The first 36 hours!

Well, I showed up to the hospital at 5am on Monday and was processed through the preoperative steps smoothly without too much fuss. Luckily I'm not a gorilla in the body hair department (sorry if TMI) so the nurse made easy business getting me slick as an Olympic swimmer. (Also probably TMI but I was glad there was no shaving of my *very* personal areas.)  I met with the pump operator, the Physicians Assistant, the Surgeon,  and the anesthesiologist.  We covered the risks of the operation and the anesthesiologist put in my arterial line.  I was wheeled into the operating room and before I knew it, the anesthesiologist placed the mask over my face,  said something that I didn't hear and in the blink of an eye, I woke up in my room in ICU with a breathing tube in my mouth. 

To say that it was uncomfortable would be an understatement but I had read so much about this step in the various books, I knew what was going on and I stayed calm.  The thing that really bothered me was the breathing tube was making me gag, but the caregivers thought that I was trying to cough. I had a few waking/falling asleep cycles until they pulled out the breathing tube.  I felt weird coming out but it was such a relief! I coughed once and inhaled a clean, full lung of air! 

The was some minor cleanup and my wife was invited back into the room (she was excused just before to spare her seeing the breathing tube coming out).  The respiratory therapist handed me the Incentive Spirometer which I aced in a single inhalation all the way to the top (and a little more beyond)! He laughed and threw it to the end of the bed! 

All went fine until about midnight when my ventricular rhythm completely stopped and the pacer had to kick in.  From then until about 8am, I was reliant on the pacer at which time my heart decided that it would start working again!  For the last 12 hours, my heart's own rhythm has been humming along nicely. 

The only real discomfort that I'm still experiencing is the drain tube has been left in and it is pretty uncomfortable.  It's being left in so that it can drain any fluids once the pacer wires can be safely removed. The drain tube might be able to removed as early as tomorrow if the surgeon is OK with not having a drain for the pacer wires. 

On the evening of the surgery day I was already up on my feet and today (day after)  I've done 5 tours around the nurses station and spent 6 hours in the chair next to my bed.  I've seen the Respiratory Therapist the Occupational Therapist, the Physical Therapist,  and the Cardiac Therapist.

Because of the rhythm issues (and that the Fentanyl which is the only thing that help with the drain tube pain is only available here), I'm staying another night in ICU. 

I'm so blessed to have a wonderful team of nurses, therapists and other medical professionals tending to my every need. Hoping for a few more hours of sleep tonight because I'm off most of my IV meds (swan and A line have been removed) the delivery and management of which caused most of the first night to be sleepless. 

I've decided that I'm not going to try to be a hero. When I need pain meds, I'm going to ask for them!