I checked at 3.3 today. I?m glad that I won?t have to take it much longer with the bovine valve. My niece is a certified massage PT. She tells me she can?t massage my back until I?m off coumadin.

Sleep is still elusive. I can usually get about 4 hours a night in the recliner, and fill in the rest with naps during the day. The bed just isn?t comfortable yet.

The surgeon says that I can drive now if it doesn?t hurt my chest. I?m going to try tomorrow. I?m fairly sure that he didn?t mean the motorcycle, though.

I commissioned a special revolver to commemorate this operation, and it was delivered yesterday. It has a gold heart on the right side and the date of the operation on the left side. Looks great.


Tom in Cincinnati
AVR 10/13/06
25mm Bovine Pericardial Valve

 

[aussiemember]

Hi Tom,

Thanks for the update - sorry to hear about the nose bleed but glad that it looks like things have stabilised now. Take it easy and rest!!