Katlina's Journal

Susan Lynn  Stay positive and keep his spirits up!   Also, take care of yourself.  For your boyfriend,  surgery will feel like a one minute nap.   For you,  game day will be long hours of  stressful waiting - don't forget to eat,  drink, and rest. The days at the hospital that follow will also be tiring.   I didn't realize how wiped out my husband and sister were until we got home.   I was only in the hospital for three days, but it took its toll. As patients,  we get all the good drugs.   Unfortunately,  our caregivers don't get a thing.   Best of luck to you both.  It's a team effort! 

Rose Madura  Sounds like you've done a great job preparing.  One thing I found very handy as a patient was a travel pillow.  You may also want to make sure there is a 24 hour pharmacy nearby in case he is dismissed in the evening as I was.  

Robert Miller  Wow, you did your research!! You mentioned heating pads which is great. I didn't see different sizes of pillows for in the recliner/bed. Or a wedge pillow for the bed which is uncomfortable but still helpful for the first couple of weeks to get in and out of the bed so you don't stress the chest too much. There are chances for complications like getting a mechanical valve vs fixing a valve, the heart not beating properly and requiring a pace maker, etc. Unlikely but possible. And have your friend do the breathing exercises, going for walks, check the heart (I like to use a Kardia 6L), possibly a bracelet if your friend gets a mechanical valve (there was just some discussion about this today), etc. But you did about everything I can think of. You are about the most prepared person I can think of!!! 

Katlina Rege  Thank you all for your comments- I'll be sure to keep plenty of pillows around and good idea to add a travel pillow to his go kit...Luckily we have a good support network from our families to help us along... I really appreciate sharing your insight!

Sue Maize  I had my OHS last June and I was really grateful for a fan and the headband my friend provided and filled with ice—-felt hot all the time! Also an endless supply of  lozenges after being extubated. Wishing you both well! 🙏🏻

Thomas Brusstar  Lots of chapstick!  During and after intubation it's just what you need.  If you ask they'll give you the medicinal-tasting Blistek and charge you like $36.  Plus bring every conceivable charging cable.

It sounds like you may done this already, but I pre-drafted an update email, just so I could add the right email addresses while I had time and wasn't rushed or bleary-eyed to remember whom to add to a list.  Then just save it in drafts and when you're ready, it's already mostly ready.

Jim Driscoll   Katlina,

From my experience, He'll be sore and uncomfortable with little or no pain for a while.  Best to keep him moving for a more speedy recovery.  Each day he'll feel better and can do a little more than the day before. After 5 days in the hospital, support was nice but I felt I could take care of myself at that point. Best wishes

Marie Myers  I felt so exhausted for the first couple weeks, and I used a shower chair in the early days. I also slept in a rental electric recliner for a month, since i found it difficult to sleep flat in bed. My hubby got takeout food , and my appetite increased slowly. Just having sometime there was a comfort!

Grace Mason   Initially after surgery he will probably be taking a lot of meds. Blood pressure, pain meds, a diuretic, etc..
I was glad my husband helped me manage those for about 10-14 days after surgery because sometimes I would forget which ones to take when.

After a few weeks I was doing them on my own and I found using a notebook and recording them throughout the day as I would take them really helped me keep them all straight.
I needed help mostly with opening heavy doors or twisting the lids off jars(I wasn't expecting this), but most things I could do if it didn't require any heavy lifting, pushing or pulling.
Definitely encourage walking as Jim suggests or walk with him to provide company and assurance he may want immediately after surgery.
My husband brought me protein smoothies in the hospital which felt good on my throat after being intubated during surgery and they were also easier to swallow than other food proteins.

Dan Fouratt  Invest in the pill by the day trays a lot.  I had my morning and evening set and three weeks worth of them. (if you have noon pills have a third set) Use the days to help remember what you took.  I had colors for the evening pills and the morning pills. So every three weeks we set out the medications and did not have to worry about issuing daily dosages. Note sometimes my medication changes and i would need to redo the trays.  however that system help me manage the medication.   As Grace said, walk, walk, walk.  I started in step down and since I had no visitors it allowed me to walk, walk, walk. Not sure if you have easy access to a tread mill but they are flat and you can set the pace slow. I do not want to rewrite my post to caregivers but look under that topic.  I went from patient to caregiver 2 months after surgery and it was eye opening. Most important is have him listen to his body, it will tell him what he can do.  Good Luck on the recovery.  Almost everyone here say it is better then the build up to surgery.

Yumiko Ishida  Power recliner is very nice to have, and a table within reach to keep things handy. It is important to move, but when in rest mode it’s important to focus on rest. I agree that managing meds was the hardest part for me and it would’ve been nice to get help in that area. I always used pill sorters, but there were new meds post surgery, and many of them were “as needed.” Making sure I was taking the meds I had to take and not too many required a lot of concentration, and I didn’t have much brain power to spare post surgery, so I found it exhausting.

Deena Z  Definitely have a blood pressure cuff,  meals such as those with red meat to increase hemoglobin (if he eats such), a heating pad if his chest hurts (if there is an incision) and telling him -often- to not over  do it.  

Dan Fouratt  I also purchased sweet pants and a front button up shirt to dress in the hospital and at home.  Not a fashion statement but it was easy to dress.

Don Wigginton  Hello, I had my bicuspid valve, ascending aorta and hemiarch replaced on May 5. I was home by day 5 post op, very tired at first. He will be limited lifting things obviously, but should be fine walking around. By the end of week 2 into week 3 I got some energy back and was walking 3 plus miles a day. Still tired at night but felt much better. 

Best of luck and any other specific questions please reach out.

susan harris  the hospital probably has rules and post covid, they could be very strict. that will make some decisions for you. my son liked having one person w him (maybe two but not two all day) in case he needed something and nurse was not around. he also needed help keeping track of pain mgmt. i suggest making a chart of drugs, when next dose is due, etc. If you plan to be the one person, i strongly suggest you’ll need breaks. have others give you breaks for meals, go out of hospital for a walk , take a nap, etc.  my husband and i planned to do 1/2 days. but we ended up both being there most of time together and i wish we had taken turns more. even if taking turns, you still need breaks!
sorry to be brutally honest, this is not social hour-it’s hard work for everyone. my son didn’t want visitors. he just didn’t feel up to it. and there just isn’t really time to socialize. when it’s time to walk, eat, nap, talk to drs. doing rounds, x-ray, using the bathroom can take 1/2 hr.  etc. you can’t delay.  and you also want to minimize exposure to germs-more people adds to this. 

Rose Madura  What does your boyfriend want? Everyone is different, but I loved visitors.  The thought that so many people came to see me warmed my heart and EVERYONE was understanding if I nodded off of had to go for a test. It's all part of the process.  

Klara Čičić  Yes, everyone is different. I wanted just one person, because you have very low energy postop. One person who will meet my needs and be optimistic, cheerful, not fearful and anxious. You need strength in those times! Too many people could be overwhelming. 

Rita Savelis  I didn't want any visitors, especially in ICU, other than one person (my husband or adult son). One usually has to put on a "performance" of feeling better for visitors when in fact you just want to rest, feel miserable for a few days and have some peace. There will be time for visitors later. In fact it can be hard because sometimes family and friends are happy that the surgery was a success and do not realise the recuperating that you have to do, that you may not feel so great at first and the emotional and physical processing that has to happen. I personally can not bear those who are too cheery and say that everything will be alright when they don't know how you are feeling. But every person is different and everyone's experience is singular. Your boyfriend should be able to let his family know what he prefers. 

Fidel Martínez Ruiz  I agree with Rita and Klara, one person is better, both have explained clearly why. Best wishes cheers up!!

Richard Munson  I had none due to covid. Turned out to be a good thing. No muss, no fuss. In the door alone, out the door alone. Never saw a face unmasked. 

Dan Fouratt  I was not in covid but I did not want any visitors.  Friends said they were coming by and I responded no thanks.  My wife swung by for a couple of hours each day and that was all I wanted.  I did not think she should suffer through my full days recovering as these were her last free days for a while.  So I walked loops around the hospital floor most of the days.  We all are different.

Katlina Rege  Thank you all for your honesty and sharing your experiences.  Some great suggestions here, I greatly appreciate it.  

Michael Ponzio  I really only wanted one or two visitors at most. It was my wife and middle son that came to visit. My daughter n laws came another time and I felt like I had to entertain them. I was glad to see them but just for a short visit. 

Yumiko Ishida  You probably need to make sure everybody is on the same page who the primary car giver is before his surgery. In my case it was my spouse, so there was no ambiguity there, but in your case you are not married, so it could potentially be a source of conflict. Visitors were limited to 2 at any given time at my hospital, so my spouse was almost always there, but the 2nd visitor was there more to support my spouse. Bringing coffee, lunch, etc. The primary care giver needs a lot of support. And in my experience, even when they are not the primary care giver, mothers need a lot of emotional support. My sister and mother were thousands of miles away during my surgery, so my circle of immediate support consisted of 1 spouse, 2 mother in law, and 3 friends.

J Alexander Lassally  Agree- the first few days are a singular experience... One is just so spent and minimized from the drugs and rigors of surgery... A few visitors but set expectations really low ! 

Robert Miller  Most likely, nobody is allowed to visit while intubated. Even my wife was "kicked" out by a nurse after another nurse let my wife in. My brother-in-law came for my first surgery (he is a world-renown surgeon) but there really wasn't much he could do besides being amazed what is involved with OHS. The next 2-3 days aren't fun with all the tubes. Once the last tube is out, you pretty much leave the hospital (for me both times within a couple hours or so). I mostly just had my wife and child visiting me. I wouldn't have mind others coming by but I certainly did "enjoy" some down-time. As for Covid, in our area you have to wear masks again when entering a hospital facility. I haven't heard of limitations for the number of people but you might want to check with the hospital.