About Me (In My Own Words)
My father had mitro valve regurgitation and double bypass when he was 55. He went to Vanderbilt Hospital and had the most senior surgeon operate on him. They had trouble in surgery and he left with a pace maker. It seemed to me he had more problems with the pace maker. This was in 1995. He lived another 21 years.
When I was about 40, I was diagnosed with mitro valve regiritation. Was told I would one day need the same surgery. Five years ago I was told to schedule the surgery and I ignored the advice because I had to run a struggling company. The company closed so I thought now was the time to get surgery.
Medicine has changed a lot since 1995. I wanted the robotic assisted surgery that goes in under the rib cage instead of the chest. Recovery time is much quicker. Also, I wanted to avoid the pacemaker as my father seemed to have problems with it for the rest of his life.
We were lucky enough to be accepted by the Cleveland Clinic and my surgeon was Marc Gillinov. Thanks to pre-existing conditions waived, I got a great insurance plan with Blue Cross Blue Shield.
At Cleveland, the tests revealed I had mild blockage in two arteries. The surgeon said this made me ineligible for the robot assisted surgery. So my days as a nude model was over. LOL
Surgery went well. They performed two procedures on my valve. Later I was told the valve does not leak at all. I also had two bypasses leaving two small incisions on my leg for the veins.
I asked the anesthesia contain no codeine or like codeine based. They did it anyway and said they would put something to help me from getting sick. So, as soon as I woke, I had to voment. I had the same experiences before with day surgeries.
Dr. Gillinov told me that there would be a greater chance of having a heart attack before surgery than dying in surgery. He gave a 1% chance of dying during surgery and 1% chance of having a pace maker. When I left surgery my heartbeat was about 22/minute. They installed a black box that was an external pacemaker.
When I woke after surgery, I felt I beat that 1% reaper! I first saw my brother and nephew. They said I had good color. I was in ICU.
I was always that healthy person who did not miss a day of school and eight years of college. I worked for 15 years before I took my first sick day. I fell sick with spotted Rocky Mountain fever. It kills many people but cost me a Friday workday. My point was I was rarely sick, skips flu shots, and never admitted into a hospital until the surgery at 55 years old.
So, ICU is quite a new experience for me. Let me prepare you, if you want to heal and rest, get out of ICU. ICU is the place that never sleeps. Your nurses serve 12 hour shifts at 7:00 to 7:00. There is this radiologist tech that takes X-rays while you are in bed. Hell, I considered him a stalker.
The respiratory therapists also seemed to work 12 hour shifts. You blow into this little gadget that resembles a kazoo but you can’t play a tune. They kept complaining I would only be at 97 percent but I passed the “blow for 30 seconds” tests every day after surgery.
On the evening of my surgery, they took me off the external pacemaker and cheered that my heart started beating 62/minute. That first day I was pretty much out of it so I really did not appreciate the implication of this great news. I beat the reaper and pacemaker on the same day.
During my stay at ICU the next day, my heartbeat raced up to 93. I freaked. I was going to have a heart attack and die in ICU! Dr. Mcdonnell cameby and said that was not abnormal and it was in the reading materials provided to me before surgery. I didn’t remember it and they gave me a pill to drop the heart rate.
So, there I was in ICU. A man without a hospital room. Nurses whose duty is preventing you from sleeping and resting. Just kidding, or am I? They would also wake me up to weigh me, change positions in bed to avoid clotting or bed sores, and giving me medications.
Here is some helpful advice. You lose all dignity when you go into ICU. The nurses looked at the two places they took the vein grafts from. One was in my groin area. Personally, I think they checked my groin and privates a bit too long. Once I said, “hey, my heart is up here.”
The nurses were young and attractive. Twenty-four hours a day men would appear doing their jobs. Like the real world the men each had their own style of checking out the nurses. The radiologist stalker said “ it’s like ice cream, drink slowly.” I still don’t know what he was talking about.
Then there was the role reversal. I am not sure of her title, but they had to re-do that needle in my arm where they give me shots. It had to be replaced nearly every day. Some nurses did a great job repairing or replacing that needle, some did not.
By her features and accent, this woman appeared to be from Central America. I overheard her asking if I was single and the nurses said yes. So, she removed her glasses and was attractive. She was showing the nurses how to put a new needle in my arm. She did a lousy job and flirted with me. Never thought I would meet the woman of my dreams in ICU. LOL
With everything hooked into me I felt like a cyborg, half man half machine. Over the next few days I was a cyborg doing a stripper show. That is, items would come off me nearly every day. First that neck tube disappeared. Then the external pacemaker. At some point they removed these four tubes. When they remove your stitches, it means you are close to going to a step down room.
Pain? Yes, you are in pain. You need to determine if the pain is from that open chest operation or the heart. This is a self taught course.
For your pain the nurses will help you. They offered me OxyContin and I refused and you should too. That stuff is made for cancer patients on their last leg, but the pill is dispensed like aspirin.
They have these large patches they put on either side of your incision. They help! Take other pain medication because you will need it. The pain from the incision will subside but you will not fully recover from the incision pain until you are home.
Constipation. They give you a stool softener and you need to take it. I like healthy food so I loved the hospital food. You can put an order in on a sheet of paper with check marks. Somehow, I never got the food I ordered.
I did not eat much at first, but later ate normally. Then I was realizing I was not having bowel movements. It became uncomfortable. So I asked for one of those porta potties (you don’t have a bathroom) and cans of prune juice. None of that worked.
The nurse offered a suppository and I desperately agreed knowing my dignity was awaiting at the airport. She administered the suppository as I remember asking “ do you have anything bigger.”
I asked for more prune juice, but was refused saying it would be too much. The suppository really did not work. The cans of prune juice did. You get doggy potty pads to assist in your bowel movement. That is where the moble toilet comes in handy.
I had the surgery on Thursday and the surgeon indicated I should be released on Tuesday. Before you leave the hospital you will go to a stepdown room. There was not s stepdown room available so they kept me in ICU.
I stayed in ICU for seven days awaiting a stepdown room. A man without a hospital room. I was already fighting the oxygen tube and needed “breaks” from the tube. Studying all of the tubes and wires attached to me, I realize they can be unattached and re-attached. I had an escape plan.
You have a snitch watching you. It is this monitor near your bed. At first I was reading my vitals. When I would unhook something, this damn snitch made a noise and probably called the nurses’ station. The nurse would come in and hook me back up.
The snitch has a reset button that stops the noise. So Houdini could successfully escape. As I said earlier, I really don’t get sick and probably recover faster than most people. I was told on the second day in ICU I should be moved to the step down unit the next day. Unfortunately, I had to wait 7 days for the step down room to be available.
So I would unhook the tubes, reset the snitch, and learned to walk the floor on my own. I spotted a bathroom on the floor and wanted to use that instead of that urine bottle they give you to pee in bed. The nurses saw what I was doing. They had an intervention with me and said when I unhook the tubes, let them know in advance.
Then it happened. I should have seen it coming. A mean nurse pulled a 12 hour shift and I was her patient. Bathroom privileges were cancelled. I’m back to peeing in the container in bed. She actually expected me to stay hooked to the machines. The nerve of this nurse!
Every day I was promised a stepdown room. Finally, a room opened up. This is a travel pointer. Make sure you can get flight tickets that can be moved for all of your family. My family was able to shift their tickets for my extended stay.
A surgeon came by to see me in ICU. He saw me about four times as I am thinking he was in training. My main surgeon only checked on me once. A nurse practitioner checked on me three times, once with my surgeon.
At stepdown, they were surprised I could already walk. The stalker X-ray technician did not go to stepdown. However, I was still not allowed to rest. Once they wheeled in a scale, woke me up, and weighed me. Two hours later I asked the nurse my weight. Apparently, it was not recorded.
No complaints here. I had a real hospital room with meals I did not have a say in. I had a bathroom but was told I could not take a shower. Houdini escaped ICU.
If they offer you classes, take them up on it. If they have classes on their TV, watch them. Here I was trying to limit my gluten and sugar intake to live healthier. However, their class was teaching us to avoid salt. I love cheese, but cheese is full of salt. But Swiss cheese has 1/10th the salt of other cheeses.
Here is a tip. Pack a bag before you go to surgery. Pack your favorite robe and slippers. Pack your cell phone and credit card. Have your family deliver your bag at some point. At stepdown, they brought me the medications and expected payment on the spot.
I was freed on Friday and asked family to be taken to the hotel room so I could rest, sleep, and heal. On Saturday, we went to a great restaurant in Cleveland and I enjoyed eating foods that I should stay away from. I survived and so will you.
After getting home, a bill for $200,000 arrived. The next month, the bill was raised to $240,000. For Blue Cross Blue Shield to recover $236,000 with my premiums, I calculate it will take about 25 years. My insurance covered all but around $4,000. Not trying to be political, but articles say they will soon do away with preexisting conditions. If you can afford it, get the best insurance plan now if you need an operation.
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
My surgery date is: June 21, 2018
