Pre-Surgery Checklist

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If you get the private room

If you get the private room

(which I know you will) that is half the battle right there!

Jill will be in my thoughts and prayers. Cleveland will take fantastic care of her and Dr. Cosgrove will do his darndest to successfully repair her valve - he's a great man/brilliant surgeon.

Godspeed to both of you.

Christina L.
 
dbuenting said:
Will I be able to lift my arms?
Click to expand...
It will be difficult but you will be able to without "hurting" anything. However, it will be painful and will let you know if you try to do too much.
 
I thought of a few more things even tho I wasn't the patient, I really like to have the word search books, before surgery Justin and I did some , it's preety mindless and you don't lose track of what you just read, also I printed up my email addresses and took them w/ me beside my address book.
of course some pictures of your beautiful son, that will make her smile. Also if you are taking your laptop, I don't know what they have at cleveland for access, so we took extralong wires and just unplugged the phone when Justin (or me lol) wanted to get online.
the pillows are great actually since they didn't have them at Justin's hospital that is what he did for his community service project for Eagle Scout, he made them out of fleece about the same size as a throw pillow, they were such a hit, we continue to make them and take them a couple times a year. for his last surgery we got an uglydoll www.uglydolls.com which was just the perfect size and it was silly and made him happy, and your son would probably like it when she was done Lyn www.caringbridge.org/nj/justinw
 
Forget bras. I had valve repair with no restriction over head movement but very sore. Could not wear a bra for several weeks and did not care. I wore a light sweater or jacket when I went out so it wasn't so obvious.
Lifesaver starting in ICU the night of surgery was a CD player with headphones and soothing music. The nurses helped me put in on and off. Used it every evening to try to relax after my husband left for the day.
Heart pillow they gave me was great and they gave me one with a marking pen so all visitors could sign the pillow. I also had a soft Teddy Bear that I used once I got home. He has a big heart on hit foot. Was able to position the bear where I needed him-chest, side, etc to cushion the incisons.
I also used the sock slippers that they give you and kept them on most of the time to keep my feet warm. I did need a fan in the ICU and step down because the rooms were so warm. Had a small portable that the kids brought down the night of surgery.
Can't think of anything else right now. Hope it helps.
Joanne
 
Ok:

7. Pajamas (bottoms and button tops, courtesy of Jill's shopaholic mother)
8. MP3 player (assuming I can get the new IPod in time)
9. Books
10. Slippers (also delegated to Jill's mother)

I'm not sure we need pictures of the baby since the baby is coming along with me. :)
 
Christian said:
Ok:

7. Pajamas (bottoms and button tops, courtesy of Jill's shopaholic mother)
8. MP3 player (assuming I can get the new IPod in time)
9. Books
10. Slippers (also delegated to Jill's mother)

I'm not sure we need pictures of the baby since the baby is coming along with me. :)
Click to expand...

Slippers w/ rubber soles, so she doesn't slip.

You can get one of the new 30 G iPod's that just came our for 299 that you can put 7500 songs, X # of videos and photos on. I have a 20G iPod (older version) and have 3000 songs on it so far, only 1/2 of the space is used up. Download a book or 2 for her to listen too etc. I would recommend getting some comfortable ear buds for it - the in-ear ones are nice. I'm sure you could get an iPod in time if you ordered it from the Apple site.

Maybe leave some unwashed sweaters or shirts of Jill's at home for Colin. He will feel her abscence and the scent of Mommy may help. When I was in the hospital my daughter (5 at the time) would go and snuggle into my side of the bed.
 
Karlynn said:
Slippers w/ rubber soles, so she doesn't slip.

You can get one of the new 30 G iPod's that just came our for 299 that you can put 7500 songs, X # of videos and photos on. I have a 20G iPod (older version) and have 3000 songs on it so far, only 1/2 of the space is used up. Download a book or 2 for her to listen too etc. I would recommend getting some comfortable ear buds for it - the in-ear ones are nice. I'm sure you could get an iPod in time if you ordered it from the Apple site.

Maybe leave some unwashed sweaters or shirts of Jill's at home for Colin. He will feel her abscence and the scent of Mommy may help. When I was in the hospital my daughter (5 at the time) would go and snuggle into my side of the bed.
Click to expand...


That's the iPod that I want -- the new 30G Video. I don't think they're in the stores yet. We have an Apple Store nearby that'll be hearing from me when the open in, say, four minutes.

When I said Colin's coming with me, I meant I'm taking him to the Cleveland Clinic with us. We're staying in the Suites across the street from the hospital. He'll at least get to see Jill as soon as she's out of ICU.
 
Hospital must-haves

Hospital must-haves

The pajama pants were the most important fashion addition to the lovely open-back hospital gown covering my electrode-covered chest with wires, and arms with tubes shooting out everywhere. A stock of undies, toothbrush and toothpaste, and my own shampoo/conditioner were necessary items. The hospital provided everything else, including shower soap, lotion, and a heart pillow, which really helped me to find a comfortable sleep position. Also, it took a while to get Cepacol lozenges for the breathing tube sore throat, these were absolutely wonderful.

My second best asset was family visitors who picked out excellent magazines and silly but entertaining books for me to read. I don't have cable TV at home, so I was otherwise completely mesmerized by the television when I wasn't napping. Also was important to ask the oh so nice nurses for a good cup of coffee in the morning!

NO BRAS! Nothing irritated my scar worse than elastic. Besides, when else is it totally OK to go au natural??

Good luck!!

Patty
 
Christian,

Remind Jill to spend some time deciding what she will wear on the trip home. Geebee advised me to wear very loose pants (maybe sweats) and a large, button up shirt. It was warm weather when I had replacement, so I was able to wear sandals home.
The ride home is rough enough without having to deal with uncomfortable clothes.
 
That's the iPod that I want -- the new 30G Video. I don't think they're in the stores yet. We have an Apple Store nearby that'll be hearing from me when the open in, say, four minutes
Click to expand...

Make sure Jill knows how to use it before she leaves for the hospital. I bought one at the suggestion of our kids before Dick's surgery, downloaded every CD in our collection and I don't think he used it at all in the hospital- it was a bit of a learning curve for him to get use to it, but he uses it all the time now!
 
Is Jill's mom (or someone) going to help w/ Colin? I think seeing him will be the best med for her and help you alot when you are not at the hospital. make sure someone is w/ Jill as much as possible at the hospital, take a notebook so you can keep track of what the docs say when she gets her meds ect. it gets hard to remember things, they become a blur.and it helps to remeber what she got when and keep track of it, since the nurses don't alwasy do the best job, w/out little reminders, Lyn
 
You can order the iPods now on the Apple website. I was at our mall today that has an Apple store and I almost stopped in to take a look - but didn't - sorry. :(

iPods are going crazy - they're even starting to offer TV show episodes. (Can you tell I just LOVE my iPod?)

Glad Colin won't have such a separation from Jill and more importantly, Jill won't have separation from Colin. Missing my kids was almost the worst part for me.
 
Yes, Lyn, Jill's parents are coming up with us and staying with us at the hotel. They can spell me and take care of Colin if I get too exhausted.

Yes, Pam, we're driving back from Cleveland to Pittsburgh (a little over two hours in the car). I'll make sure to pack extra pillows. We fortunately have an SUV so there's plenty of room.

I called Apple and am having an iPod Video shipped to Jill. Hopefully it'll make it in time. We use Itunes already so the learning curve should be minimal.

I think I've got things down pat. If my list gets any bigger I'm going to have to hire an assistant.
 
Christian, regardless of what all said, you might think about getting a loose sleep bra or larger than she wears sports bra. If she's well endowed, she won't want them falling under her arms when she's on her back, esp if she's already sore. Won't hurt to have one even if she doesn't use it. I found it a very good investment. You sound like you are doing a bang-up job. You have a lucky little family. Hug the wee one for us. and GODSPEED!
 
I was thinking (oh no lol)

I was thinking (oh no lol)

It might be handy to put a list together w/ all the suggestion from this thread and post it somewhere where people going for surgery could just check it out Lyn
 
I don't know if anyone else had this problem but I thought I would post it anyway. We had about a 2 hour drive home from the hospital also. My husband was sent home with 6 prescriptions including Lovenox shots. We live far from a pharmacy so I stopped to get prescriptions filled while he sat in the car. I had to go to 2 pharmacies to get Lovenox shots. This was way too much time for him to sit in a car. Maybe if you have to get prescriptions they could be filled at the hospital or someone else could go pick them up when you get home. We didn't have any help that first day and he had to have his prescriptions. I didn't want to take him home and be gone over an hour to pick them up.
 
Sue, that's a VERY good idea. What with the long drive, the tiredness of all concerned when you get home, it's a good idea to have at least part of the rxes filled before you head out - or have somebody besides you at home ready to run out to pick them up pronto. Course Jill's parents will be there, but I mean this for a list that somebody might make up as suggested somewhere up above this.
 
Ride home

Ride home

Please be sure JIll has her pain med as close to leaving for home as possible. She will know by then how long it takes to get good relief. usually at least 30 minutes. Also, she really should not ride 2 hours without getting out of the car to at least stand up and stretch. I only live about 25 minutes from the hospital. Was discharged on day 5 about 4PM-kept trying to postpone leaving the hospital. I slept the whole way home.
I think it is great that we are focusing on the trip home. She will be in great hands in the hospital. You already know you have everyone here to help once you get home.
My thoughts are with you all,
Joanne
 
dental exam

dental exam

When I had surgery a few years back at Cleveland, I had to bring a statement from my dentist stating I had a current exam and no bad bacteria was in my mouth. My dentist did a special test for this. I did have to bring the letter from my dentist to Cleveland. Im sure youve been told this already, or maybe things have changed. You guys are in great hands at CC.
I recovered well from my last surgery, I believe I was only in the hospital 4 days after wards. My parents live in WV so we drove back, they ride was kind of rough, but I got out and walked a lot. That helps a lot. What type of valve does Jill want to receive?

Lynette
 
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