MB's Posts

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.