What helped you after surgery?

[Ovie]

I just wanted to get an idea of different things that comforted you after surgery, other then family. I know most of our hospital stay is a blur, but what comforted you in your stay, and the few weeks after? Was it music? What were you listening to? Was it reading? What were you reading? Television, etc. I just thought it'd be cool to know what REALLY helped you get through your difficult time.

I think for me it was certainly music, I listened to a lot of soft movie scores, ambient noise tracks with soft music, just very calming tunes, usually something that didn't have singing. I would also listen to stand up comedy on pandora, even though it hurt to laugh..it was comforting. Maybe you had a picture of your family, or a stuffed animal. Do you look back and just say "that really helped me get past the worst part?".

Just something I was thinking and about and wanted to post. Excited to see what everyone has!

 

[Mom2izzy]

What helped you after surgery?

I didn't feel like I could keep a thought in my head, so TV, reading and knitting (the things I thought would be comforting) weren't really. Even forcing conversation bothered me, so I was happier with no one in my room.

In the hospital the best two things were having the masseuse come to rub my neck and shoulders and the fabulous nurse who washed and braided my hair. I did have a teddy bear with a recording of my little girl's voice saying "I love you momma"...sometimes it helped and other times it made me miss her (they wouldn't let her in until day 4.)

When I got home, best thing was the walking. I was out from under people constantly trying to talk to me and it made me feel like I was getting better. I love my little girl and my husband, but they were hovering. Eventually my ability to focus came back and I started knitting again!

 

[dtread]

Ovie, couple of things helped me:
- Within a couple of days of release from hospital I got a good massage. Right after surgery I could not exercise and my body was loaded with residual medications, IV fluid, etc. The massage simulated an exercise session and helped get all the medical junk out of the muscle tissues. The first massage I got after surgery actually lowered my heart rate 10 bpm, and the heart rate stayed down.
- Guided Imagery. This is relaxing sounds and usually has a soothing voice that talks you through your situation. There are many different ones out there. This one by Kaiser Permanente is free. Has three different tracks for Healthy Heart and five tracks for Surgery; http://www.permanente.net/homepage/kaiser/pages/f52038.html
- Went back to work as soon as a I was able. If I had stayed home I would have felt like I was sick. Getting back to work took my mind off the surgery and enabled me to move on with my life.
- Got back in gym and back to exercising as soon as I was able. Initially the workouts were more psychological than physical. But I slowly increased the intensity and/or duration as time went on.
- Found others to share experiences with. Mended Hearts is a great way to do this; www.mendedhearts.org also valvereplacement.org
- Researched valve replacement and related subjects. Knowledge is power. When I went in for surgery it was pretty quickly after I was diagnosed and I did not have a lot of time to research. Afterwards I had time.
- Ate only healthy, nutritious foods. Junk foods just slow you down as your body has to expend energy to digest them, and they provide little or no nutritional value. Think about what you're eating.

 

[Jkm7]

I got the most release, relief, and benefit from walking.
It made a huge difference in my experience after both my OHS and I strongly believe it is about the single best thing we can do for ourselves to help our recoveries.

 

[Duffey]

Almost 8 years post-op, I believe VR.com helped the most. That's why I continue to stick around this place.

 

[Jkm7]

Almost 8 years post-op, I believe VR.com helped the most. That's why I continue to stick around this place.

Absolutely, yes to that.

I learned so much here and benefited so much after my first OHS and before my second, I promised myself I wouldn't take off and leave after I recovered but would remain and try to help, in any small way I am able, others who have come here since for their OHS journey.

I didn't want to be one who didn't stay around to try and help when/if I can.

 

[pellicle]

Hi

.. ambient noise tracks with soft music

actually I love camping, and was unable to go out and do it. So I started gathering ambient recordings of the sorts of sounds which were heard in the bush / forest areas I loved to go. I never got into the ambient sounds + music thing as the music often distracted me. So I bought a small recorder (zoom H1) and started doing my own recordings.

They are slow and long but I put them on all day while I do other things in the house. Breaks the silence and allows me to hear birds and things that are familiar to me.

It worked out well for me too, as when I went back in for my debridement operation I was able to put them on during the day and make the hospital feel less ... clinical?

I'd be happy to give you some if you liked. They are a bit large (70MB, so way too large for email) so if you are interested I'll try to sort something out.

 

[epstns]

Well, Ovie, when I first got home I wasn't feeling up to much. I had a rather protracted recovery phase - I didn't start cardio rehab until 3 months after surgery. Like several of the others, though, I found that I did better when I was able to do even small things that made me feel "normal." At about 4 weeks after surgery, I started walking on the indoor track at my wife's health club. We also re-started our social life, with short excursions out shopping and dining. I went back to work at about 5 or 6 weeks, part time. Getting back to work gave me two things -- it allowed me to regain some independence (nobody hovering over me to be sure I was OK), and it made me feel as if I was getting back to the reality of my life.

I did, and still do, spend a lot of time here. This, for me, serves two purposes. First, I just might be able to help some of the others following in my footsteps toward valve surgery (and/or its complications). Second, the group here still helps me to realize the miracles I've experienced and how special all of us here are.

I've been one of the lucky ones. Almost all of my issues have been physical ones that could be dealt with by the medical profession. My mood swings and "blue" days were easily identified as being related to heart surgery and were things I had been trained to manage. Some of the others have not been so lucky.

Oh, and another thing that helped me. I got back into my hobbies while I was still home recovering, and have stayed with them. The hobbies give me a reason to read and absorb technical material, as well as helping me to stay connected to other friends, both in person and over the web.

 

[pellicle]

Ovie

See if this link allows you to download and listen to a sample. Assuming it does, adjust your volume so as to barely be able to hear the background hiss / rumble and then just wait. Some birds are distant (thus quiet) others are closer and louder


https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B8jO_PPJsttfakNOQkc1VXZ5ak0/edit

 

[gerrychuck]

I took great comfort from a Teddy bear; sounds silly I know. The ambulance crew that delivered me to the ICU 40 miles from home apparently gave me a bear with their logo on it. I say "apparently" because I was intubated and on Versed, so I don't remember. The next day, while the ICU crew was desperately trying to diagnose me and keep me alive, my soon to be daughter-in-law went out and bought a set of dog tags for the bear; on one it said "Ger-Bear" which is her nickname for me, and now also belongs to the stuffed version. On the other was a message of love and support from my wife and kids (and I include my daughter in law in that group). She made sure he went with me whenever I was moved from one place to another; I'm sure she would have sent him into surgery with me that night if she could have. When I woke up after surgery, he was there and I came to feel that he was watching over me; he was my guardian and represented the love and support from my family that was always with me, even when they weren't. For the rest of my hospital stay, he moved with me; from surgical ICU to surgical step-down to the cardiac ward and home, and I always had him propped up where I could see him (and he could see me!). He still sits in our living room keeping an eye on me, and he is precious to me. He was the centerpiece of my "welcome to the family" speech to my new daughter in law at their wedding Jan. 3. If anyone had told me 6 months ago that a promotional trinket could possibly have come to mean as much to me during my recovery as that bear has, I'd have strongly suspected excessive recreational drug use and had a good laugh, but there it is

 

[escargome]

In my case, the thing that brought me the most comfort aside from my family (husband, son, his at the time fiance, daughter and her husband) was getting up every morning, taking a shower and getting dressed (even if it was only an extra large T-Shirt and lounge pants). I slept in my bed from the first day I got home. So getting dressed to me was a sign that I wasn't sick or unable to do my usual routine. Walking also was a bit of therapy for me. At first I only walked to the end of our drive way, then as days progressed I extended the walking to the end of the block, then 2 blocks etc. I always took into consideration that I would have to walk back also. But over time I was also able to sit outside and read a book. Although sometimes my family fussed at me that they thought I might be doing too much, I stayed as mobile as I could and kept thinking back to some advice a nurse had give me years before (surgery not heart related) to try to walk with my head up and shoulders back. It worked :biggrin2:

 

[Jkm7]

I took great comfort from a Teddy bear; sounds silly I know. The ambulance crew that delivered me to the ICU 40 miles from home apparently gave me a bear with their logo on it. I say "apparently" because I was intubated and on Versed, so I don't remember. The next day, while the ICU crew was desperately trying to diagnose me and keep me alive, my soon to be daughter-in-law went out and bought a set of dog tags for the bear; on one it said "Ger-Bear" which is her nickname for me, and now also belongs to the stuffed version. On the other was a message of love and support from my wife and kids (and I include my daughter in law in that group). She made sure he went with me whenever I was moved from one place to another; I'm sure she would have sent him into surgery with me that night if she could have. When I woke up after surgery, he was there and I came to feel that he was watching over me; he was my guardian and represented the love and support from my family that was always with me, even when they weren't. For the rest of my hospital stay, he moved with me; from surgical ICU to surgical step-down to the cardiac ward and home, and I always had him propped up where I could see him (and he could see me!). He still sits in our living room keeping an eye on me, and he is precious to me. He was the centerpiece of my "welcome to the family" speech to my new daughter in law at their wedding Jan. 3. If anyone had told me 6 months ago that a promotional trinket could possibly have come to mean as much to me during my recovery as that bear has, I'd have strongly suspected excessive recreational drug use and had a good laugh, but there it is

That is so lovely. How heartwarming.... no pun intended.

You might find some pleasure in dropping the ambulance company a note writing exactly what you have just written here. It may urge them to provide such bears to others who they delivered seriously ill to hospitals. If nothing else, they surely will be happy to hear you have done well and their work helped in that endeavor.

Keep up the good work...... stay well. !!!!

 

[Pat J]

I brought Molly, a golden retriever plush pillow, a quilt my friends had made with pix of golden retrievers I had rescued and a painting of my four golden retrievers to the hospital. They comforted me and made me a "person" to the hospital staff who came into my room.

One month post surgery and I still have a limited attention span. Can barely finish the Post crossword; haven't read a book and just started looking at my magazines.

I want a massage!!!!

 

[gerrychuck]

That is so lovely. How heartwarming.... no pun intended.

You might find some pleasure in dropping the ambulance company a note writing exactly what you have just written here. It may urge them to provide such bears to others who they delivered seriously ill to hospitals. If nothing else, they surely will be happy to hear you have done well and their work helped in that endeavor.

Keep up the good work...... stay well. !!!!

Coincidentally, I am currently treating a paramedic from the EMS staff in our rehab program. I shared the story with him a few days ago and he said he would pass it on to the crew that transported me. He thought they would appreciate hearing about it. Normally they only give the bears to kids they carry. Although many have described me as a kid who refused to grow up, I have no idea why they gave me one. Glad they did though

 

[DanielB]

For me, the best thing in the hospital was when I was allowed to take short walks around the floor every day. Getting home, just moving toward normal things mentioned above -- showers, getting up and getting dressed, having meals with my wife and, right there at the top, walking. I agree with Jkm7, walking can be one of the most benificial thigs for ones body. One of the biggest things I missed in my extended (10 day) hospital stay was fresh, outside air. I'll never forget being wheeled outside the hospital to get into my wife's car, asking the nurse to stop as soon as we got out into the sunlight. It worried her and she asked if I was having a problem. I said no, I just wanted to enjoy the feel of the sun on my face and drink up the cool ocean breeze we are blessed with here in San Diego. All of the above, while leaning on the good people of this forum made the start of my recovery better for sure.

 

[Bracken]

At night, in the hospital, I would put on the Bose noise cancelling earphones and just play my tunes. Helped me stay asleep and block all of the distracting noises from the hospital.

 

[Superman]

I discovered Hulu and got to watch some old TV series from my youth! Think I watched the old BattleStar Galactica from beginning to end when the rest of the house was sleeping and I couldn't. That was fun. Got some books from the library. I read I am Legend, then watched the Will Smith movie version. Got to do some book to movie comparison. Worked on little things, kids baby blanket, etc. Focused on routine (walk at this time, do other rehab exercizes at this time, etc.). Just tried to get back into the routine of life, I guess.

 

[epstns]

I'm not sure if I mentioned it, but a while before my surgery a good friend gave me a gift subscription to "Hemmings Classic Car" magazine. As a recovering gearhead and show car guy, it was great. I saved about 6 months of issues to read at night when I was awake and the rest of the house was asleep. The articles were detailed enough to fully occupy my mind, but not so involved that I couldn't keep the plot straight. Thanks Gene (the friend who gifted me the subscription).

 

[carolinemc]

I still remember being in recovery, coming out of the haze and banging the side railing to let the nurses know that I was trying to come around. I was aware of the breathing tube still in my throat. And after waking up a couple of more times banging the side rail and drifting back to sleep, woke up with them pulling the breathing tube out, gaging and staying calm. The rest of the stay was not a blur as I could get normal sleep yet. When I got home, it took time to get normal sleep, freaked my brother out by sleeping in the chair, sitting upright. But my days of recovery was soothed by trying to read and fill it in puzzle books, or just watching tv. Anything to work on my concentration. And I would post here almost daily. My nights was filled listening to my aortic valve(St. Judes) to put me to sleep at might.

 

[Rachel]

What a great thread - I love reading everyone's story!

Initially, I got comfort from just being alive! Realizing how much my husband loves me was another comfort that I didn't expect, our relationship was always very strong but we got a whole lot closer during that time. Once I was home taking a shower and getting dressed was really the highlight of my day for the first couple weeks - that and great food and much sleep. I like sleeping.

In between napping and walking, I really enjoyed reading funny stuff like "Me talk pretty one day" by David Sedaris.

Mostly I remember just being profoundly grateful for being alive - greeting everyday with joy in my heart.

Rachel