Just Wanted to Share My Experiences...
Just Wanted to Share My Experiences...
Dear group,
At the urging of my husband, I am posting on this support group. I see that there has not been a lot of action on this site, and I'm not sure why. My husband's OHS was one of the most terrifying experiences we have ever had to endure. It's true that he was the one who had to have the surgery and the recovery. He was also unconscious during the very worst of it (Thank God) and did not have to deal with signing organ donation forms, etc, in case he didn't make it. As a physician, I actually knew most of what was happening, but it was almost surreal. I watched as my husband struggled for breath, had a Swan-Ganz catheter inserted, and was intubated. Granted, these are things that most families don't get to see, and probably for good reason. Who wants to have these images as the last ones of the person you love? Yet, I couldn't help myself. I hadn't thought about what open heart surgery actually meant until he had to undergo it. It still bothers me in the pit of my stomach to think about the specifics- the cooling off, the bypass, and then stopping the heart. My husband looked so bad when he came out of surgery that the intensivist had to reassure me . Once again, people don't normally get to see their loved ones right after surgery, and this is probably for the best. Due to my unique position as a physician in a sister hospital, I was allowed to see him right out of the OR. I had to touch him to reassure myself that he was alive and warm. Images of him at this stage still haunt my dreams and even now I sometimes see him in my head when I hear the whirring of helicopter blades at our hospital.
My husband recovered quickly and actually surprised himself. He went from near death to discharge home in 8 days. His experience was slightly different than a lot of folks in that he had a sudden rupture of the chordae, followed by a flail valve, congestive heart failure, and respiratory failure. There was no warning. Fortunately, he was able to have the posterior valve repaired, so no need for coumadin. We had no preparation for this at all. He was the model patient, however. He was more studly than he knew.
In a weird sort of way, this has brought us closer together. It seems that we get to know each other best when one of us needs surgery. My mother-in-law took care of our kids while he recovered. We were alone (well, as alone as you can be in a hospital) for 8 days. Once he was extubated, we could talk. We got to know each other a lot better, and saw that we loved each other more than we knew.
Well, there is a lot more, but I want to hear from others about their experiences.
Thanks for listening.
Still recovering from the fallout in Idaho,
Laura
I'm glad you stopped by so we could share in your happiness.
