Joan's Journal

It's been 2 weeks after being discharged home. I made the 60 minute marker of walking and finally being able to climb 3 flights of stairs! Yeheey! Thank you again for all the prayers and positive vibes. My swollen logs have finally diminished to legs, although I'm still in Lasix which makes me urinate every 2 hours, I'm not complaining. Being stolen all over was uncomfortable. I have an upcoming cardiology appt this coming Wed, and I'm hoping the medications I'm taking will be reduced. I have a feeling that the intake of all of the meds contribute to my "no appetite" issue. The pain remains, and im hopeful that as the sternum heals, the pain will reduce and be gone in time. Sleep however remains a challenge. I'm still pushing 1 day at a time and continue to pray that this recovery goes smoothly.

It's been 2 weeks after being discharged home. I made the 60 minute marker of walking and finally being able to climb 3 flights of stairs! Yeheey! Thank you again for all the prayers and positive vibes. My swollen logs have finally diminished to legs, although I'm still in Lasix which makes me urinate every 2 hours, I'm not complaining. Being stolen all over was uncomfortable. I have an upcoming cardiology appt this coming Wed, and I'm hoping the medications I'm taking will be reduced. I have a feeling that the intake of all of the meds contribute to my "no appetite" issue. The pain remains, and im hopeful that as the sternum heals, the pain will reduce and be gone in time. Sleep however remains a challenge. I'm still pushing 1 day at a time and continue to pray that this recovery goes smoothly.

No amount of Thank you can suffice for all the prayers and support you gave. I went for the second open heart not knowing if I will make it or not, and here I am. I Made It! Thank you for all the prayers and support. It helped me rally through. I was not the typical pt at all. The Pain was excruciating, and I could not handle any narcotic as it made me immensely nauseated. To top it off is that the usual anti-nausea medicine did not work, that anesthesia had to use small doses of haldol. There was a time I thought "yup that's a sign you are psychotic that only haldol works for you"! I ended up having an annuloplasty. With this I'm hoping that the Right heart failure will eventually resolve in time. I still have the logs of Narnia and I am hoping also that this Bilateral lower Edema will eventually resolve in time. I am finally home and sleeping on my bed! I disliked those ICU beds. The back pain you get out of that is not a joke. I am now taking things one day at a time. I have a fitbit that records my very minimal achievements in walking, but those small steps do help push on. Managing Pain is hard, but I can live with a score of 4/10. Still working on my appetite and my sleep.

17 Days after Open heart surgery, Mitral, and Aortic valve fixed and I should be home already, right? Wrong. I'm still in the hospital and now going back for a reopen to fix the Tricuspid valve. My Triscuspid just had a minimal leak or regurgitation prior to and during surgery. But It started to act up to moderate regurgitation after closure that diuretics cannot even whip it back to normal. Because of this, I ended up with symptoms of right heart failure. I became short of breath, my feet and legs are so swollen, I call it the Logs of Narnia. My abdomen is swollen and congested and lieu of the venous congestion on the liver. It's a horrible feeling. So now discussions have been made that it is necessary to have the sternotomy while my ribs are not healed yet, as compared to having it 6 months later and get reopened and cracked again for an annuloplasty to repair the tricuspid regurgitation. Another Open Heart! How do I feel about this? I cried at first. Took me 24 hours to stomach and analyze it all. I'm still hoping I make it this second time.

Covid tested and negative! I am relieved to be Covid negative. Took good care of a lot of COVID patients in the ICU, even if I have been told by my cardiologist not to, as I would be risking it. Being infected with Covid would spell my demise considering the valve condition at hand. Still glad I did it, I fought the tough FIGHT with them. Ultrasound of bilateral carotids completed. Recliner delivered and I'm actually playing with it. Now I know why my patients love their recliners! I will be heading for surgery tomorrow with check-in time at 5 am. CHG bath tonight and tomorrow. I am truly grateful for this community's support and advice. The same goes for friends and family who offered a prayer for success. I know I will have to be on NPO status starting midnight, so I'm thinking of ordering out dinner. Japanese Cuisine seems a good choice. Yes, the next dinner is the World's Greatest Ice Chip.

Met with my CV Surgeon. I scheduled an appointment for my last minute questions and for my Family. From this meeting, was re-reviewing my TEE and the concern that my Aortic valve may also be needed to be replaced due to its state of calcification. Honestly, I don't know how I feel about that. I'm just thinking better be aware of it now than have surprises once opened. I also have read Adam's book which was immensely helpful. This book certainly bridges the gap on a lot of major concerns that usually are not discussed with one's physician. Awesome book!. I took everyone's advice to heart, which I am very grateful for. It sure helped me immensely in preparation for this surgery. I have been trying to live life as normally as I can since I last posted. I still did my 3-mile Hike even if I had to constantly stop to catch my breath! Being with nature was one way for me to stay positive and not think negatively.

Starting to prepare me for Open Heart Surgery/ Valve replacement/ Maze procedure, and clipping of appendage. Filed for LOA, started my Short term disability application, catching up on legal issues such as DPOA for Healthcare, Life insurance papers, arranging for food deliveries during the recovery period, ordered from freshly, Still looking at cardio-thoracic brace, front opening bra, bought loose clothes, gathering up my support group as my family is not here. I Hate to impose and I have been very independent and self-reliant. This is an issue I'm trying to hurdle! Also, being on the other side of the fence is exceedingly difficult. As Dr. Shemin remarked, "you are a sophisticated patient." WHY? because I was that Nurse who assisted in Open Heart procedures, that nurse who recovered heart patients in CVICU, yet amidst this background, it's still different when you are now the patient. I am worse than everybody else because having that knowledge is a caveat more so, I don't have the knowledge of a patient's perspective in recovery issues once they leave the ICU and go home. So I just ordered Adam's book. I'm just taking this as stoically as I can because it's getting too emotionally and psychologically exhausting...and I'm just starting.