Gail's Guestbook

Gail Magnus  Hi Shannon. My situation is a tad different than yours because I had my first OHS before having my kid's. I was 30 when I had OHS the first time, then had my ... Read more

Gail Magnus  Hi Shannon. My situation is a tad different than yours because I had my first OHS before having my kid's. I was 30 when I had OHS the first time, then had my two kid's when I was 35 and 37. The reason I share that is my kid's have always known (since they were old enough to understand and ask) that the scar I had was from heart surgery. It's been over the last 3-4 years that I knew surgery #2 was going to happen sooner rather than later. I DID NOT share this with my kid's until the pre-op testing started which was about 6-8 weeks prior to my surgery date. I decided to not keep all the pre-op prep a secret and thought it would help prepare them for my surgery. I decided my kid's needed to be a part of this journey rather than try to keep it a secret. For example, when I went in to have my cardiac cath the kid's knew and were very helpful when I got home. I had a few other tests that they knew I was going to have before the "big day". Again, I think it helped prepare them. We kept is simple when my husband and I told them the news. I got a little teary eyed, but they seemed to take it OK. We just told them I had to have my heart fixed up so I would be around for a long long time. They processed it and asked questions along the way. I tried to be as honest as possible without freaking them out. I did do something special with each kid the week before my surgery. Nothing fabulous, but special to them. I took my son to get his new lacrosse helmet and cleats (he loves lacrosse) and then a bite to eat. I took my daughter to design her own notebook as she loves drawing, coloring and writing stories. I was going to make a big to-do for when I was gone and have stuff for them from me to have/open, but decided that may make it worse. We had them come visit me when I was in step down and most of the tubes were removed. My son was nervous and kinda stayed in the corner. My daughter was curious and asked a million questions and wants to be a doctor! I hope this helps!? Let me know if you have more questions after reading this and I'll try to answer them.

Terrie Syvertsen  Hello there Gail. Wishing you and your "Team" great results in your surgery tomorrow. Hoping you had a nice day today and are able to get
a good nights sleep. ... Read more

Terrie Syvertsen  Hello there Gail. Wishing you and your "Team" great results in your surgery tomorrow. Hoping you had a nice day today and are able to get
a good nights sleep. Sending you positive thoughts and hope you are feeling positive as well!