DH had open heart surgery yesterday

wannavolunteerFT wrote:
wooohoooo, not so long ago, you weren't sure how things were going for DH and now you are home and he is recovering much faster than expected. will continue keeping you in my prayers for continued recovery. Don't forget to take some time to allow yourself some rest. You will be no help to him, if you are beyond exhausted and in pain.

I know. His doctors really didn't have high hopes for DH getting through this heart surgery without significant complications. But I guess he's showing them! He gets more mobile and more alert every day. The pain is a lot better too.

Well, today he decided we should go walking in the mall. Um, no. Even getting a shower or eating dinner just wears him out. We compromised. I took him to Wendy's and he managed to eat half of a burger and a few slurps of Frosty. When we got home he collapsed in the recliner and slept for 2 hours. Yeah I'm thinking we won't go mall walking for awhile.

Then when DH woke up he had a brilliant idea! He wants to go camping with his sister! First, his sister is not a camper. Second, our camper is parked 2 hours away, in the mountains. Everything is up or down hill. Third, his sternum will not be healed until about 12 weeks. He cannot lift, push or pull more than 5-lbs. And fourth, he'd have to take at least 6 oxygen tanks, plus his concentrator. Maaaaybe if I were going with him it would work--I can do all the set up and take down. I can just see him roasting weinies on the campfire...with 3L of oxygen going. Oy~!

I need a mojito.

wooohoooo, not so long ago, you weren't sure how things were going for DH and now you are home and he is recovering much faster than expected. will continue keeping you in my prayers for continued recovery. Don't forget to take some time to allow yourself some rest. You will be no help to him, if you are beyond exhausted and in pain.

Wishing your husband a speedy and successful recovery, and for helping you cope at this trying time. May you both have many more Happy Trails together in your future.

dewey02 wrote:
Things will get better rather quickly. I pray that you and he have a quick recovery. As a caregiver, it is almost just as hard on you as it is on him.
I had the same surgery a couple of years ago, and the hardest thing was waiting for the breastbone to heal, and limiting activities until it does. Don't hurry things.

And a warning. My first big venture out of the house we went to a home and RV show...and ended up with a new RV!

God bless you and your husband.

Bwahahaha! Maybe we will end up with a motorhome after he gets better.

I'm doing okay so far. It's hard having to be bossy and set limits with him when I know he doesn't feel good, but I do it for his own good. Today he desperately wanted to lie down in the bed. He's supposed to stay up all day, not take naps in bed. Before surgery he was taking 2 long naps a day just to get through to 9pm. So I finally gave in and let him sleep for an hour because he was so exhausted. He didn't want to get up in an hour but too bad. I made him get up anyway. He can hate me if he wants; I just need to enforce the rules so he can regain some strength and avoid throwing a blood clot or getting pneumonia.

When I had my by pass in 04, I had a nurse I swear was a drill instructor in the army. she did get me up and showed me how to get out of bed by myself and I was in love with her before I was discharged. she helped me a lot to a speedy recovery. I was proud to walk down the halls with her.

Things will get better rather quickly. I pray that you and he have a quick recovery. As a caregiver, it is almost just as hard on you as it is on him.
I had the same surgery a couple of years ago, and the hardest thing was waiting for the breastbone to heal, and limiting activities until it does. Don't hurry things.

And a warning. My first big venture out of the house we went to a home and RV show...and ended up with a new RV!

God bless you and your husband.

Update!

DH is HOME. They released him late this afternoon. He is on oxygen and is limited to only 2 trips up the stairs each day. His med regimen is pretty complicated; it took me an hour to set up his 7-day pill boxes. Mostly he's in the recliner, other than walking his laps around the downstairs. Fortunately my house is set up so that you can walk in a big circle from living room to dining room to kitchen to living room.

I had my DS27 come over and Daddy-sit so I could go pick up prescriptions and some low sodium foods. While he was here, he put together a shower seat for DH and rolled up all the rugs so DH won't trip--he's still weak and off-balance. DS also installed a raised toilet seat for us---on the wrong toilet, LOL. Lucky for me it wasn't too hard to fix.

I got DH put to bed. I really hope he can get some sleep tonight. I figure I'll be up and down with him a few times, at least. I am fortunate that I can work from home, so I'll be able to keep an eye on DH and still get some work done.

We feel so very blessed. Thank you for all the good wishes and prayers that have gone up for my DH. His doctors just can't believe how well he's done--they're calling him a miracle man! Now we just need to work to make him stronger so we can get back out there and go camping!

Chock, you and your DH are in my prayers. Guess DH showed the docs as they didn't think he was a candidate for any surgery. Glad he is doing as well as he is. You know pain management is crucial, so glad you are staying on top of it. Sad state of affairs that hospitals are generally so short staffed that if a patient doesn't have a knowledgeable advocate with them, they tend to get less than stellar care. Take care of yourself and get some rest when you can. Let DH and you be your priorities, the house and other things can wait.

Oh my Chock you have certainly had a rough time. I will keep you and your dh in my prayers. I hope he has a quick recovery and with little a pain as possible.

BillandCarole wrote:
Did they go in through the side or cut through the sternum? My wife is due for a heart mitrial valve replacement in the middle of next month.
Bill

They did an 8" cut down the sternum. It's pretty impressive. His particular situation made it impossible for them to do the minimally invasive surgery.

Thank you all for your good wishes. I didn't mean to post and run. I've been at the hospital for about 48 hours and I am exhausted. DH had a very rough night last night--poor pain management--but once we got the day shift nurse to properly medicate him AND got him out of the CCU to step-down, he has done better. He's not going to be running any races but he is able to sit up in the chair and can walk around with a walker (after he almost fainted on the way to the bathroom!)