Trish's Guestbook

Trish E  Hi Daisy! Thank you for the well wishes! What a surreal experience: surgery 6/17-discharged morning of 6/21! My surgeon and her team exceeded my expectations!

Dr Chikwe followed me every step of the journey. She saw me daily, and not just for a pop in: she would spend 15 minutes! She was coincidentally there bedside when the chest tube was removed! She even assisted! The care I received at Cedars was exceptional too. 

I Pushed myself on discharge day…and paid for it the next! Today, Monday, I am rested, fed, and feel great. I’m so glad I did my research and travelled from Colorado to Cedars for surgery!

How are you feeling? Your recovery? It appears you’re in CA too. 

Daisy Tanner  Hi Trish, So glad to hear you had exceptional care. I know a friend of the family that also had Dr. Chikwe for her valve surgery. She's great! Cedars is 2 hours from me but I decided to stay here in San Diego. My surgeon does the most valve surgeries in San Diego and trains other surgeons on the DaVinci Robotic machine that he used for my surgery. I did have some after complications but moving along. My surgeon follow up went well and had my cardiologist appt today and he calmed all my concerns. I feel pretty good but dealing with irregular heart rhythm, my incisions are healing well, just some soreness, my lung are better, BP is low but still in normal range. Walking but I do get fatigued. Like you I push myself and pay for it later. Lol! Best wishes on your road to recovery. We'll be back at it in no time. Hugs

Trish E  Thanks so much for your response! 

One reason I decided to go to cedars is our daughter and SIL live in West Hollywood. I got an Airbnb 1.5 blocks from them. They’ve been able to come over and check in on husband while I was in the hospital, now on me for recovery. We leave the rental Sunday, and will stay with them until we return to CO.

Sounds like you made a great choice too! I’m realizing that recovery is not linear! No pain, (so far) but the fatigue is annoying. Got my first shower yesterday-that was a challenge. I haven’t been sleeping well. I called the dr and they said I could take melatonin. That’s helped, but I think my sleep pattern is off. I never napped during the day! 

I think I’ll try to get my 3-8 minute walks in today. I definitely feel my lung capacity Is compromised. Using the spirometer frequently. Each day I set a new goal. But, it’s only a goal…if I’m tired, I’m resting! 

Did you go into to AFib after surgery? I had a MAZE, which I think helped. My BP on low side too, but HR is elevated. 

Can you believe we have gone through this? Im extremely grateful for the health reset! And, Im thinking of doing an attitudinal reset too: I have been there for everyone else for years…now it’s time for ME! My “pump head side effect”: IM NOT GOING TO WASTE TIME ON BS!!! I’ll be 70 next year, I plan to be around for a long while! (My mom is 99 and doing well! So the genes are there!)

Thank you for reaching out! Life is all about connections! Please keep in touch and I will do the same! Feel better! 

Daisy Tanner  Hi Trish! Sounds like you had a good plan. And to have your daughter there is huge.
I must say the shower was a challenge for me too. My sleeping is awful and I'm also taking melatonin. It use to work but not so much right now. I had a couple of days of less walking because of fatigue. I did go into Afib in the hospital and go into it almost everyday. Less time in it . Doctors said it's normal. That's it's because the heart is inflamed and will eventually get back to normal. I had an ablation a couple of years so it was disappointing when it started happening. But I know it takes time. My BP is also low, around 94/65 and my HR is in the 70's.
I can't believe this happened but so happy I'm going to feel better and get back to life. I'm 65 and yes, No BS. I'm always taking care of others and I will continue to but I need ME time too!
Take care and yes, let's stay in touch. Hugs

Trish E  Hi Daisy-I wonder why at all of my consults they included a MAZE, and you didn’t have one to correct your AFib? Maybe you were in sinus rhythm until after the surgery? 

Surgeon wants to see me today. I have been having terrible diarrhea and nausea every afternoon after I eat. I take Zofran for nausea, but then I get exhausted after going so frequently and I’m in bed until dinner (and, That’s plain white rice!)  Also, have a nagging cough. Each of those days  have really set me back. 

They gave me muscle relaxers too. I take them at night and helps with sleeping. It’s crazy I’ve had no pain. The incisions are itchy and tight but I able to do the bending exercises. BP is good, butHR higher than I’m used to. 

Continued smooth healing to you! Have a good weekend!

Daisy Tanner  I already had an ablation for Afib in 2023. Can't remember if it was the MAZE or another type of procedure. It fixed my Afib. My surgeon said that since he was repairing the mitral valve he would close off the left atrial appendage which is where blood clots are formed when in Afib. In case it came back. Which does happen sometimes. Having the Afib after surgery is a common complication and subsides after a few weeks. I haven't had any Afib for a couple of days just SVT's with Ecotpy sometimes. So all that is improving.

So sorry about your diarrhea and nausea. That's terrible. What did the surgeon say? I didn't experience that, just a little nausea in the hospital. I also have a cough. First it was after using the spirometer and I would cough up lot's of phlegm. As that cleared up I got a dry cough for several days that was annoying. I also had a nose bleed that scared me but all is well. I put a humidifier in my room to help with the dry air. I had a set back too with the irregular heart rate and not sleeping so I'm fatigued and couldn't walk like I was the last couple of days. Today was a better day and I slept well last night. Every day is different.

My incision area burns but not pain. My skin is numb in areas so as I get the feeling back it burns a little. I had a lot of bruising. I bruise easily already. My BP is low around 95/65 and my heart rate stays around the high 70's. With my ablation my HR was in the 90's for a while.

Let me know how you're doing and hope you get back on track. Hugs