Susan's Guestbook

Hi Susan, just a note to wish you the best next week. You'll be on the road to recovery soon! Sending all good thoughts and prayers your way. I know you'll do well!

My surgery is in less than 2 months and I am definitely having major pre-surgery fatigue! I'm normally tired most days but lately feel down-to-the-bone tired. I have always struggled with anxiety but finding out I needed open heart surgery at age 41 really ramped up my anxiety. It took me 2.5 months to find a surgeon I was comfortable with, so during that time I had a lot of panic in my head. I think that sucked the life out of me and increased my fatigue. I feel a little calmer now that I have a surgery date, but the nervousness is still there. I am sure as the date approaches I will start to feel more anxious again. I think I remember you wrote something about being concerned about feeling the breathing tube or being awake when it's in? It seems most people don't remember much about it, but I have started imagining myself in that moment and "training" my brain to be calm about the feeling.

Hi Susan, I had my mitral and tricuspid valves repaired this past March. I did play through my head how to react if I was conscious with the tube still there. (relax, relax, relax). I had one brief second (and I mean like 5 seconds) where I remember my mouth feeling "full", and other than that I have no memory of the tube. Everyone is different, some of us remember and others not. How you will feel right after the surgery is REALLY, REALLY EXHAUSTED, particularly if your sternum is opened. If you are having minimally invasive, then from the stories shared by heart warriors, everything is much easier right after surgery. The pain is not what you would imagine either. Pain killers did the trick; only Tylenol after the second day. What is great to know is that you will one nurse dedicated to just you in the ICU, so no matter what you want, you will be taken care of ASAP. Don't hesitate to ask for anything or ask any questions. Thinking of you!