LEE's Journal

Talked to mom and got some good news about her sternal wound infection. Hospital administered IV antibiotics and rana number of tests including a CT scan, chest xray and blood tests to determine the nature and extent of the infection. Looks like her white blood cell count is ok and her CT scan showed that the infection hasn\'t spread into the bone (which I guess was their concern). The doctors think the infection is probably localized to the internal suture area and is a result of the sutures dissolving. So...they are thinking that they will release her today with a prescription of antibiotics to take at home rather than keep her in the hospital. She is due to see her cardiologist on Tuesday and then Dr. Bavaria a week later. So timing is very good for quick follow up on both hospitalization & antibiotics. Will keep you posted as she learns more. Thanks for all your well wishes and prayers. She is feeling good and is VERY relieved to get this bit of news. -- Colleen :)

Hi all. Colleen here again. 10:15pm EST. Mom has been home from rehab center for about a week. Things were progressing okay --she was back to going out with friends occasionally, meeting for bridge,etc. Still taking it easy, but making progress walking around block,etc. Last night, however, her incision started to open up and began oozing -- a red flag for infection. :( She managed to get to her general practice physician who confirmed an infection and recommended that she contact Dr. Bavaria\'s office immediately. We managed to connect with a doctor on Dr. Bavaria\'s service around 6pm who let us know that they would want to see her and that she would be admitted to the hospital for treatment to resolve the infection. Mom decided not to wait overnight to head over to the hospital, so she is now in Emergency Waiting room at HUP, waiting to be admitted. Will let you know more when we know more. Prayers again everyone, please. Colleen:)

Wow... it\'s been a while since I\'ve updated blog. Apologies to all of you who have been faithfully following along. Mom doesn\'t have access to the internet in the rehab center where she is staying. And I\'m back in Minnesota full-swing, working/kids/home remodel! So... here\'s Lee\'s update. She\'s been doing wonderfully well in rehab until the past few days. She was planning to be released as early as today since she has been walking the steps in the center easily (15 steps up with no stops)...taking walks around the entire building and managing 2 hours of physical therapy each day. However, the heat is still really oppressive and we wanted her to stay where there is central air conditioning for a bit longer (only wall units in her home). Fast forward to today. -- Yesterday, she wasn\'t feeling great. Was getting breathless as she was walking around and wasn\'t sleeping well and getting VERY tired again. She went to see her doctor this morning who is concerned that she might have fluid on her lungs so sent her to imaging center where she is right now. Will let you know more as I learn more. Fingers crossed that it is either nothing or a small setback. -- More later. Colleen

I\'m in rehab, and my social life seems to be going well. On Saturday I had 10 visitors. Yesterday Gail and her dog Lucky came for a visit. Today 3 ladies from my bridge group came for the afternoon. I must say that I\'m looking forward to going home, but don\'t want to leave too soon. I have to go up 15 steps before I can go on my own, and make sure that I can get out of bed on my own. I have 2 hours of physical therapy a day, I can\'t believe how tired I get!!!!!I was surprised at the amount of pain that I had after surgery...I thought that it would be much worse. It was such a Joy to have my daughter here with me during my hospital time, I don\'t know what I would have done without her. Lee

Mom is being discharged today. All systems are go -- only remaining issue is the remaining fluid build up in her body. The doctors are not particularly concerned about it as this is very typical post surgery and they are saying that it needs to come off slowly. Her heart function was checked out in an echo-cardiogram that looked just fine (heart is working well). Also they did an ultrasound of her legs to make sure that there were no blood clots causing the problem but there were none. So.... with the exception of that discomfort and some impatience with the swelling, she\'s ready to go. :) :) :) She has done really well. It\'s definitely been a roller-coaster ride -one day great, the next day down (either emotions or physical symptoms). It\'s definitely a process. She is now a bit further down the path to recovery. Did want to say a big shout-out to all of her visitors especially to Sean Murphy and his family who she met on this blog and who had surgery two days after mom (same hospital, same surgeon). Sean came up to the 12th floor to visit mom when he was discharged and his wife and mom came up to visit her several times. Awesome family and we wish him well as both of them start the next steps of their recovery!!! Mom will be going into rehab at CareOne in Moorestown to make sure that she\'s strong enough to go back home.

Everything\'s going well. Doctors are talking about discharging mom as early as tomorrow. She just started taking Lasex for the excess fluid built up in her legs, but all her stats are solid, so we\'re getting there. She had some difficulty breathing last night when she was laying down because of the excess fluid, so we\'ll be happy to get that gone. Researched some rehab facilities -- Mom will be going to get approx 3-4 hours of physical therapy per day for the next few weeks so that she rebuilds her strength and can return confidently to her own home. She\'s now walking the full length of the hall PLUS a full loop around the nurses station. This is about 3 times the distance as two days ago. :) She still complains of feeling very weak when she walks, but I think is doing great. -- Colleen

So... Mom\'s in great shape today. (However, she thinks she should be completely back to square by now. It *has* been FOUR days after all!!!) ;) She was a bit down in the dumps this morning and feeling pretty frustrated that she\'s having difficulty getting out of bed and into a chair by herself etc. Her INR levels are 1.6 (Coumadin levels in her system have to be 1.9 to be released) -- so we\'ve probably got a day or two left. Also... mom has got excess fluid build up on her legs. Docs have held off giving her Lasex because her blood pressure was low but she\'ll probably get a small dose tonight or tomorrow and see if that improves things. Food service is TERRIBLE and we are very suspicious that Low Sodium diet is NOT very low sodium, so that may also be a contributing factor. My cousin Scott and his wife Janice came for a visit today and mom took several walks around the halls. Her legs are very tired because of the swelling, but she\'s making tracks. Keep the prayers coming please. -- Colleen :)

Another very good day today. Mom\'s blood pressure is where it should be and her heart rate is also very good. She\'s been avoiding taking any pain meds (?!?!?!?!) but took some this afternoon and then we took our longest walk yet -- made it the full length of the hall this time. We can now report back to mom\'s doctor about what pictures are hanging down at the other end. (This is the doc\'s test of how well & how far she is walking). Mom\'s friends Muriel and Judy came for a visit this afternoon which was great for her. She is just about to get the all clear to go, but just needs to wait for her Coumadin levels to get to the right numbers. One other thing is that she is very conscious of her heart beating now and was a bit concerned about this, because it does not feel normal to her. However, the nurse practitioner from her surgical team let her know that this is completely normal and that it is just because she\'s got a healthy strong valve pumping now. That\'s great news. :)

7:00pm -- Sorry for the late entry today. Mom is doing MUCH better today. Her heart rate is much better and she is feeling more like herself. They\'ve adjusted her meds and she has started eating solid foods and took a good long walk. She had a great visit from her two good Friends Barbara and Gail which really lifted her spirits. All is well right now. More tomorrow.

Mom started off the day doing just great. Pain management was good (she wanted to go completely without pain meds but the nursing staff talked her out of it). Keeps flirting inappropriately with young men and made the respiratory therapist blush! She had a sponge bath and her first walk down the hall with the aid of a high leaning wheeled walker. She has been moving with more ease from bed to chair and vice versa and is generally doing great. BUT... she has had bursts of tachycardia and now has been in A fib for several hours. Hospital staff are trying to manage it with medication to get her heart back in rhythm, but no success so far. She came to the hospital with chronic A Fib (irregular heart beat) and the valve replacement is not the cure to this, but it is very frustrating for her. She has been off the medication to regulate her heartbeat for several days, so we\'re hoping that as the meds build back up in her body this issue may be resolved. Back to the prayers and good wishes people.... Let\'s get to work out there!! -- Colleen

Mom is doing really well. She is out of ICU. Was transferred up to a regular room at about 5:15pm (approximately 18 hours after surgery). Vent was removed early morning. Early afternoon she was sitting up in a chair and doing really well -- cracking jokes with our nurse Mike (a super guy who offered mom \"the best diet ginger ale she\'s ever had). Is able to stand and move herself to a chair with the help of nurses. Basically, she\'s a rock star right now. More later.

Didn\'t see mom until almost 2 in the morning. Nurses say that she\'s doing \"remarkably well\" although she was \"very sleepy.\" (I would be too at 2 -4 am after the day she had!!!) I visited her several times throughout the night, but ICU doesn\'t want you to stay in there for long during the evening hours (visiting hours are 11am - 8pm). As of this morning around 6:30 am, they were just waiting for her to be alert enough to take her off the vent. She was already on the lowest setting for the ventilator and mostly breathing on her own. She is awake and aware of her surroundings, responds to us although she can\'t speak because of the ventilator. She looks at me and squeezes my hand. When the nurse said that the doctors were just waiting for her to be awake enough to remove the vent -- mom opened her eyes really wide and looked at the nurse just to let her know that she *is* awake. Next two milestones are to take her off the vent and have her get out of bed and into a chair. I\'m hoping that when I get back in there at 11am she\'ll at least be off the vent. Thank you to everyone who is sending good thoughts and saying prayers for mom. Please keep them coming! -- Colleen :)

Surgery is done. I spoke with the surgeon who let me know that the surgery went well. Aortic valve was replaced. Mitral valve did not warrant replacement since it\'s leak was very minor. The surgeons anticipate that the Aortic Valve repair will resolve any problems with Mitral valve. Communications so far have been cautious, so I\'m just waiting to see mom myself and watch what happens over next few days. Surgeon indicated that he expects her to be in ICU for the next 2 days then in a regular room for about 5 days. To end on a positive note for this evening -- mom\'s Ballroom Dancing and Ballet classes seem to be doing some good -- surgeon said her arteries looked great. -- More when I see her. -- Colleen

Mom\'s in the middle of surgery right now. We had a long wait in preop for about 3 hours, til she was finally taken into the OR around 4:30. Surgery didn\'t begin until 5:59pm and they anticipate that it will take approximately 5 hours. So.... it\'s going to be a long wait. If they also have to do a mitral valve repair or replacement, it will be longer. I will try to post an update for those of you following along. She was in good spirits when she went in for surgery -- her friend Pat came in and spent the afternoon keeping mom occupied (and distracted). Can\'t really believe that it\'s actually happening right now. More later.

All systems are go right now. Mom\'s blood work and tests all came back clear (no signs of infection at all -- completely clean). -- Surgery was scheduled for 1:45pm this afternoon, but we just received word that it will be a bit later this afternoon. No specific time yet. The anesthesiologist came to visit but we are still waiting to talk to anyone from the surgical team. Mom is listening to relaxation tapes right now and is falling asleep. Her friend Pat and I are sitting around keeping her company. More later. -- Colleen

Colleen here..... Mom checked into the hospital this afternoon... smooth sailing so far. Blood draws and tests for pre-surgery -- nothing eventful. Had a visit from an awesome woman who is a chaplain at the University of Pennsylvania. We met her years ago when dad was dying and she came in and we reminisced and chatted for about an hour. She did a blessing and mom (and I) are both feeling pretty peaceful after her visit. Not sure what time the surgery is scheduled for (we should know by 9pm)an no confirmation that the urinalysis from yesterday is clear. But all systems are go right now.

Tomorrow I go into the hospital. I\'m still nervous about the surgery but have come to the realization that it must be done, so lets get it over with. Today my daughter arrived from Minnesota, she will stay for 1 week. Has anyone used the relaxation and visualization tapes? I\'m finding them to be great. I\'m trying to think of things to take to the hospital with me. CD player, radio w head phones.

What is it like to be on a respirator? I figure it won\'t be a great experience, but I would like to be prepared...How long were you on the respirator--hours or days? Lee

Thought that I would let you know what is happening here in NJ and my life----besides the weather being sweltering hot.... I will be going into the hospital on 7/20 for open heart surgery on 7/21. Needless to say, I\'m very afraid, but know that the procedure needs to be done. Many of you don\'t know that I have had heart related problems since I was 5 or 6. The problem seems to run in my family. My Father had an Aortic Aneurysm, and had surgery in 1962, that surgery gave him 7 more years of life. He had his surgery done at HUP, so that is why I chose to go to that hospital.... My brother had 3 heart surgeries the last being an Aortic Valve replacement. My surgery is for Acute Aortic Stenosis and a possible repair to my Mitral Valve for calcification and regurgitation. I have managed to keep up with my dancing but had to give it up a few months ago because I found that I couldn\'t get up to the ballet studio on the second floor.....I took 3 ballet classes a week, and really miss not going...I also took ballroom dance --one private lesson a week and then group classes....It got to the point that I couldn\'t continue, because I couldn\'t breathe!!!!! I hope to incorporate ballroom and ballet into my rehab program....... Colleen will be coming for my surgery. She will drop the children off at Alan\'s Mom\'s in Alexandria VA, then come to NJ on 7/19. This week has not been a good one, last Thursday I woke up to find that I couldn\'t see out of my left eye. I had to see a Retina specialist and he did tests and injected me in the eye with a prostate cancer drug. ...I don\'t even want to think about how they figured out how to use that in the eye???? I\'m very thankful that my sight returned the next day!!!! I hope it lasts.... Then I thought that I would move furniture and knocked out my knee, so all in all it has not been a good week...... We continue to worry about little things but the real treasures in life are health, family and friends..... Love to All, Lee