It's been 11 days and I meant to update sooner.
Had AVR with a St Jude 25mm at St Lukes in Houston. Surgery went as well as planned. Doctor said there really wasn't much scar tissue from the surgery at age 10 so he did get a good seat on the valve. It's tick tick ticking away in there. I could hear it in the all tile bathroom in the hospital but not so much, outside of my throat, anymore. I'm thinking as time goes on I may not hear it so much.
My surgery story went like this. 4am get in the car and drive 1.5 hours to the hospital. Checked in, sleepy and nervous. Got prepped and moved down to actual surgery room by about 7:30. Met with the various anestesia docs, asked me about meds and allergies and stuff to eat about 10 times. Guess they want to be thorough.
Rolled me down the hall to the OR. OR is cold as a mother and so it made me more scared since I was now freezing cold and knowing it was coming. They had me move onto the table and then took to lining me up and taping up my hand for the central IV and then gave me a shot of happy juice and that was all she wrote. Out like a light, in God's and the doctors' hands.
Woke up in the CCU, hands restrained to the bed and the dang tube in the throat. I knew to expect it but I really didn't like it. To make things much more horrible, I had bad drainage and my freaking nose was stuffed up and there was that nasty snot bubble crud at the back of my throat that I just could not clear via my nose or my throat. UGH!! Try and relieve your nasal problems if you can prior to surgery. So I banged my hands on the bed, to get attention and to get the dang tube out of my throat. Standard responses from the CCU nurse and then I had to play charades to illustrate my stuffed nose (made a "C" with my hand and then closed it into a fist while pointing to my nose). They figured it out but not much they could do. Waited the standard 30-45 minutes and then coughed out the dang tube.
THEN the worst part ever, waiting for that first bit of ice cube thingys. OH LORD how I wanted a drink. I remember wanting a pad to write on, being half asleep, and writing legibly with my eyes closed "water". DENIED!! LOL!! They swabbed my mouth and then by some miracle they gave me the ice. It was like getting a drink after days in the Outback desert...
I went in to surgery at 8 am, got out at 12:30 and then was getting out of bed and into a recliner at 2pm. YEEEE HAAAWWWW. The nurses taking care of me were all proud and stuff, bragging about their care and how my butt was up in a chair already. I was like, "Is that good??" I actually felt really safe in that chair for some reason. Maybe it was the snugness or something but it felt better than that stupid bed.
I was up all the first night. Not sure if it was the pain meds or the snot at the back of my throat or just the nerves. I didn't really feel too bad, although the little pain button didn't really do jack for me. Actually drinks of water were my favorite part of the whole thing. Well, that and eaves dropping on the nurses conversations and even chiming in on some of their talks. I'd point to my beeping machines whenever my BP or oxygen levels would set the thing off. I'd start breathing deeper or trying to relax to get the monitors to stop.
I got sent to the private room the next day on the 11th floor. I actually didn't feel to great about moving and I kind of feared the quietness of the room versus the buzz of the CCU. I actually got more attention than I bargained for toward the end
.
I got out in 6 days and came home. Home was much more comfortable and I was really digging being out of the hospital.
Anyway, I'm home. Back to work on a part time basis. Eating decently, although my appetite is toast. Cheers to recovery.
Had AVR with a St Jude 25mm at St Lukes in Houston. Surgery went as well as planned. Doctor said there really wasn't much scar tissue from the surgery at age 10 so he did get a good seat on the valve. It's tick tick ticking away in there. I could hear it in the all tile bathroom in the hospital but not so much, outside of my throat, anymore. I'm thinking as time goes on I may not hear it so much.
My surgery story went like this. 4am get in the car and drive 1.5 hours to the hospital. Checked in, sleepy and nervous. Got prepped and moved down to actual surgery room by about 7:30. Met with the various anestesia docs, asked me about meds and allergies and stuff to eat about 10 times. Guess they want to be thorough.
Rolled me down the hall to the OR. OR is cold as a mother and so it made me more scared since I was now freezing cold and knowing it was coming. They had me move onto the table and then took to lining me up and taping up my hand for the central IV and then gave me a shot of happy juice and that was all she wrote. Out like a light, in God's and the doctors' hands.
Woke up in the CCU, hands restrained to the bed and the dang tube in the throat. I knew to expect it but I really didn't like it. To make things much more horrible, I had bad drainage and my freaking nose was stuffed up and there was that nasty snot bubble crud at the back of my throat that I just could not clear via my nose or my throat. UGH!! Try and relieve your nasal problems if you can prior to surgery. So I banged my hands on the bed, to get attention and to get the dang tube out of my throat. Standard responses from the CCU nurse and then I had to play charades to illustrate my stuffed nose (made a "C" with my hand and then closed it into a fist while pointing to my nose). They figured it out but not much they could do. Waited the standard 30-45 minutes and then coughed out the dang tube.
THEN the worst part ever, waiting for that first bit of ice cube thingys. OH LORD how I wanted a drink. I remember wanting a pad to write on, being half asleep, and writing legibly with my eyes closed "water". DENIED!! LOL!! They swabbed my mouth and then by some miracle they gave me the ice. It was like getting a drink after days in the Outback desert...
I went in to surgery at 8 am, got out at 12:30 and then was getting out of bed and into a recliner at 2pm. YEEEE HAAAWWWW. The nurses taking care of me were all proud and stuff, bragging about their care and how my butt was up in a chair already. I was like, "Is that good??" I actually felt really safe in that chair for some reason. Maybe it was the snugness or something but it felt better than that stupid bed.
I was up all the first night. Not sure if it was the pain meds or the snot at the back of my throat or just the nerves. I didn't really feel too bad, although the little pain button didn't really do jack for me. Actually drinks of water were my favorite part of the whole thing. Well, that and eaves dropping on the nurses conversations and even chiming in on some of their talks. I'd point to my beeping machines whenever my BP or oxygen levels would set the thing off. I'd start breathing deeper or trying to relax to get the monitors to stop.
I got sent to the private room the next day on the 11th floor. I actually didn't feel to great about moving and I kind of feared the quietness of the room versus the buzz of the CCU. I actually got more attention than I bargained for toward the end
.I got out in 6 days and came home. Home was much more comfortable and I was really digging being out of the hospital.
Anyway, I'm home. Back to work on a part time basis. Eating decently, although my appetite is toast. Cheers to recovery.
