I'm not going to complain too much but I want to note that I've written several "update posts" in the past 2 weeks and Blogger has eaten them (and I was using the standard web-interface). So this is a mega-update post in somewhat sorted by time order and I will post another shortly...
Discharge From Hospital
In my last post, I noted that my roommate was told to sleep well and the following day, he was whisked off to have a device implanted that would save his life if he has another heart attack! (Turns out he was out with his family the evening prior to being hospitalized and had a massive heart attack. Luckily for him, someone provided CPR which, while saving his life, caused a few broken ribs.)
On the other hand, my one night in Progressive Care didn't provide me much sleep (thanks to lots of machines beeping, lots of interruptions for checks and meds). One thing that the nurses in ICU told me about my extended stay (see here for more info) was that in Progressive Care, they could no longer administer Fentanyl, unlike ICU. This might seem flippant (and I don't mean to be) but for the time in ICU, pain levels seemed like a breeze. I think it was pretty clear once I no longer had access to Fentanyl, the pain was actually pretty real. Incision pain, muscle pain, back pain, were a not-fun mix of bedfellows with me during that last night.
On "waking" in the morning, all of the wonderful people that came to evaluate me were all talking optimistically about today being my discharge day. The nurse on duty was pretty clear, though (and I appreciate it) that "today" probably meant late afternoon / early evening as there were still things that needed to be done (like removing ports, pacing wires, etc) which would each require some bed-rest after they were done.
Later in the morning, a crew from my work came to visit (which was very kind of them as they had to travel 80 miles each way just to get there). While it was lovely to see them, I didn't have a lot of energy and it was a relatively short visit.
In the early evening, I was cleared to go home (after talking with the various specialists). I sat in the back of our van because we didn't want to mess with turning off the airbag in the front and I can't travel with an airbag with the sternal incision.
Sleeping in a Chair
Getting home was wonderful and I was lucky enough that my parents-in-law had purchased a motorized recliner chair for me prior to being admitted. When I got home, my wife had prepared the chair with bedding and I had an electric blanket and everything I needed for sleeping at home, in a chair! The bedding idea came from a friend who said that they had a situation where a convalescing relative slept in a chair for a period of time and that subsequently the chair always smelled of "convalescing person"!
The chair was a godsend. Having the mechanical/motorized functionality was really amazing for getting in and out of the chair (which isn't as easy when you've just had your sternum cut open!!). Generally speaking, it was a very workable solution. And we now have a very comfortable chair now that I'm sleeping back in bed!
Oxycodone
When I left the hospital, I was still taking Oxycodone for pain management (supplemented with Motrin and Tylenol). I hadn't really resumed eating in the hospital, but being home brought the wonderful treat of home-cooked food. What I didn't fully understand was the impact that Oxycodone had on my gastrointestinal system... Apparently, it effectively numbed my entire GI tract, which in turn rendered any kind of digestion impossible. A couple of days of eating resulted in a lot of discomfort... (note that I am not giving you the details in case you are reading during your dinner). In the end, I took a couple of days to get off the Oxycodone so that I didn't have to deal with that awful discomfort. Very quickly my GI track was back in shape and everything was good!
Medications on Discharge
Ok, this is one for those of you who may have to face something similar in the future. I'm thankful to the nurse from my surgeon's office when I had my pre-operative appointment for telling me what to expect on the other side of the surgery. Of the items that I noted down was that I will likely leave with a laundry list of medications and not to freak out. Sure enough, on discharge from the hospital, I had a scary list of medications to take daily.
Pain Meds - Oxycodone, Tylenol & Motrin
Laxative - Because of the Oxycodone
Stool Softener - Because of the Oxycodone
Antacid - Post surgery stress/medication impact on stomach
Blood Pressure - Control of blood pressure and heart rate post surgery
Aspirin - Platelet formation management
Blood Thinner - Because of my mechanical valve
Diuretic - To help reduce the post-surgery fluid retention
Potassium - Because of the diuretic
Had I not been prepared, I would have been really shocked to be taking home these medications. The good news is that approaching 6 weeks since the operation, I'm back down to taking only the longer term medications!
Daily Routine
Getting home was great but with no work, and a bunch of post-surgery things to do, I settled into a pretty good daily routine. Each morning, I had to weigh myself, have a shower with a clean towel and clean wash-cloth, and take my morning medication. I also needed to take my temperature and blood pressure in the morning. Normally the day included getting some walks. I would take my evening medications with dinner and then, a fair portion of the days, would just nod off to sleep in the chair!
Recording the information of which pills were taken and the blood pressure, temperature and weight data was critical so that it could be relayed to the surgeon's office over the phone and during visits. I decided that I would use Google Hangouts to stream the events as they occurred.
Forward and Backward Steps
As astounding as it is that I've recovered so quickly from Open Heart Surgery in 5 weeks, it hasn't all been rosy. I mentioned the Oxycodone impacting my digestive system, and during those days things were pretty awful. It really impacted my ability to get any physical exercise (which was only 12 minutes of walking at any given time). Those days passed quickly and I was back on track.
In addition, at about 4 weeks out, caught the cough/cold that was being passed around my family. (We tried hard to avoid me getting it, but with 3 kids it's pretty much of a sure thing that I would get it eventually.) Let me assure you that having a chesty cough and not knowing if you can take cough medication (it happened over a holiday weekend) was no fun with a recently sawed open chest! Sleeping was pretty tough too. Luckily the cough dissipated after about 8 days (it lingered) and I was very happy to be done.
Early in my recovery, my sister came from London to visit and participate in my care. It was another real godsend as she motivated me to get out and get my walks in every day, and drove me around, and took great care of me. She was able to see my progress and help through the times that felt like setbacks.
Showing posts with label crappy blogger app. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crappy blogger app. Show all posts
Friday, January 20, 2017
Monday, December 5, 2016
This day next week... (oh and Screw You Blogger App!!)
Before going any further, I want to say that I now *hate* the Blogger app (Android) with the passion of a thousand suns. I've just spent the past 1.5 hours typing up a witty and award-worthy blog post about the goings on of today, and just as I was putting the finishing touches to it, the app ate it all up and spat it out in my face. I'm going to try go recreate the post to the best of my abilities, it will probably be not nearly as awesome as my original post, so you will have to artificially add a few extra globules of cool-sauce to it and imagine how nice it would have been to read the non-replicated junk that follows.
So today was a bit rough for me. Not rough as in painful, or discouraging, or anything like that (with the exception of the aforementioned blog post being eaten) [Am I allowed to bring that up if I'm trying to recreate the original post?? Heck, it's my blog I can do whatever I want!]. No, today was 'tender'. Let me explain.
Today I had 4 heart-related activities that needed to be accomplished. One was a simple form that needed to be signed at the surgeons office giving them permission to share medical information with the company that manages Medical Leave of Absences for my employer. That's a no-brainer because without that signed, they wouldn't share the info and the FMLA folks wouldn't process my claim to be paid while I'm recovering!!
Another activity that I completed today was a call to my health insurance company to confirm that all of the providers that will be working with me are covered fully "in network" by my plan. I was assured that the hospital itself and the surgeon and his team are covered by my plan but that I should take extra precaution to find out who the anesthesiologist will be and pre-screen them because many people get caught out with a large "out of network" bill that has no agreed pricing and the doctor can come after you for any differences between the covered amount and the actual charge. I called the hospital and they let me know that they us a local provider for all of their anesthesiology needs and recommended that I call them. When I called them, they assured me that they are fully in network for my insurance provider. This was all good news and somewhat of a relief to know that it is fully covered. Someday maybe I will write a blog post about the cost of all of this stuff (it's astronomical) and I'm incredibly lucky that my employers have wonderful benefits and that the entire debacle from the event in Vegas to the surgery next week will cost me no more than $1500 in total out of pocket expenses.
Next up was a 'pre-operative pre-admission" thing a the hospital itself, where we got all the paperwork out of the way now, so as not to have to deal with that on the day of the surgery. This also included taking some 'vitals', a couple of chest x-rays, an EKG (on a side note, am I the only one that is bothered by the fact that it takes 5 times as long to get the clips and probes in place as it does to do the actual test?? Figure it out people!!), some blood draws for various things including typing and cross-matching me in the event that I need blood transfusions during the surgery, and a nasal swab to test for MRSA colonization (MRSA + heart surgery = bad).
After that, the final chapter of today's hospital activities was a visit with the Occupational Therapist to discuss various elements of my post-surgery recovery. We were greeted by a soft spoken lady name Sue who was very pleasant. Sue asked various questions our house and my recovery team (i.e. who will be around me when I return home and what type of obstacles will exists there). She wanted to find out out if we had stairs in the house, how many steps up to the front door, what type of shower we had (to see if I could easily get in and out). Nothing out of the ordinary. Sue went on to demonstrate various activities that I will need to be cautious doing during my 4 - 6 week 'sternal precautions' time. These included sitting and standing from a chair, getting in and out of bed, and the reaching/grabbing/lifting/pushing/coughing limitations that I will have during that time. She explained that the time frame for 'sternal precautions' will be determined by the occupational and physical therapists that are assigned to me at the time. We covered return to work expectations and a better insight into things like not being able to drive during that time and things that I will become used to over the coming weeks (like ways to easily get comfortable i the bed).
I was also introduced to my new heart pillow from the hospital (not to be confused with Pumpy) which will be used during the aforementioned activities during the 'sternal precautions' time. This pillow (which is pretend heart shaped similar to the one on the right) is held against the chest to provide additional support to he healing sternum. Apparently the pillow even has a handy strap for taking with me wherever I go. There were some very strict instructions in the use of this pillow with dire warnings for not using it (or using it incorrectly).
Sue also covered some of the other elements of post-surgery life at the hospital including a fair warning that I won't get much sleep in the first few days with all of the nurses checking vitals, running tests, getting me to go between bed and chair, taking me on walks etc. She noted that the Occupational Therapist and the Physical Therapist assigned to me will set some goals during the recovery, and meeting these goals will be critical to my discharge from the hospital. One of those goals will be for me to take a shower. I was surprised to hear that the first shower that I take after surgery will also include my wife and the occupational therapist in the shower with me!! It seems somewhat unfair (but understandable I suppose) that I will be the only person actually without clothing but I was assured that my "personal privacy" will be maintained to the best of their ability... Sue noted that most people are so happy to be actually having a shower that they don't really care who will be in the room with them.
So all of these proceedings went down without a hitch. The hospital events were very efficient and all of the staff were their usual friendly selves. So why does today feel tender? I think it is a mix of a few things, not the least of which is that this day next week is the day of the surgery. In fact, this time (11:30pm) next week, I should be well into my recovery, maybe already out of bed, breathing on my own, been seen by my family and being taken care of by a group of highly trained professionals who have my health as their number one priority!
Maybe it's the "being at the hospital" today and seeing patients being wheeled around, and visitors coming and going, that makes the surgery that seems so far away that much more real and happening. I am reminded by a great scene in a great movie that I wanted to share with you I'm feeling right about now. Skip to 1:23 into the clip for the reference:
So today was a bit rough for me. Not rough as in painful, or discouraging, or anything like that (with the exception of the aforementioned blog post being eaten) [Am I allowed to bring that up if I'm trying to recreate the original post?? Heck, it's my blog I can do whatever I want!]. No, today was 'tender'. Let me explain.
Today I had 4 heart-related activities that needed to be accomplished. One was a simple form that needed to be signed at the surgeons office giving them permission to share medical information with the company that manages Medical Leave of Absences for my employer. That's a no-brainer because without that signed, they wouldn't share the info and the FMLA folks wouldn't process my claim to be paid while I'm recovering!!
Another activity that I completed today was a call to my health insurance company to confirm that all of the providers that will be working with me are covered fully "in network" by my plan. I was assured that the hospital itself and the surgeon and his team are covered by my plan but that I should take extra precaution to find out who the anesthesiologist will be and pre-screen them because many people get caught out with a large "out of network" bill that has no agreed pricing and the doctor can come after you for any differences between the covered amount and the actual charge. I called the hospital and they let me know that they us a local provider for all of their anesthesiology needs and recommended that I call them. When I called them, they assured me that they are fully in network for my insurance provider. This was all good news and somewhat of a relief to know that it is fully covered. Someday maybe I will write a blog post about the cost of all of this stuff (it's astronomical) and I'm incredibly lucky that my employers have wonderful benefits and that the entire debacle from the event in Vegas to the surgery next week will cost me no more than $1500 in total out of pocket expenses.
Next up was a 'pre-operative pre-admission" thing a the hospital itself, where we got all the paperwork out of the way now, so as not to have to deal with that on the day of the surgery. This also included taking some 'vitals', a couple of chest x-rays, an EKG (on a side note, am I the only one that is bothered by the fact that it takes 5 times as long to get the clips and probes in place as it does to do the actual test?? Figure it out people!!), some blood draws for various things including typing and cross-matching me in the event that I need blood transfusions during the surgery, and a nasal swab to test for MRSA colonization (MRSA + heart surgery = bad).
After that, the final chapter of today's hospital activities was a visit with the Occupational Therapist to discuss various elements of my post-surgery recovery. We were greeted by a soft spoken lady name Sue who was very pleasant. Sue asked various questions our house and my recovery team (i.e. who will be around me when I return home and what type of obstacles will exists there). She wanted to find out out if we had stairs in the house, how many steps up to the front door, what type of shower we had (to see if I could easily get in and out). Nothing out of the ordinary. Sue went on to demonstrate various activities that I will need to be cautious doing during my 4 - 6 week 'sternal precautions' time. These included sitting and standing from a chair, getting in and out of bed, and the reaching/grabbing/lifting/pushing/coughing limitations that I will have during that time. She explained that the time frame for 'sternal precautions' will be determined by the occupational and physical therapists that are assigned to me at the time. We covered return to work expectations and a better insight into things like not being able to drive during that time and things that I will become used to over the coming weeks (like ways to easily get comfortable i the bed).
I was also introduced to my new heart pillow from the hospital (not to be confused with Pumpy) which will be used during the aforementioned activities during the 'sternal precautions' time. This pillow (which is pretend heart shaped similar to the one on the right) is held against the chest to provide additional support to he healing sternum. Apparently the pillow even has a handy strap for taking with me wherever I go. There were some very strict instructions in the use of this pillow with dire warnings for not using it (or using it incorrectly).
Sue also covered some of the other elements of post-surgery life at the hospital including a fair warning that I won't get much sleep in the first few days with all of the nurses checking vitals, running tests, getting me to go between bed and chair, taking me on walks etc. She noted that the Occupational Therapist and the Physical Therapist assigned to me will set some goals during the recovery, and meeting these goals will be critical to my discharge from the hospital. One of those goals will be for me to take a shower. I was surprised to hear that the first shower that I take after surgery will also include my wife and the occupational therapist in the shower with me!! It seems somewhat unfair (but understandable I suppose) that I will be the only person actually without clothing but I was assured that my "personal privacy" will be maintained to the best of their ability... Sue noted that most people are so happy to be actually having a shower that they don't really care who will be in the room with them.
So all of these proceedings went down without a hitch. The hospital events were very efficient and all of the staff were their usual friendly selves. So why does today feel tender? I think it is a mix of a few things, not the least of which is that this day next week is the day of the surgery. In fact, this time (11:30pm) next week, I should be well into my recovery, maybe already out of bed, breathing on my own, been seen by my family and being taken care of by a group of highly trained professionals who have my health as their number one priority!
Maybe it's the "being at the hospital" today and seeing patients being wheeled around, and visitors coming and going, that makes the surgery that seems so far away that much more real and happening. I am reminded by a great scene in a great movie that I wanted to share with you I'm feeling right about now. Skip to 1:23 into the clip for the reference:
That's right... It's Happening Reg!! It's no longer something that's way off in the distance but something that's happening "next Monday"!! I'm really excited about the restorative power that this surgery is going to have. I'm feeling overwhelmed by the wonderful family and friends who are pulling out all the stops to help us get through this. I'm keenly aware of the fact that not having this surgery would ultimately result in my early departure from this world. I understand that it's better to get this sorted sooner rather than later. I know these things to be true, but this evening I'm still a little tender.
I'm going to try to sleep it off and take Tuesday by the horns.
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