My husband's surgery

[Brookwood]

Hi, everyone, just want to let you know that my husband's AVR surgery went well this morning. I just saw him at the ICU. He woke up shortly after the surgery and had great pain on back. The nurse just gave him some pain medication. He could move his hands and feet but could not talk because of the tube in his mouth. He even used his fingers to write "I love you" on my palm. I was shocked by what I saw and cried a bucket of tears.

Usually how did you feel when you wake up after surgery? My husband had tears in his eyes.

They don't let me stay in the ICU tonight. Should I stay in the waiting room to check him often or just go home?

Thank you so much for your information and support. I will keep you updated.

 

[ctyguy]

Glad to hear he is through the surgery. If he is in pain I am sure the ICU staff will take care of that with meds. Hopefully they can get that breathing tube out of him as well. I don't remember it being in actually but I was told that I was NOT a happy camper when I woke up and was in a good bit of pain. It didn't take long though for them to get the tube out and get the meds in me at the right dose to get the pain issues under control.

I know its difficult by try to stay strong. I suspect that within a few hours he will have the tube out, will be propped up in his bed and will be able to talk with you. The worst part is over, now its time to get on with the recovery and back to your lives.

As far as staying the night goes, my wife went back to the hotel on the last shuttle and came back first thing in the morning. He is gonna sleep most of the night anyway. The best thing you can do is try to get some rest, Im sure your exhausted at this point too.

 

[Aaron_b]

I second the motion for you to get some rest tonight. Your husband will be spending a lot of time asleep this afternoon and through the evening. I expect that he'll seem much better tomorrow morning.

They will work to keep the pain down to a minimum but your husband needs to make sure he let's them know if he is in pain. At the hospital I was in, you didn't get pain meds unless you asked for them. It's not as if they come on a regular schedule.

The breathing tube is going to be remembered as one of the worst parts of the surgery. He'll be much happier when it comes out.

I'm glad to hear he came through ok. I wish both of you the best of luck.

 

[WayneGM]

Glad to hear he is on this side of the mountain. When I woke up, I actually didn't feel too bad at all. The pain meds worked great. However, the first day all I wanted to do was sleep.

 

[kfay]

When I woke up, the first thing I did was "sign" to my husband that I loved him as well. Then I fell right back asleep. I was so drugged up during the 48 hours I was in ICU that it really seems like maybe 6-8 hours total...I just really only remember bits and pieces of conversations and people coming and going.

I would also vote for going back to the hotel for the night. The ICU nurses will stay on top of his care tonight and once again, he will mostly be out of it. Once he moves onto the floor he will really need your help and you need to be well rested to provide it.

Congrats on his success and here's hoping for a easy recovery.

Kim

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Hopefully those were "Tears of JOY" at knowing he was ALIVE and had survived his surgery.

Back (muscle) pain is common following OHS because of how they stretch your body beyond it's normal range of motion.

MANY of us found that MASSAGE was much Faster and Better at relieving Muscle Pain than any paid medications. My S.O. used a "Vibrating Disk Massager" to easy my muscle pains which went away in a minute or so.

I agree with everyone else, get some rest while he is in the ICU. He will have very close supervision from a well trained ICU Nurse while in their unit. Once he is back in a regular room, it would be good to have a family member or friend keeping an eye on him for any sudden changes and to monitor his medications / care to avoid missed (or double) doses or wrong medications meant for another patient, etc.

You know where to find us if/when you need us.

'AL Capshaw'

 

[Mary]

I'm glad the surgery went well and the worst is over.

I agree with the others; don't spend the night. You need to sleep.
I don't think my husband spent any nights with me while I was in the hospital. He had a room on the hospital grounds, so he was nearby, but he needed time away to get some rest himself.
I imagine you will get very little sleep the first few nights after he is discharged from the hospital, so enjoy a good night's rest.

 

[Cooker]

Great news!!! I agree with the others...get some rest...and the pain meds are great....once the breathing tube was removed I was fine...Give him a big thumbs up for us

 

[Brookwood]

Thank you so much for your reply. I'm going to stay at home tonight. I just got two hours sleep last night at the hospital. My husband was admitted to hospital the day before the sugery and the nurse woke us up at 4:30am this morning to let him take a shower and prepare for the surgery. He was the first one to have surgery today. He went into OR at 7:15am. The nurse called me at 8:45am to let me know he was on heart-lung machine. At 10:30am they told me he had been off the heart-lung machine, everything was fine, and they were finishing up. The waiting part is really the hardest!

I visited my husband again at ICU four hours later. I felt much better this time. The breathing tube has been pulled off and he could talk, though he seemed very sleepy. The nurse had him sit on a chair for 30 minutes. We talked a little bit and that made me feel so much better. He worried about his blood pressure and let me check for him. It was beautiful: 120/80. His blood pressure before surgery was 130/44!! The surgeon told me one of his three aorta leaflet is too long, another one is too short, and there is a hole on one of them.

Thank you all for the information and support you gave us in the past two months. Hope everyone in waiting room have good luck.

 

[Phyllis]

That's great news- sounds like he is doing great. I'm glad you are going home for a good night's sleep- the days ahead will be long and you need to take care of yourself as well. Best wishes to you both.

 

[AngelaR]

Hi Brookwood,

My hubby had his AVR replaced on 1 May. I have logged our experiences in the significant other's section.

Everyday it gets a little easier to breathe ;-)

Take care of yourself too and remember to eat. You can't help him if you pass out.

Good luck and I hope you both have an uneventful recovery.

Angela