Nancy 's Journal

Nancy Pennington  You should’ve seen them. One would not do anything without the other—eating, sleeping, playing, bathing. It was a very unique bond.

Sue Maize  Oh Nancy, I’m so sorry you had to make this decision! As a cat mama to 3, I’d be heartbroken. . I pray you have peace with this and that they thrive in their new home. Bless you. 🙏🏻💗

Barbara deLoache  Hi Nancy. Welcome to this site. You are a little over 3 months post op. How are you getting along now?? Have those  raw looking areas cleared up? It is important to take a patient’s dressing off slowly & carefully. Also, a fair amount of people have a reaction to certain types of adhesives. If you have future surgery , tell your physician and nurses that your skin is very sensitive to surgical tape. There are ways to prevent a reaction. I hope you are now doing well.

Nancy Pennington  Hi, Barbara, nice meeting you. The raw sores alongside the main incision have healed finally and there are hardly any scars from them. I have had it added to my medical records that I have adhesive sensitivity. Hopefully there will never be another issue with it.

I live in Wilkesboro, between Boone and Winston Salem, but I’m really closer to Boone. I had my surgery at Baptist Hospital in Winston Salem. I spent my 52nd birthday (12/23) as well as Christmas in the hospital. I didn’t like that, but recovering from the surgery made me not care very much.

I’m doing pretty good. I’m having some severe depression. I have struggled with it for many, many years but I’m sure this round of it is coming from the ohs. I’ve read that it’s really a common thing post op. I also think my depression is coming from thinking that since I’m 3 months out, I should be feeling better. I know it can take a long time to recover and heal but you know how the mind works. It wants everything done quickly and we can beat ourselves up when that doesn’t happen. I've also been having shoulder pain on my left side for about a week. I did call my heart surgeon this morning and they told me that it’s a pretty common issue. It took me by surprise though because I had been doing really good with not having much pain at 3 months out. I am having some shortness of breath again, but I am prepared to call 911 or get to the hospital ASAP if I feel anything strange or severe.

Again, it’s really nice to meet someone who lives nearby. I hope to meet others from North Carolina.

Marie Myers  Nancy- have you discussed your depression with your primary care provider ? 

BTW, my husband’s paternal family was from the Wilkesboro area. We spent some weeks there researching his Myers descendants. It is a beautiful area!

Susan Lynn  Nancy - Everyone heals at their own pace. Resist the temptation to compare yourself to others. Did you attend cardiac rehab? If not, it can be very helpful in overcoming post-op depression.
Remember, you've always got a friend here just waiting to respond. You'll get through this.

Nancy Pennington  Marie and Susan,

Thank you for your replies. I haven’t discussed the depression with my pcp or cardiology providers, but I’m already in counseling and under the care of a psychiatric nurse practitioner. They know how I’m feeling and I’m processing things in therapy and taking meds.

i have tried to do Cardiac Rehab. I went for the first time the other day and because my blood sugar was 384 (very high—I’m diabetic) and my resting heart rate was 130, I couldn’t exercise as per doctor’s orders. My blood sugar has been a lot harder to control since I had my surgery in December. My heart rate has always been really fast. For a while after surgery it was usually in the 90’s but it’s back to being too high. My cardio thoracic surgeon informed me today that he will no longer be following me for care and that I need to go back to my regular cardiologist. I’ll make an appointment in the morning. I can’t believe my surgejust dropped me but I don’t know how long they typically follow their patients post op.

Marie, I have heard of several people with the Myers name in my area. I love it here, though I come from a little farther up the mountain. My family has been in the area for at least 7 generations. I’m very proud to be from such a pretty area of the country.

Rose Madura  Nancy, recovery is a process and at 3 months, I was in the hospital.  As Susan said, it's hard not to compare yourself to others but it's the only way to go.  I don't think it's abnormal for the surgeon to release you from his care. The surgery was successful. I was released after 4 weeks it as I mentioned still had issues.  Hang in there.  

Marie Myers  Typically the cardiac surgeon doesn’t follow you  even 3 months. I had one post op visit with my surgeon post op at one week, and after that I was discharged to my cardiologist and primary doctor. The cardiologist and or primary care doc will manage the heart rate and diabetes. Hope you can get things back under control soon!

Nancy Pennington  We humans are an impatient bunch, aren’t we? I guess I thought I should be better by now. It seems that it has been so long since my surgery. Sorry you were in the hospital at the 3 month mark. I hope you are doing better and making progress.

Rose Madura  Nancy, I'm doing great now! My body just reacted to the trauma. I had six weeks of Afib and/or Aflutter and some issues with inflammation and fluid buildup. Sometimes it happens. I trusted the doctors and they got me on the right track. It's a journey.

Sue Maize  Nancy, I’m so glad you found us. You will find lots of kind and practical support in this community, not to mention a lot of prayer warriors too. I understand depression and how debilitating it can be, also how isolating facing or having gone through ohs can be too. Adding you to my prayer list.🙏🏻💗