MB's Journal

Hi everyone! I am finally writing my own journal!! It is hard to believe it has already been a month since my surgery! So far the journey has brought some surprises - an emergency room visit (and my very first ambulance ride), because of loss of vision in my right eye. But all was well - probably an ocular migraine due to anesthesia. Ocular migraines (aura, shooting stars) are most definitely a post-op issue for me. I still have the clot in my neck, so we are keeping an eye on that (no pun intended there). My INR (blood thinness level) is finally within the range it should be - it is checked weekly by a very nice visiting nurse! I am still on the beta blocker for A Fib and Coumadin to keep my blood thin. Will be on these meds for a few months. I do get tired pretty easily, but feel a little bit better each day (unless I overdid it the day before). My doctors tell me to be patient and not push it. Patience is certainly not a virtue for me, so this has been a bit challenging, to say the least. But I am working on it!!! I will be starting cardiac rehab soon and am really looking forward to beginning that process. So, all in all, I am extremely grateful to be on the other side of surgery and for the great care I received at Penn Presbyterian. Thank you to all of you for your kind notes, cards, texts, flowers, visits, phone calls, Claire playdates, meals, etc. It is hard to put into words how extremely grateful I am to all of you for your prayers, love, support and encouragement. As you can imagine, Joel has been an amazing caregiver. He and Claire have kept my spirits up with lots of hugs, kisses, ice cream and funny stories from their travels out in the world. I am truly one lucky lady! I hope you are all well and getting ready to have magical summers!! All my love and gratitude, MB

Hip hip hooray! Mary Beth is home! Many thanks to the Penn Presbyterian medical teams for the wonderful care she received during the past 10 days. Mary Beth is excited and relieved to be home. She looks forward to the coming weeks and continued progress in her recovery. Mary Beth's body responded well to the clot medication, which allowed for the early dismissal. She will remain on significant blood thinners indefinitely, just to be sure no more clotting occurs. Thank you, everyone, for the encouragement, prayers, positive thoughts and support (and the flowers and the food!). Your thoughtfulness and love is greatly appreciated. Joel

Early this morning, around 2 a.m., Mary Beth woke to a small AFib episode and severe back pain. Further, she was diagnosed with one deep vein blood clot in her neck and several superficial blood clots in her right arm. Thanks to the actions of Penn Presbyterian medical staff, treatment began immediately. Mary Beth is receiving heparin and Coumadin (which she was already taking) for the clots, toprol for AFib and Tylenol (pain). An ultrasound of Mary Beth's legs this morning confirmed additional superficial blood clots there. So, heparin and Coumadin dosages were increased. In addition, doctors believe the back pain was caused by severe muscle spasms. So, oxycodone can be given, as needed, to deal with this pain. Mary Beth requested one dose today, right before bed. All this means Mary Beth will remain in the hospital a few more days. While she would like to leave now, caution is a better approach given the events of the day. There was some good news today, as well. An echo of Mary Beth's heart today showed the valve repair is doing great. The surgical team is very pleased and the cardiology team is looking forward to positive indicators that will allow Mary Beth's hospital discharge to occur soon. Thank you for your positive thoughts, prayers, love and support.

Fewer bumps today. Phew! Mary Beth had two good walks today, including one in the afternoon with Claire. Claire and Mommy had fun calculating how many feet Mommy walked today (1040 by the way). Oh, and Mary Beth had her first shower this morning. "You have no idea how good this feels!" A direct quotes she may have said 379 times (approximately). In addition to the walks and shower, there were more visits and phone calls with family and friends. Thank you to all for your support, love and positive thoughts and prayers. Our love, thoughts, prayers and positive thoughts are with you all, as well. We hope you all have a happy, safe and relaxing Memorial Day! Joel

Some days on the road to recovery are better than others. Today felt like one of the "bumpy" days; you know, the kind of days when you sit around at the end of the day and ask "Was today really as bad as it seemed?" As we all know, there is usually no real answer to that question. But, today certainly felt like it possessed great joys and great challenges. Considering today was a holiday weekend Saturday, Mary Beth certainly was busy. In the morning, there was some swelling in her right arm (where the ICU IV was located), then it took three tries to draw the mornings blood test samples (this was on top of the five - yes, five - tries to put in the IV line last night), and removal of the Blake tube. The remainder of the day brought consistent drainage from chest tube site, two (yes, two!) walks, a visit from Claire (Yay! Mommy and Claire were sooo happy to see and spend time with each other!), visits and phone chats with family and friends, an atrial fibrillation diagnosis (more on that in a bit), washed hair (ahhhh), several solo trips to the bathroom and innumerable check-ins by the cardiac team. Atrial fibrillation (AFib) is a problem with the heart's electrical system and symptoms include heart palpitations, irregular pulse and shortness of breath. AFib can be caused by many different conditions, including (surprise!) heart surgery. Treatment is generally through medication and that is how Penn Presbyterian doctors will treat Mary Beth's AFib at this time. The goal is to use medication to return normal heart rhythm in the next few days. What does AFib mean for Mary Beth? Well, in the short-term it means she is likely remain in the hospital at least a few extra days until the AFib is under control or goes away. Today was exhausting for Mary Beth. Thank you to all for your love, support, prayers and positive thoughts. We hope tomorrow brings fewer "bumps".

MB has graduated from the ICU to a regular room. She is VERY happy! Penn Presbyterian, room 334. Off all melds, except Tylenol for pain. Vitals strong, although replacing some electrolytes this afternoon. Overall, doing well. Spirometer has become MB's best friend. Shoukd I be jealous? I'll work on it. : ) MB sends her love and thanks to all!

Today saw several progress markers: disconnecting pacemaker lines, removal of pleural cavity chest tube, removal of Foley catheter, increased oxygen level (98%), sitting in a chair for several hours, having her hair brushed, just generally feeling stronger and walking to/from the bathroom. Great progress - great job MB, Unfortunately,, the one bit of progress we hoped to see today, strong blood pressure without medication, did not materialize. While MB's blood pressure is stronger and the medication has been substantially reduced, you cannot move out of ICU here until you are off all blood pressure medication. So, another evening in the ICU. Mary Beth is understandably frustrated, but, determined to change rooms tomorrow. Overall, the extra day in ICU shoukd not extend Mary Beth's total hospital stay. We are pleased with that news. As always, thank you for your love, positive thoughts and prayers. On a separate note, we have been very impressed with the doctors, nurses and all the staff at Penn Presbyterian. They have all done an exceptional job with Mary Beth's surgery and recovery.

Thanks for all the love, prayers and happy thoughts. MB and I could not do this without your support. Thank you so very much! So, lunch was not very appetizing,, so, MB had a cup of yogurt instead. Dinner included turkey sandwich and vanilla ice cream. Good to see her appetite return, even just a little. Most of the afternoon and early evening involved sitting up and resting. MB is thankful for every little bit of rest, even while she is sitting up! Blood pressure is still a bit low and she continues to receive some medication to help keep that elevated. The pain medications have been dialed back a bit (read: more Tylenol, less prescription strength). She also started a bit of lasix to help with some of the water retention post-surgery. Tomorrow will bring getting out of bed for the first time since surgery and a likely change of scenery (Yay new room!). I am certain tomorrow will bring its share of challenges and, hopefully, better food. However, tomorrow will also be one day closer to renewed health! MB can't wait!

So, it appears there are two certainties with mitral valve repair surgery: 1) there will be post-op pain, regardless of medication and 2) an ICU is a lousy place to get some rest. The first post-surgery evening was a bit difficult. Pain and hourly (sometimes half-hourly) interruptions made for a long evening. However, both are just temporary. MB's blood pressure is still a little low, so she'll stay in ICU one more day until BP bounces back to normal. Two days in ICU are pretty common. While MB is disappointed, she is happy the doctors are being cautious and not pushing her out the door before she is ready. This afternoon's planned activities include removal of swan catheter from her neck, sitting up in bed and brushing her teeth. This morning, MB had some cranberry juice, half a banana and plenty of ice chips. She's looking forward to seeing what is on the lunch menu!

More good news - the breathing tube was removed! Yay! Exact quote from MB after breathing tube removal was complete: " That sucked! No, really, that sucked!" We remain thankful to you all for the positive thoughts, prayers and love. This may be the last post of the day - now, it is time for MB to rest. We hope you all have a lovely evening!

MB is out of surgery, and in ICU for the next day. Just spoke with the surgeon, repair procedure (YAY! - no replacement!) went very well. Doctors very happy with the results! Recovery, here she comes! Thank you to all for your prayers, positive thoughts and wonderful support. Will post a little more, after I get to see the patient later this afternoon. But, surgery done and successful! Yay!!!

Good morning everyone! MB is in for final prep and surgery. She should be out in a few hours. Prayers, positive thoughts and love are all welcomed at this time!