What Do You Wish You'd Known Pre-Surg...

[lilteach3234]

EXTRA PILLOWS!!!! I had my husband and daughter (who waited through the surgery) bring along cheap, fluffy pillows for them to rest on while they waited. Then they threw them in the trunk of the car and when I got moved to the cardiac ward from ICU they brought me the pillows to save me from the awful hard bed!! 2 at least, maybe more!!

Be nice, yes! Laugh, joke, ask about their families! Bring photos of your own for your nightstand (ones that can be lost or spilled on -- quick computer-made types in cardboard frames). Nurturing the humanity is a worthy salve to this often bumpy road.

Good luck! Godspeed!

Marguerite

My hubby bought me a card and put updated photos inside the card. The nurses and doctors really enjoyed looking at the pics, esp. my new grandbaby. I think it was nice because it allows them to see that I was more than a patient....I was a wife, mom, grandma, etc. They ended up tacking all my pics up on the bulletin board.

 

[Old clicker]

I wish I had known how bad the Hospital food really was. I would have made arrangements to have edible food smuggled in.

 

[Lynlw]

EXTRA PILLOWS!!!! I had my husband and daughter (who waited through the surgery) bring along cheap, fluffy pillows for them to rest on while they waited. Then they threw them in the trunk of the car and when I got moved to the cardiac ward from ICU they brought me the pillows to save me from the awful hard bed!! 2 at least, maybe more!!

Be nice, yes! Laugh, joke, ask about their families! Bring photos of your own for your nightstand (ones that can be lost or spilled on -- quick computer-made types in cardboard frames). Nurturing the humanity is a worthy salve to this often bumpy road.

Good luck! Godspeed!

Marguerite

good Point, we also take extra fleece blankets (One for Justin and One for me) those thin white see thru hospital blankets are pretty uselless ESPECIALLY since they tend to keep most hospitals I've been in freezing.(BUT NOTHING beat the nice warm blankets right out of the warmers some units have)

 

[ruthienc1]

Pillow from home and hubby with a laptop. I was thrilled to be able to check email when I got out of the ICU! There was wi-fi on the floor and they didn't mind if you used a cell phone. That was a big help since we had come from out of town. If you're local...no big deal.

 

[WayneGM]

The only thing I wish I knew pre-op was how cold my feet would be lying in bed. My wife had to go out and get me some warm socks to wear in bed. Other than that, the videos they showed me prepared me well (I hadn't discovered VR.com at that point). Nothing was really unexpected....except perhaps that the whole experience wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The hospital staff were great, and they made me feel very comfortable. I felt more like a guest than a patient.

 

[Lynlw]

I wish I had known how bad the Hospital food really was. I would have made arrangements to have edible food smuggled in.

Actually that depends on the hospital some of them have pretty good food these days. We always try to eat in the cafeteria during one of the pre op visits so we can see what the food is like. It wouldn't keep us from going there if the food was bad, but we would look to see what was close we could order from or pick up. The last time Justin was in they had the same pre packaged Sushi (california rolls ect) you can buy at supermarkets.

 

[gadoty1]

When you come out of the surgery you will still have the breathing tube in so don't freak out and don't fight it.
Make sure you are fresh on pain meds when they take the chest tubes out.
The only thing I could keep down was cantelope for some reason. I had my mom bring it to me when I couldn't eat anything else.
Keep a bedpan close by, you never know when the nausea will kick in.
I said a little prayer for you, keep the lord in your thoughts and everything will be fine.

 

[deogloria]

These are all great ideas. I'm trying to pack now. Cramming all the pillows in is the hardest part. Hope I don't forget anything. At this point, I'm looking forward to sedation, so I can relax!

jane-oooo, lifesavers, great idea! Glad the electric lift chair suggestion helped you. I wouldn't give mine up for the world. I've used mine after four surgeries so far, and it really helped a LOT.

The braids are a good idea, I didn't think of that. I also plan to bring my clip in hair for once I'm aware enough to care how I look. Clip-in bangs and a headband for casual daytime room-wear, and fancy clip-in curly up-do for formal hall-walking. Last time they said they'd never seen anyone look that good on the cardio ward, lol. Of course, I'm competing with mostly 70 year olds...

Fresh pain meds for having chest tube out.... now that's one I wouldn't have thought of.

A couple of people mentioned nausea afterwards...is this from medications, or the surgery itself, or something else? Because pain meds don't usually make me sick, so I'm hoping that's what you're talking about.

Well, I'm off to pack and not get any sleep before I have to get up at 3:30 am. Keep on praying for me. ;-)

 

[laurad37]

Good luck. You will be in my thoughts and prayers.

 

[ChouDoufu]

here's an idea....

the little gadget that adjusts the bed? attach it to the handrail where it
can't fall out of reach. BUT make sure it's out of reach of the nurses!!!
especially the evil ones who like to make your position more convenient for
them. yes, i mean the ones who start pushing buttons, but never warn
you beforehand. uh-huh, you're dozing, or relaxing watching crappy daytime
tv, and nurse bride-of-satan marches in, proceeds to push the adjustment
controls until you resemble a work of modern performance art. (modern art
is painful)

 

[Ross]

here's an idea....

the little gadget that adjusts the bed? attach it to the handrail where it
can't fall out of reach. BUT make sure it's out of reach of the nurses!!!
especially the evil ones who like to make your position more convenient for
them. yes, i mean the ones who start pushing buttons, but never warn
you beforehand. uh-huh, you're dozing, or relaxing watching crappy daytime
tv, and nurse bride-of-satan marches in, proceeds to push the adjustment
controls until you resemble a work of modern performance art. (modern art
is painful)

Oh I see Nurse Murch works in more then one hospital. I thought it was just mine.

 

[MikeHeim]

Amen to everyone that mentioned the pillows. ALL of my pain was in my neck and shoulders, and I had constant problems until my wife was able to go out and buy a neck roll. I also wish that I (and the nurses) had known that I was sensitive to morphine. It's not preferable to be wretching about eight hours after OHS.

The final, and probably most important, thing that I wish I would have known is that OHS recovery is a wandering journey, not a straight line. After all the stress and anticipation of the surgery itself, I assumed that I would feel relieved when it was all over, and then be further bolstered by feeling a little better each day. Not the case at all. Some days in the weeks following surgery I would feel great, and others I would feel terrible. In the end I think this caused some pretty serious depression as I was afraid that I would never fully recover and feel like my "old self".

 

[neil]

well to be honest i wish i had known it wasnt going to be bad as i thought,as pointed out above main pain was in neck and shoulder,must admit drain tube was a tadge uncomfy coming out,

 

[Herburban1]

I wish I had known Johnny the vampire was going to blow in and turn on the over head light at 4:30 am every day (not good for people with migraines). I would have brought one of those "movie star" sleep mask. that's the only thing I wish I had brought.

 

[Freddie]

Since I wasn't told or shown anything before surgery - well except the possible valve I would be getting; I wish I was told about the breathing tube, them drainage tubes - which hurt like crap when they came out and how walking would be a new adventure.

Why is it I/we have a hard time walking again?