Gina's Guestbook

Gina, Thank you so much for letting me know you are doing well. So glad you are home and doing better. I did not have to take lasix, and am glad you are off it now. Pamper yourself and take it slow. I hope you have a continued smooth recovery. Take Care, Theresa C.

Gina, Hope all went well today. As I write you should be on the other side, and starting the road to recovery. God speed to you! Hope your recovery is fast and on the smooth sailing side. Continued prayers to my fellow NJ and Howell resident. Update when you or someone can. God Bless, Theresa C.

Gina, I was told to call the surgeon if I came down with a cold within 2-3 days prior to surgery. I didn\'t, so I don\'t know exactly what they would do, but I imagine it might postpone things for a few days, may have some effect on breathing tube??? You are wise to avoid being around too many people regardless. I did the same. Linda Dixon, AVR 3/13/12

Hi Gina, Best wishes to you next week! I had a mini-sternotomy; as I said I didn\'t make the decision, I left it up to Dr. Adams. My incision is fine - truly is mini- can\'t even see the top of it when I wear a v-neck or scoop neck t shirt. I imagine it is only 3-4 inches.. how they did the surgery with the relatively small incision.. I\'ll never know.. just glad they were able to do it!! Regarding Mt. Sinai; I didn\'t have the best experience as I had a lot of pain that was difficult to get under control. My husband didn\'t stay with me; although I heard on the last day that he could have if he really wanted to... He stayed at the Courtyard Marriott for 3 days; then drove back and forth the last 3 days. It was hard on him.. he hated the drive.. driving into NYC is a whole other ballgame.. My son\'s grandparents stayed at our home during the week to take care of him.. thankf ully that worked out very well, although I do think they were all pooped by the end of the week! As far as the hospital goes; I survived on my music (listened to piano music on CDs on a little player over and over).. it blocked out the hospital noise and helped to relax me. All in all I think you just have to \"gut it out\", as my husband says, for a few days... it is a hard week but just keep in mind each day you are closer to getting home. I left my son a little note each day to open up, and a little gift (eg slinky, card game, etc..). I don\'t know if it helped him.. but it helped me to know I had something for him to open up from me every a.m... It is good your little ones are younger.. they won\'t ask too many questions and will just hug you to pieces when you get home! :) I wish you the very best; will look forward to following your journal. Dr. Adams is great - he will do a great job! All my best, Kate R

Gina, Nice to hear from you again. I will be praying for you. I had my surgery on Tuesday and was released on Sunday. I was supposed to go home Saturday, but the fast heart rate kept me in an extra day. The incision was under my right breast 5-6 inches. I did not measure it, but it extended about the length of the entire breast area. Like I stated before, it never caused me pain at all. Just be sure to follow their instructions to keep it clean. You are in great hands and have chosen the best. You will do fine. Who is your cardiologist locally? If you need anything else....contact me. Good luck, Theresa C.

Gina, I noticed you asked about a support person. Since I was not in a private room, my husband could not stay. He stayed in a hotel. On the last night, he slept in a pull out chair in a visitors lounge because he had checked out of the hotel. This was because we thought I was getting out, but I had to stay one more night because of a fast heart rate. Hope this helps, Theresa C.

Gina, I will try your email again, but thought I would leave a note here in case it does not go through. When is your surgery? I did not notice a date on here. I did not have any ribs broken....from what I understand they go through the ribs with the side approach. I absolutely had a great recovery and was happy with my decision for the side approach. I did not feel any pain at the incision site under the breast. My discomfort was in my thigh because of their approach through the groin for the heart and lung machine. I had a burning sensation on my right thigh that did affect my walking in the initial days. It did eventually stop, but I was left with a pins and needle feeling that has significantly gone away. I have not read of anyone else complaining of this, and I would 100 percent choose this approach again. I honestly did not consider this surgery to be anywhere as bad as I imagined it would be. Mt. Sinai Hospital was a great experience. Everyone was supportive and kind. Please feel free to ask any other questions. Also, I did not use most of what I brought...stayed in the two hospital gowns (front and back) until time to go home. Used my toiletries....could not concentrate to read. Take Care, Theresa C. NJ