Made It To the Other Side

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mcsf

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 3, 2013
Messages
69
Location
california
If you caught the license plate of the truck that hit me, backed over me and hit me again please let me know.

I made it to the other side and I am feeling great!

It was not an easy trip. I'll provide the Reader's Digest version.

Going into surgery Plan A was to perform a valve sparing aortic root replacement. If there was any, even the smallest amount of regurgitation we planned to replace the valve with an on-x valve.

On Wednesday Feb. 19 I met one last time with the surgery team at UCSF to go over our plan of attack for Feb. 20. I am followed in an adult congenital heart clinic which means my surgery was performed by the Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery team. I walked into the hospital at 6:00 AM on Thursday February 20 for surgery. I woke up Friday -- Feb. 28.

The initial valve sparring procedure went okay but surgery was long and I was bleeding so they did not close so I was wheeled into ICU. I continued to bleed. A lot. It turns out the suture line from a previous AVR was the cause. The next step was to replace the valve with the on-x because we did not get the result we wanted. I knew this was a possibility going into surgery. Once the bleeding was controlled they wheeled me back into the OR to replace the aortic valve with a mechanical on-x valve. Part II of Plan A. I had been sedated for a couple of days while they worked on controlling the bleeding. Before Part II of surgery could begin I needed white blood cells. I had an allergic reaction to the white blood cells! WTF. In 20 years I was the second case my surgeon had seen the reaction to white blood cells. Back to the ICU. Ugh. Finally on Feb. 27 I was back in the OR and the on-x valve was replaced in about an hour time. Finally they were able to close. I lost a week of my life to a weird sedated life in ICU. Now the fun began. I woke on the 27 and wanted to pull my breathing tube out so bad. Because I had been sedated so long it was not an option. I had to spend another day under sedation. Finally on March 01 they were able to pull the breathing tube! Damn I was thirsty. I could have drank a few gallons of water. Actually, because I had been sedated so long I had retained a ton of water. I put on 20lbs of water weight. I could not drink. That was the hardest part. I was so damn thirsty. Once I was more stable I was able to drink. Never has water tasted so good. Since MArch 01 things have been going great. I feel stronger and stronger every day. On March 05 I was moved from ICU to a step down room. I'm just waiting for my INR level to adjust so I can be released.

There are a lot more details but that is the simple version. Being under sedation it was easy for me. It was very hard on my loved ones.

I had amazing care in the ICU. The best part. I was in the Pediatric ICU and got cool batman stickers. I had so many wonderful people watching over me in recovery I don't know how to thank all of them. The first day I walked everyone on the floor was so happy. They all knew I had been through the ringer even if I was not in their direct care. It was real emotional to hear all the kind words from the ICU staff as I improved. They do the hardest work and, I believe, the most important work. There are so many great people to thank. And I will. I am still having a hard time concentrating for long periods of time and I am sure my writing is jumbled because my mind still feels a bit fuzzy. I wrote this as the sun rose over San Francisco bay. I have an amazing view to the NorthEast from my window.


It feels great to have it all behind me now. It is time to start training for the Levi GranFondo in October. The Thief and I are planning to meet up for the ride. After reading his blog post I need to step up my training. He is doing amazing in his recovery.
 
I'm sorry you had a rough time. Sometimes things don't go to plan and it's hard. I guess that's all of our biggest fear. I had some complications after my 2006 surgery (nothing like yours) and it played on my mind for a couple of years. It's rearing its ugly head again now as I prepare for round 2.

I'm glad you're doing well now. Keep up the good fight!
 
Wow, you were really put through the wringer! I've never heard of having an allergic reaction to white blood cells, but I can imagine how serious it was. I hope the rest of your recovery is uneventful, and you and The Thief have a great time at the October event. Let us know when you're released from the hospital and how you're doing at home.
 
I had been sedated so long I had retained a ton of water. I put on 20lbs of water weight. I could not drink. That was the hardest part. I was so damn thirsty.

Sorry you had a tough time. I've been there. I also had been sedated for a long time and when when I woke, I too was SO thirsty. It seemed like days before they would allow me to drink other than a just a sip of water or ice chip. I told my wife the thing I wanted most in the world was a big cup of ice water from Starbucks. For some reason, that's what I had to have. Finally one day she brought just that. It was SO good.
 
If you caught the license plate of the truck that hit me, backed over me and hit me again please let me know.

I made it to the other side and I am feeling great!

It was not an easy trip. I'll provide the Reader's Digest version.

mate, that sounds like the kind of rough landing they used to get on Aircraft Carriers ... slammed onto the deck but I am glad to see you walked away from it.

Great news that you landed and walked away from the plane!

Best wishes and I hope you never have to go through anything like that again.
 
Sounds like we have a new Poster Boy for hitting all the bumps and potholes in the road to recovery. I thought I hit them all, but you found a whole new set!

Glad to hear that you've gotten past that part of the road and can now get on with some serious recovery. Wishing you the best.
 
That's quite a story but glad that it has a happy ending. I was only sedated for a few hours but I can relate to craving ice.
 
I finally made It home! 19 days after checking in for surgery. I feel great. Every has been better and I'm feeling stronger each day.
 
It feels great to have it all behind me now. It is time to start training for the Levi GranFondo in October. The Thief and I are planning to meet up for the ride. After reading his blog post I need to step up my training. He is doing amazing in his recovery.

Good God Matt, what an intense experience! Hopefully you aren't pushing it too hard yet! October is a while away and I'm sure you'll be spry by then. I'll be riding in a badass group ride this saturday dubbed 'The Redlands Strada Rosa', which will be a half dirt, half road 66 mile ride. Check out the route here: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/4191958
I put 700x28c tires on my roadbike, and hoping I can make it up these dirt hills! The road i'll be fine with. Wish me luck! Keep us posted on your recovery! I can't wait to meet up in October!
-Anthony
 
Matt, its easy to tell that you have an excellent attitude. To go through what you have and be so positive will stand you in good steed in your recovery.
Its great to hear that you are getting better and stronger each day, keep up the recovery but remember to rest when your body tell you to. All the best with the continued hopefully bump free recovery.
Dave
 
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