Heart Valve Surgery Pop Quiz Time!!!

Complete the following statement:

“Waking up in the intensive care unit after cardiac surgery with a ventilator tube still in your throat is…

• A. “So much fun! I can’t wait to do it again!”
• B. “Uncomfortable. Not being able to talk is somewhat dislocating.”
• C. “The worst thing ever!”
• D. “I don’t know! It was removed before I woke up.”

And… The answer is..

The answer is…

• E. It depends.

Not to trick you (that was not one of the multiple choice answers above), but patients tend to have different responses to that question - although very few select answer “A”.

Most patients dread waking up with a vent tube in after their heart valve repair or heart valve replacement surgery. Personally, I had NO CLUE that I would wake up with the ventilation tube stuck down my throat after my [1] aortic valve replacement surgery.

Needless to say, that was a very dislocating experience. I could not talk. And, swallowing was a major challenge due to the vent tube and my dry, dry, dry, dry, dry, dry, dry mouth.

Instead of focusing on the discomfort of the situation, I did my best to enjoy the silence of being with my family. One-by-one, they entered my ICU room. First came my dad (Jerry), then [2] my wife (Robyn), then Doug (my brother), Donna (my mom) and Monica (my sister).

Pick Family Picture Taken
Last Week At My Birthday Party (February, 2008)

As you can read here, [3] waking up in the intensive care unit after heart surgery was a special time for me.

Keep on tickin!

[4] To learn more about Adam’s heart valve surgery book, click here.