Kimberly's Guestbook

Kimberly Eisenhut  Ruth joy, thank you for this today, I really needed it. My daughter will be taking on my business with my son while I am not able to stamp my orders for my Etsy shop. Hammering out every letter is not something I will be able to do for quite a while I am guessing. I am right handed too and getting the incision on the right side for the mini thoracotomy. Hope I heal quickly and can stamp by Christmas rush!  

Richard Munson  Glad a got mine. Speaking of which, i used it today. And will use it saturday as i drive golden girl like a stole it. 

Kimberly Eisenhut  Aw Richard, I love your name for your car! "Golden Girl" :) I hope you have nice weather tomorrow for the show
Just booked a hotel next to Northwestern for my daughter and youngest son to stay for the night before and night of my surgery so they do not have to drive back and forth too much. They will come out when I get to step down and in regular room sometime during the week after surgery also. I will miss them like crazy though Crazy expensive for hotels anywhere near Northwestern because it is on the Magnificent Mile in Chicago, parking is crazy too. I just want to see them before I go into surgery so decided it is worth the expense. My beautiful daughter will be holding down my Etsy shop while I am away, so I am very grateful for that, as putting a shop on "vacation" really brings down sales.

Kimberly Eisenhut  I forgot to add, it is a 2-3 hour drive depending on traffic from our homes to Northwestern, that is why I did the hotel for them for a couple of nights.

Richard Munson  My blood related daughter was rushed to hospital today after bee sting incident which she is apparently very allergic to. Took her sweet time about going which has me crazy but she is 3 hours away. She never replaced her epipen after last one. Had her on iv benedril. Sounds better on phone. She is 55, one might think a little common sense is too much to ask. We had a rather tense conversation. I need the blood pressure spike of a worried dad. Lord give me strength. 

Rose Madura  Kimberly, best wishes for your surgery and recovery. You have a great support system and it sounds like you have everything under control. God bless you on this journey. 

Ana Brusso  Richard, Sorry to hear about your daughter incident today. God always gives us what we need if we asked him. Glad your daughter is better and hopefully will now have a spare EpiPen. Take it easy dear dad. 🙏❤️😍

Ana Brusso  Agree with our dear Rose that you have a great support system Kimberly. You will do well. We will be here to welcome you into recovery. God bless you 🙏❤️

Kimberly Eisenhut  Thank you all for your support. Richard, I am sorry your daughter had to go through that, sounds like something my daughter would do also! Never thinks ahead about things until I get the phone call when it becomes a crisis! Then I have to deal with the "blood pressure spike"! Yes, it truly never ends when you have kids. When I was talking to my, (will be 80 years old tomorrow), mother yesterday, I started crying because she insists on being with me the entire time I am in hospital and I worry about her health and the stress of being there all day every day. I had to help her with the stupid MyChart stuff over the phone too because the Dr never called in her prescription when she was in ER last week and she could not get ahold of anyone at Dr office, always recordings and a million prompts that just annoy her to death. I am glad I set it up so I can get into her MyChart as well and I walked her through it so she knows how to send a message to her DR office through MyChart and she got it refilled next day. I told her, unfortunately, this is just how it is now. Terrible way to run things when someone is sick, does not know how to navigate the computer/apps easily and just makes having chronic illness so much harder than it has to be. She is better now, but I told her to never leave a hospital or ER without proof any prescription or orders have been sent. I will not be leaving after my stay until everything has been sent to my pharmacy and I know they have it for us to pick up on the way home, or I am given it from hospital pharmacy. 
I also worry about how she will take it seeing me in ICU, as when my little sister, at 13, passed away from sudden brain stem aneurysm, it just crushed her for the two weeks she was on life support. I was only 18 and it has scarred me for life also about any health conditions. My older sister also will probably have a hard time with this, but not as much as my mom. I will have to be strong and try to smile and possibly make a joke before going in. Richard, can you think of any good jokes for me when I am going in to surgery? 

Kimberly Eisenhut  Thank you Suzette, I am pretty stressed as well as my kids. I do not have a significant other, so I have to depend on my 80 year old mother and my kids. I hate that they have to go threw this and worry. 

Kimberly Eisenhut  Oh Richard, thank you for this today :) I also wish we lived close to each other.
I will print that out and have it be my mantra. "Put one foot in front of the other"; I remember it well from my childhood
You are a wonderful HVS step dad! Love to you, Nancy and Shadow

Kimberly Eisenhut  Hey step dad, I just left a message in main feed, but I am so glad to see you are on antibiotics and will heal well :)

Kimberly Eisenhut  Richard , believe me I know about being careful, Im kind of a germaphobe, so doing that was so Not Me, just instinct kicked in to hug someone who needed it

Richard Munson  Mrsa is a bad one that is very tough to control. I like the flesh eating disease better as it sounds worse. That is what is does however. Like pac man. My friend caught it in the hospital after very minor surgery. 4 months and a few butt skin grafts later he finally got out. Thats why they give you special soap before surgery. Yes, once i found out the grafts came from his butt, i did tell him an off color joke.  

Kimberly Eisenhut  Richard, thanks for the laugh tonight! Not downplaying your friends illness, but your humor helps. I can guess what your joke entailed :)
I just received my full instruction letter in MyChart for pre surgical Hibiclens showers for 3 days and the stuff you have to put in your nostrils for 3 days before also. Does everyone in the OR have to do this also? LOL, they have germs too

Fidel Martínez Ruiz  Well done, Richard, when there are wounds, is crucial to prevent infections for valve carriers. Furthermore, the grown up like us have a weaker immune system. Take care.

Kimberly Eisenhut  Let me know how you are when you can my HVS step dad! Prayers nothing is broken or infected. Hugs and love sent

Kimberly Eisenhut  Ruth, yes, I finally locked it in, but I am so very nervous and anxious about everything. Not sure how I will get through the next month and this whole thing. I am also moving this weekend, so very stressed at the moment. No sleep doesnt help either. I am grateful to have the option to fix this, but as always it comes with so much anxiety and worry. If anyone has any advice on what they did to alleviate it would be much appreciated. I do not want to have my son see me so anxious either. Id like to be more confident and enjoy every day instead of just ruminating over this. Being sleep deprived certainly does make it so much harder to cope, but none of my Drs will give me anything to help with sleep. They all just say to take Melatonin, which I have tried and really does not work for me.

susan harris  have you tried the breathing thing. there are different versions of it around. i’ve used the “breathe in for 4 seconds, hold for 6, slowly let out for 7 “.  sounds simple but twice snd i’m out. they teach it to soldiers who have to sleep in shifts and only have a few minutes. 

Dan Fouratt  Jen,  I wish your husband good luck.  I had a mini also to replace my aortic valve.  My recovery was less then three months so it is possible for him to get back to work sooner.  I was retired so no race back to work for my but two months post surgery I became care giver for my wife who broke her heal and was not mobile for the next four months.  

Kimberly Eisenhut  Thank you Ruth, it was ok. I will have a telehealth visit with Dr Malaisrie on the  26th next week. Surgery date is now scheduled for Sept 26th

Kimberly Eisenhut  Thank you Petey, I will be having my tricuspid done, but hope it is as successful as everyone elses on other valves :)

Kimberly Eisenhut  Wow Scott, that is pretty amazing!!! Thanks for the response. Dr Malaisrie said it'll be 5-7 days for me, but maybe because it's Tricuspid, I'll have to ask . So happy to see how well you did😊

Kimberly Eisenhut  Thank you Doug. I will not have robotic assist, at least not that I know of. I am just more worried because it is for Tricuspid valve, but I trust Dr Malaisrie and his experience with this procedure. I am having another CT scan of my legs/groin because they did not get it when doing the heart ct scan. Dr needs access through the artery in the groin/leg also for this surgery. Did they do that for you as well? I guess for the heart lung machine?