Hello! AVR in 10 days for my 82 yo father at Cleveland Clinic

[speedyalice]

Hi,

My dad learned 3 weeks ago his sudden shortness of breath and occ. chest pain were due to aortic valve stenosis and he needed AVR. The following day one of the Hospice caregivers told him that my mother (still at home, thanks to Dad's care) in the last stage of Alzheimer's, was probably in her last months of life (her heart is not strong and she is very frail).

Lots of stress for my poor dad! His number one concern is spending as little time as possible away from Mom. I'm so grateful to have found this board; so much great info and experiences shared here. It helped me to convince my dad that he didn't have to have his OHS in Marquette (a lovely place, but not a lot of OHS done there) but could go to CCF, and that CCF would give him the best chance for returning to Mom with a good chance of recovery.

His surgery is scheduled for Aug 21 at CCF with Dr Bruce Lytle. Dad is feeling much more optimistic now that he's going to CCF and will be in the best of hands. I had hoped that he'd be able to have some type of minimally invasive surgery (although I understand that those are on a spectrum, and some aren't all that minimal) but Dr Lytle's specialty is the full sternotomy. I have heard and read so many glowing reports of Dr L's skill, though, that I'm optimistic about my Dad's chances for a good result, and hopefully the recovery won't be horrendous. So glad and grateful that this option is available to my dad!

Any similar experiences, advice, suggestions, etc. are very much appreciated! Anyone with CCF or Dr Lytle input, would love to hear it. I'm trying to keep my dad encouraged and positive.

Back to reading the forum, and thank you to everyone who has taken the time to share.

 

[njean]

I just want to say "Welcome" to the forum. So glad you found us!

I also think your Dad will be in great hands, both at CCF and under the expertise of Dr. Lytle. I've heard nothing but good things about this surgeon!

Please keep reading forum posts as you are bound to run into others whose surgery was performed by this surgeon. Wishing nothing but the very best for your father.
Keeping you, your beloved mom and dad in my prayers!

 

[tom in MO]

My Mother In Law had the surgery a little older than your dad. Her recovery was excellent, she was up and about in two weeks.

 

[speedyalice]

Thank you, N Jean and Tom, for the encouraging words! We're trying to be focused (I got Dad "A Meditation to Promote Successful Surgery" and he says it's WONDERFUL) and I've been reading as much as I can on the Forum. So very helpful! The surgery is, of course, the initial hurdle to get over, but the recovery is actually what has me the most concerned: that he's as comfortable as possible, and also trying to figure out the logistics for when Dad comes home - how to have someone here to take care of the cooking, helping him dress, bathe, etc. and also walk around for exercise, since they live in the woods. Six weeks is a long time.

I've been reading a lot of pre-op surgery info so that's probably why I don't feel like I have a handle on the post-op/recovery info. Any tips/things that were esp. helpful or that you wish you'd known ahead of time/while recovering are much appreciated!

 

[SCCWS]

I am not sure if you saw my post on another thread in this forum. I had the surgery at 63 and it was much easier than I thought. I did my own rehab by walking when I returned home. But a friend of our family who is 84 just completed her PT and booked a 3 week trip to England. She had the surgery in January so it took her 7 moths to return to normal. She actually feels w rehab she is stronger physically than when she went in the hospital. I would check with the Dr and see if he can give you an idea on a projected rehab. Every patient is different, but in a general sense the DR may tell you best and worst case and you can plan for different possibilities.

 

[njean]

Make sure that your dad's doctor is aware that he will need in-home care once he is discharged. Doctors will refer nurses and/or other medical professionals to make home visits to patients that are elderly, live alone or whose spouse is not able to care for them such in your dad's case.