Patty's Journal

When you are trying to heal, there just isn\'t alot of time to write in a journal! Sorry to be errant! It has been 3 weeks of healing.....sleeping, taking walks daily to build up my stamina, trying to build my appetite (which refuses to build!), more sleeping. Meds are a constant problem. I went off the painkillers at 10 days after surgery. Percoset.....a wonderful drug that also makes you go a little loopy. Been recuperating on Advil only, which makes for some sore days. But, my head is clearer, and I like that feeling better. I am very restricted on use of my hands/arms because they split open my sternum. That really adds difficulty to life. But, in another 3 weeks, the sternum will be healed and I will be so happy. I can not lift anything heavier than a milk jug, can\'t lift or push or pull anything more than 7 lbs. Argh....what a pain. But, I want that sternum to heal well so I am taking the precautions. No driving....now that is a restriction that is hard to live with! Why no driving? if I was in a fender bender, the air bag would pop out and smash me right in the sternum which would split open again and that would be the end of me! So, the sternum has to be completely healed before I drive. It\'s okay. Sometimes I go out for a ride with my husband (I have to ride in the back seat), but it completely exhausts me just to ride, so I need to heed the \"no driving\" warning and be patient. PATIENCE! That\'s what I am trying to have. I am trying to give myself permission to just heal for 6 weeks without feeling like I need to get back into things so quickly. It goes against my personality! But, I\'m trying! Good news! I did a load of laundry yesterday! Yippee! A feeling of doing something normal! I can\'t thank my family and friends enough for helping me through this difficult time! This has not been easy! But, I am alive and well.....no complaints.

24 hours of fun after returning home. We were going to have me sleep in a recliner when i got home, but I think my husband wanted to be able to hear me. So, he purchased a bed wedge, made of foam rubber, and put it under the mattress. Also, in the hospital, you are taught how NOT to use your hands for weight bearing, but only for balance. The doctors want to make sure that that the sternum is completely healed before you put more than 10 lbs. weight on it. Another new thing: try getting up out of bed without your hands! They teach you that, too, so that you won\'t put weight on your sternum. It\'s called log rolling....you wrap your arms around your upper torso, when roll out of bed with the help of a nurse who is there to put your legs on the floor. Somehow, I forgot that I wasn\'t in the hospital and I did a log roll right onto the floor. Thud! I was shocked at first, then my husband and I started to laugh. Now, how were we supposed to get me off the floor without using my arms for weight bearing. We remembered a game we had played as kids, and braced our backs together and rose from the ground together. This recuperation is some pretty funny stuff!

We arrived home from the hospital at 3:30 Thursday afternoon. My sweet nurse Beth gave me a Percoset for the drive. Wow, was she right! You don\'t realize how rough the road is. My hospital stay was one week, that included two surgeries. One was valve replacement surgery and the second was a single bypass. . . But to my brain, it was all one surgery since I didn\'t come out of the anesthesia. Lori W told me to trust my surgeon, and that is the key to it all. Find yourself a good surgeon, and trust him/her. My surgeon is Dr. Tony Cafferelli.... An amazing surgeon and a genuinely nice man, too! What a dedicated man! Glad to be home!

Post by (Chris) Patty\'s Husband She did it - it has been a hard day - New IV, pulled a qt of liquid out of her chest cavity ( all pretty normal) but added a little stress. She did her walking , sitting, eating, visiting and we watched a discharge video all in preparation for a release tomorrow. Patty is able to get up from her chair by herself which is a huge accomplishment - her spirits are high and she is ready to go home. We have lots of Helpers scheduled for her home recovery so we have it covered. Many thanks to all that have helped and prayed for a fast recovery.

Post by (Chris) Patty\'s husband Today has been a remarkable day!!! Patty has done so well today - It was a long and exhausting day, but in a good way. The nurses did what they were suppose to do and made Patty go from her bed to the chair sit for a while, do her breathing excersizes, taught her how to safely get in and out of bed, took her on walks, had her feed herself with just a little help from her husband - lots of vitals, an X-ray, work out with the therapist and on and on - So she is tired but healthier and stronger than the day before. Her cardiologist said she may be released as early as Thursday. We love you all

Posted by (Chris) Patty\'s husband Wow - What a difference - a list of goals on the board and we have already accomplished a couple of them. Her strength is returning - she can walk to the bathroom with one person assisting rather than two. Patty\'s mind is sharp - She fed herself - is off the oxygen and doing really really well for her first day in recovery. Patty is still a bit tired and her energy level does not last very long before she needs a little snooze, but all that is normal. All her systems are still working perfectly and we will work it one day at a time till we get her home. Thank you again for all your love and support.

Posted by (Chris) Patty\'s husband. Patty was moved to recovery this evening after a day tube removal, visitors, good solid meals and a lot of love and TLC. Patty was pretty tired by the time we got her settled in her new room in recovery. The goal there will be to subscribe to a schedule of sitting, walking, breathing exercises, eating well and getting her strength back - working toward becoming as indepenent as possible. This will be done one day at a time until she is strong enough to leave the hospital and return home. Patty is doing very well, she is pain free and her systems are all working properly. I wanted to stay the night, but her nurse told me to go home and get a good nights sleep or I would get sick. She insisted - I would have been happy to sleep in the chair, but I don\'t think they want the patient to get too much codling. Will post again in the morning and let everyone know how things are progressing. Love you all and thank you so much for all your help.

This is (Chris) Patty\'s husband I have just spent the morning with Patty - she is awake, can speak, drink liquids and is doing very well. I spoke (bedside) with her cardiologist and she said she was progressing very well - The drainage tubes were removed while I was there. There was some discomfort but the ICU nurses gave her some more pain meds and that fixed the discomfort. I left her side for awhile so that she can sleep - we want her to have enough strength this afternoon to sit in a chair for about an hour - part of her therapy. If all goes well she will be tranferred to a recovery room at the end of the day.

Karen (Patty\'s Sister) and I (Chris) just came from ICU and had an opportunity to interact with Patty - She is still in a twilight state, but can recognize voices and faces just a little. We managed to get two smiles out of her, which was comforting, I think it was because we told her she looked really pretty with her lip gloss and all, but then we needed to let her rest - it was apparent that it was a little stressful when she was trying so hard to connect with the outside world and could not quite get there. Nurse Sandy is the best and helped us understand what was going on and our role at this time. One more day in ICU (we think) and then off to recovery. We will give Patty two or three more days and then she may be able to have a few visitors for a short period of time. We will play it by ear and let you know. Again, we thank you for all your help and love you all.

This is (Chris) Patty\'s Husband Good news - The breathing tube and half of her IV\'s and other tubes are now gone. Patty is still in and out of sleep, but her pain is being managed well and she looks much better. NO wrinkled forhead. She has a Nurse (Sandy) that is heaven sent and she will be on tomorrow as well. Ellen and Jenny were there today to feed me, talk to the nurse and help share a few good jokes, so that kept me a little more calm. We are expecting one more night in ICU and then hopefully tomorrow a transition to a recovery room. Patty will be very updset though - this has totally messed up her schedule which she so carefully planned and she will not be happy that they pulled a vein from her leg. Oh well - just happy to have her back! We are all soooo happy that we have crossed this bridge and now onto better ground. Thank you all so much for your prayers and support - Everyone has played such an important role and it is very much appreciated. We love you all . . . .

Patty is doing well today - The Angelic nurse (Sandy) has this shift and is so calming. They have come up with the right balance of Meds, etc. So that they can keep her resting unless they need to wake her. They want her body calm and her mind alert. She is starting to respond to commands now - but at the same time they do not want to wear her out. I feel really good about today\'s staff - I think they will be the best group to bring her back into reality.  The surgeon just explained to me in detail what is going on with the Meds and their plans for today - sounds very promising.  When the time is right they will remove the breathing tube.  Luv u all

Looks like Patty is a fighter - She is not going to come out of sedation without some thrashing around, so because of that they are taking it slow. I just came home from the ICU were they have given her some meds to calm her down. They will keep working with her throughout the night. Keeping her calm was causing all of us to get a little exhausted - They feel the breathing tube will probably come out tomorrow morning now. I will go back to the hospital after the shift change at 8:00 am. Please continue to keep us in your prayers and we love you all.

This is (Chris) with an update Just spent some time in ICU as the nurse is slowly bringing Patty out of sedation. We were working together to comfort Patty as she went in and out - The nurses here are very very sweet and are so kind as Patty gets that little wrinkled forehead that is her sign of distress - then she slips back into sleep and has a look of comfort. Talked to both the surgeon and cardiologist at Patty\'s side and they are very pleased with her progress so far. As soon as she can respond to verbal commands, they will start removing the breathing tube. I am heading back into ICU now and will give another update when things change or progress. Love you all

Just came out of ICU and Patty is looking very good (great color) and all Her systems are working perfectly. The ICU nurse gave me a walkthrough of the days events and how I can be the most useful. They are slowly bringing her down and later today she should be conscious and they will remove her breathing tube. Spoke with the surgeon about the bypass - I will fill you in on details later. I am so happy that we had a surgeon who not only specializes in valve replacement, but unusual emergencies as well. Thanks again for all your support and prayers - I will update again after my next visit in a few hours.

This is (Chris) Patty\'s husband 11:30 Friday evening rec\'d the call from the surgeon that they had closed her chest - all went well - Patty is back in CVICU - I\'m heading over there this morning to check on her and see how she is doing. I will send the next update later this morning from the hospital. Love you all - Chris

This is (Chris) Patty\'s husband with a brief update. Everything still looks well - She is still in CVICU and we are waiting for an operating room to become available to finish up the closing. As soon as I have additional information, I will post another update. Thank you for your love and prayers.

This is (Chris) Patty\'s husband - Time for another update . . . We just saw Patty in ICU and spoke with her surgeon (he\'s the best, Dr. Caffarelli) He said that Patty is doing very well and he felt they would be ready to take her back into surgery early this evening to close her chest. He felt it would take about an hour. From there it will be back into CVICU for the routine monitoring, etc., until they feel it is time to bring her out of sedation and start the process where they remove her breathing tube. She may remain sedated until Saturday morning or they may move ahead with the breathing tube removal during the night - it depends on many things. As soon as the surgery is over and she has been put back together I will provide anoher update. I am home now, but will return to the hospital around 5pm to be on standby and sign some addtional forms. Thank you for your support and of course all the lunches dear friends have provided for me while sitting at the hospital. It is most appreciated.

This update is from (Chris) Patty\'s husband - Patty is in CVICU she Is stable, sedated and her recovery is going well at this time. Her chest is still open at this point just in case they need to go back in for any reason. The ICU nurse said her surgeon and cardiologist have both been by this morning - the cardiologist will call me this morning and will provide more details - but the CV nurse felt they would probably close her up on Saturday - so that means Sunday will be her first day awake. The Doctors and Staff at Hoag have been wonderful, kind and helpful and I can\'t thank or express my appreciation enough for the Family and Friends that have been there to provide support. We appreciate your prayers and kind words - please keep them coming.

Hi, this is Patty\'s son, Jeff. The last update you received was that Patty was out of surgery. Just after that message, my Dad received word that the doctors also had to a do a single bypass. The surgery is now finished, but she will stay sedated until Saturday while she is monitored. While the bypass was unexpected she has responded well to all the interventions. We\'ll keep you posted if anything changes or when the sedations is removed. We appreciate all your well wishes and prayers and know they will make a difference as she begins her recovery.

The surgery went well (Oh yes Evan, the operation went perfect for Dramma) Patty is being taken to ICU as we speak and I will be allowed to see her in about 40 minutes. Thanks again for all your love and support.

Update on surgery - Just rec\'d a report that Patty\'s surgery is two-thirds complete and everything is going perfect - no problems - They will update me again at around 12:30 pm at the completion of the procedure. Thanks again for all your prayers.

It is Thursday morning 7:45 am - This is Patty\'s husband Chris - I will try and keep everyone up to date. We got up this morning at 4am - felt very calm about the day, but still a little nervous. Checked into Hoag hospital at around 5am - from there to pre-op where all the paperwork was checked and double checked. All the nurses and technicians have been very nice and helpful. I told Patty to keep remembering what her Grandson Evan (who has gone through heart surgery) said on the phone yesterday \"Don\'t worry - it will be perfect Dramma\" They sent me to the waiting room and now we just have to wait for the doctors to make her heart perfect. Keep those good thoughts and prayers coming in - Patty and I appreciate all the love and support.

Tonight, Wednesday, is the night before my surgery. I am feeling very calm, thanks to a beautiful blessing. My boys have been calling and visiting. My bag is packed and ready to go. I still need to shower and wash my hair, then rub antibacterial cloths on the skin of my entire body. I\'ll do that in the morning, too. Up at 4 a.m., hospital check in a 5 a.m. and into surgery at 7:30 a.m, if all goes as scheduled. The doctor gave me a tiny white pill so that I can get a solid night\'s sleep. Chris, my husband, will be submitting updates on this journal page for the first few days after surgery. I know that everything will go well and I\'ll be in ICU and awake before I even know it. Keep those prayers coming my way!

Valentine\'s Day--Feb. 14: Last night, we were Heart Attacked. No....not the kind with ambulances and hospitals and \"jumper cables\". The kind where your front porch is covered with paper hearts and good wishes. A friend also dropped by with cookies and heart candies...all very appropriate (and appreciated) happenings for someone who is getting her heart fixed on Valentine\'s week! I feel my friends, family and church family rallying around me more. Text messages are coming in, cards are coming in the mail, emails (215 of them yesterday! yikes!), lunch dates before the big day. So many people are reassuring me that this surgery is only a tiny blip in my life and then I will take it easy for a bit before jumping back into my crazy life with more energy than ever before. Most of all, prayers are being said for me...and with God in charge of all this, that helps most of all. My grandsons are praying for me...now how could God resist granting the wishes of our sweet little boys? My surgery is this Thursday....is it Friday yet? Wishing this week was over and this nervous stomach would go away!

It\'s Sunday, Feb. 13th. The last Sunday before my open heart surgery. I feel like I am marching time, waiting....waiting...waiting for this all to be over. After reading the heart journals of others, I am beginning to worry that my surgery will be postponed, and then I will be waiting again. My surgeon, Dr. Cafferelli, does emergency surgeries as one of his specialties, says the nurse. Thursday, I spent the day at Hoag Hospital, at a 2 hour education session to answer my pages of questions, then off to do tests and more tests. I signed page after page of paperwork, agreeing that I knew the risks involved, and the risks were all enumerated. All day long, we talked about the risks. 1% chance I\'ll die on the table. 5% chance I will bleed and need a transfusion. Some good news....my tests all came back with very good results. According to the nephrology lab, I have the kidneys of a teenager! My pulmonary test results were off the charts....who knew I had such a good lung capacity?! My cardiac catheter results came back with all arteries open and moving....no blockages! This is all good! I am working really hard at staying positive, not thinking about the risks....but all of this weighs on my mind, especially at night. I keep wishing it was next week at this time and I would be on the recovery end of this. Best thing to do is to release the worry and turn it over to God. \"Be not afraid, only believe.\" Mark 5: 36