D
dhutcheson
I am now ten days post op and doing well and wanted to post a little about what happened during and after surgery with me. I was in Parkwest Hospital in Knoxville,TN to have an Aortic Valve replacement. The surgery was preformed by Dr. Hesel . He was a good choice for me, an old military doctor, who spent several years teaching heart surgery at Bethesda, I have to admit his experience was a big comfort to me. From my side, I can say that pre-op was perfection very little discomfort with a lot of encouraging words from hospital staff. The last thing I remember is being told I was going to get covered up because it would soon be cold as the blanket landed on my lower body the gurny rolled through the door and I was out 8:17am.
During surgery the aortic vales was replaced as planned with a mechanical valve (still trying to discover which one) , it was also discovered during surgery that I had an aneurysm that must also be repaired so lucky for me they did it when they were in there. I was in surgery until about 1:30pm. My family was able to see me at the 2:30pm CICU visitation but I was still out.
The next thing I hear is my brothers voice saying "Dennis you did great" this was at the 5:30pm CICU visitation. I was not in any pain but was cognitive enough to write the word "tubes" in my brothers hand with my finger to confirm what was going on? and where the discomfort was coming from. The nurses in ICU later restrained my hands fearing i was trying to pull out tubes because i was scratching my head where IV lines in the neck were taped to keep them out of the way. Honest I wasn't It just itched because of the tape
So were am I today 10 days post op?. I was able to go out to dinner with my girlfriend and to sit through a youth football game today. I am currently walking 15 min at a time, 3 times a day and am almost at Pre-Op levels on the Voldyne . This is where i give credit to the forum members advice of focusing my recovery on walking, resting, and breathing. Any pain is controlled with a couple of Tylenol which for right now is mostly muscle discomfort from sitting.
My frustration levels have increased however, as a result of the INR testing situation I am having, not the tests themselves, but the fact I have to fill out ALL the outpatient admitting paperwork each and every time I go in for a test. even on a standing physicians order. I mean how many times do they need the exact same history, physical, insurance information in the same week it is taking approx 45 minutes to 1 hour each time in just paperwork for a 30 second long blood draw including the walk to the lab. Looking hard to change this situation ASAP.
During surgery the aortic vales was replaced as planned with a mechanical valve (still trying to discover which one) , it was also discovered during surgery that I had an aneurysm that must also be repaired so lucky for me they did it when they were in there. I was in surgery until about 1:30pm. My family was able to see me at the 2:30pm CICU visitation but I was still out.
The next thing I hear is my brothers voice saying "Dennis you did great" this was at the 5:30pm CICU visitation. I was not in any pain but was cognitive enough to write the word "tubes" in my brothers hand with my finger to confirm what was going on? and where the discomfort was coming from. The nurses in ICU later restrained my hands fearing i was trying to pull out tubes because i was scratching my head where IV lines in the neck were taped to keep them out of the way. Honest I wasn't It just itched because of the tape
So were am I today 10 days post op?. I was able to go out to dinner with my girlfriend and to sit through a youth football game today. I am currently walking 15 min at a time, 3 times a day and am almost at Pre-Op levels on the Voldyne . This is where i give credit to the forum members advice of focusing my recovery on walking, resting, and breathing. Any pain is controlled with a couple of Tylenol which for right now is mostly muscle discomfort from sitting.
My frustration levels have increased however, as a result of the INR testing situation I am having, not the tests themselves, but the fact I have to fill out ALL the outpatient admitting paperwork each and every time I go in for a test. even on a standing physicians order. I mean how many times do they need the exact same history, physical, insurance information in the same week it is taking approx 45 minutes to 1 hour each time in just paperwork for a 30 second long blood draw including the walk to the lab. Looking hard to change this situation ASAP.
