I’m happy to say that we made it home from the hospital last weekend. Life has been pretty surreal lately, but I couldn’t be more pleased with how everything went. Here’s a quick summary of my 5 days in the hospital:
Dave and I got to San Francisco on Sunday since my pre-op appointment was early the next morning. We went to the Picasso exhibit at the DeYoung Museum and ate yummy burritos for dinner–all in an effort to somewhat distract ourselves from the difficult week ahead.
On Monday I got chest x-rays taken and blood drawn. We met with the surgeon, anesthesiologist, and nurse practitioner. After meeting everyone–especially the surgeon–Dave and I felt better about the operation. My surgeon told me that he’s done this type of surgery hundreds of times with a success rate of 99%. Even so, after spending the day at the hospital was over, I was feeling very anxious.
Monday evening was filled with more happy distractions. Dave’s mom flew in from Nevada and we had a lovely dinner with close family friends in Oakland. When we got back to the hotel room, I did a bit of yoga to loosen up my mind and body. Also, I did my last guided imagery exercise and we tried to get a bit of sleep.
Tuesday morning we dragged ourselves out of bed at 5:30am. I showered and washed my hair for what I knew would be the last time in awhile. And we headed over to the hospital. From there, everything went quickly. They sat us in a waiting room and my name was called about 5 minutes later. A nurse helped me with last minute things and the anesthesiologist came to give me my IV. I said goodbye to Dave and he gave me one last big squeeze. And then they wheeled me out to the OR.
The next thing I knew I was waking up in the pediatric cardiology ICU. I had expected to have some deep profound thought either going under anesthesia or during the operation, but there was nothing. The operation lasted about 4 hours and they turned my heart off for about an hour.
The first few hours in the ICU were a blur. Various people filtered in and out. Dave and his mom sat at my bedside. I had a breathing tube in my mouth, which bothered and confused me because I wanted to breathe on my own and so I fought with it for a bit until I gave up and just let it do it’s thing. I was in a bit pain, but they quickly gave me morphine through my IV, which helped immediately.
A few hours later it was time to take out the breathing tube. This was incredibly uncomfortable and it caused me to cough (ouch!)–it felt like I could easily rip my chest back open. Once I recovered from the breathing tube extraction, I was able to talk and breathe on my own. Unfortunately I couldn’t drink any fluids for hours until they were sure I wouldnt vomit. This was agonizing because I was so thirsty and my throat felt so sore. They did swab my mouth out with gauze full of “baby water.” The first cup of water the nurse finally let me have was the best cup of water I’ve ever had.
The next day, my nurse greeted me by saying that this day will be the hardest one because they needed to get me moving. I began to eat solid food, although my appetite was minuscule. They got me to sit up, stand up, and sit in a chair. This actually wasn’t too hard because I just needed to rely on the power of my legs. My doctors came in to visit and told me I was actually ready to be transferred out of the ICU, but there weren’t any beds available.
It wasn’t until the next day (Thursday) until they found a bed for me and I was moved out of the ICU. I shared space with two other patients, but at least we were separated by screens. The space was a bit cramped, but I got a lovely view of San Francisco from my room. By Thursday, I was taking a walk down the hall, with the help of a nurse and Dave. My appetite was growing and tubes and machinery started going away. On Friday I received a delightful mini mani-pedi by my mother-in-law and her friend Francesca.
But I still had my chest tubes. These three tubes were draining excess fluid out of my heart and lungs. And they were incredibly uncomfortable–almost more uncomfortable than the incision down my chest. And the doctors wouldn’t let them come out until Saturday. Getting the tubes out wasn’t as bad as the breathing tube, but it was really weird and uncomfortable. Once they came out, I instantly felt freer.
During my entire stay, I was staying with pediatric patients. It wasn’t too bad, but we heard a lot of babies crying during the night and the nurses kept calling Dave “dad.” On the plus side, we had access to an endless supply of juice and chocolate milk.
On Sunday I was discharged and Dave drove us home to Stockton. Thus far, the doctors have declared the surgery a success and the valve is doing its job. My subsequent follow-up visits will give us a better idea of how well the valve is working. I can’t say whether or not I notice a difference with the new valve, but my feet are definitely not as cold anymore!
Our overall experience at UCSF was very positive. The doctors and nurses were compassionate, caring, and attentive.
Again, I wanted to say thanks for all your thoughts, messages, and prayers. They all meant and continue to mean a great deal to me. Stay tuned for my upcoming posts on how recovery is going.
