from the heart... my open heart journey....

i've decided to blog my "OPEN HEART SURGERY" journey... so here we go :)

i've already shared in previous posts how we discovered the aneurysm... and the valve issues... so i'm just going to start from yesterday.

in prep for the BIG DAY... i had a fun filled day (NOT) at the hospital yesterday!!  the doctors wanted as much info as possible before going in.  the valve issue was still in question, so it was determined i should really have a TRACHEAL ECHO.  ok... and because i had an aortic repair in 1983, the doctors also wanted to make sure that was still good... and i should have a HEART CATH to check that out.  super!   and while i'm there... we'll get all the pre-surgery tests done too.  i knew it was going to be a GREAT DAY!!!


obviously, the first thing they asked me to do was take off my NORMAL clothes and put on the "GOWN".  lets think about that for just a minute...  i just googled "gown" and THIS is what i got:

 and others similar...

 

 

 but THIS is what the hospital means!  HOW IS THAT A GOWN!!  not to mention, they had two sizes to offer... XS or XXL.  hmm.... so i got one that wrapped around me twice!  and check out the "footies".... that come to my knee! 

of course, i had to make some funny faces!!! 

and here's mike and i waiting for all the fun to start!

 

i had the "pre-surgery tests" first... chest x-ray, throat ultra sound (that was alittle weird), blood work, and the standard pee in a cup.  easy.

next would be the "tracheal echo".  a nurse type person came in and went over the procedure with me.  i heard:  "we'll give you a big shot.... swallow a probe... " and then i checked out!  I DON'T WANT A BIG SHOT IN MY THROAT!  AND I SURE AS HECK DON'T WANT TO SWALLOW ANYTHING!  then she clarified... not a needle shot... a drink shot!  ok... and she assured me it would be disgusting.  cool, i can't wait!  then there was something about a numbing spray... and me being awake so i could make a swallow motion... 

it's time... they lay me on my left side.  i have a towel... aka "drool bib" placed under my face.  i get my "shot" and i sorta licked it out like jello shot.  it was this SUPER THICK gel like substance... extremely medicinal tasting with a hint of cherry.  seriously??  the cherry was a ridiculous attempt at making it enjoyable.  FAIL!  at the same time i'm numbing my entire mouth and throat, the nurse guy was putting something delightful into my IV.  now they SAID i would be awake for the swallowing of the probe, but i sure as heck don't remember it! 

the next thing i remember is i'm now in a different room getting prepped for the heart cath.  they're messing with my arm... someone asks me where i went to school.  i remember saying "what do you mean?  high school or college?"  at one point they were looking at a bruise on my fingers and i told them "never mind that, i slammed it in the damn washing machine last night!!"  that really did happen by the way ;)

and that's it.  then i woke up to this:

 

and something about pulling the tube... and letting air out slowly... and acting like my wrist was broken... and if it filled with blood, don't bother with the nurse button, just scream like crazy.  ok. 

 

i hadn't eaten since the night before... so mike ordered me some food.  i remember i really wanted soup.  so he got me chicken noodle... one of my favs.  and a fruit cup and some sherbet.  i ate.  then slept.  and slept some more.  around 5:00 i got to leave.  my wrist was wrapped very tightly.  i was told to watch for bleeding... and there was none praise God! 

 

my wrist is very sore today.  and i'm in a weird mood.  it's like ALL I CAN THINK ABOUT is monday and the surgery. .... not even so much the surgery, but the recovery.  i'm completely freaked about the recovery.  i know i'm young and in excellent health otherwise... so i will be fine and do great.  i suppose i'm just afraid of the unknown.  

so... that's it.  monday i have to be there at 5:00 a.m.  they will be replacing my aortic valve with a mechanical one.  they will be repairing my aorta.  and i will be great!! 

thanks for all the love, prayers and concern!!

love you all!!

the countdown is on...

the doctor's office just called me to give me the 411 on my little surgery.  so here it is:

monday, april 29th 7:00 a.m. with an arrival time of 5:00 a.m.  HELLOOOOOO!!! do they NOT know i don't do CRACK OF DAWN!?!?!  good grief!  oh well, i guess i'm going right back to sleep huh!  i just hope mike will take a blanket and snooze in the waiting room.

i was told i'd be in the hospital for 4-6 days... ish... roughly. 

i'm going to give mike my phone and make him post on my facebook all day!!! 

tomorrow i go in for all the pre-surgical tests and a heart cath and some down the throat peek at my aortic valve.  as soon as i have more on that, i'll let everyone know. 

a little heart surgery please...

i've tried to write this several times, to no avail... so here i go again!  starting from the BEGINNING!

 

Once Upon A Time... there was an ADORABLE little blonde girl named

Laurie.  she was sooooo cute!  just look!!!

 

THAT'S ALOTTA CUTENESS!!!

 

alright... lets be serious now!

 

in 1982, when my parents took me to my "kindergarten check-up", my family doctor realized something was wrong when i had no pulse in my ankles.  yeah.... that can't be good.  so, long story short- i ended up having closed heart surgery to repair a coarctation of the aorta.  the surgery went well and i was good to go!

faaaasssst forward...........................

in may 2010 i wasn't feeling well.  i thought it was just stress from work.  but i was REALLY feeling bad, so i went to the ER... my blood pressure was out of control.  they did a CT Scan and found a 4.4 cm aortic aneurysm.  it was a "watch and see" situation.  i was told i needed to have it monitored on an annual basis.

this is the part of the story where i look pretty bad...  i DIDN'T follow doctors orders.  after that initial CT Scan in 2010, i never had it checked again........

so God stepped in.

God is really amazing!  he knows WHAT we need and WHEN we need it!  about a month ago, that same family doctor from my childhood came into my office... just as he does every year... to get his taxes done!  of course he's long since retired, but we enjoy chatting when he comes in each year.  this year as we were catching up, he mentioned he just had an aortic aneurysm repaired.  "i have one too!!", i said.  and that's when he looked at me with that.... "doctor look".... and tipped his... lowered his eyes... and said in a low tone "laurie.... are you getting that monitored?"  um.... so this is when i had to sheepishly lower my head and whisper "no...."

you can probably guess what happened next!  as soon as my sweet old doctor left... i was on the phone to my current family doctor!!  i think it probably sounded something like this:

scheduler person:  "granger family medicine, how can i help you?"

me:  "oh my God... i CAN'T DIE!!!  tell dr. scott i need referred to a cardiologist who i DON'T have a language barrier with and i need a CT-SCAN NOOOOOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

scheduler person:  .... thinking to herself, "why do I always get the crazies?!?!?"


so... i went and met with a cardiologist... we DID have a language barrier.  i thought he said i should go on a "meditation diet" but he REALLY said i should go on a "MEDITERRANEAN DIET".  I DON'T WANNA DO EITHER!!!  but he DID send me for a CT-SCAN.

You can imagine my surprise when i arrived for my Scan and they start talking about IV's!  i'm like "whoa!  what's going on here!  what are we doing??"  apparently, SOMEONE forgot to tell me this was a Scan with DYE!  i'm still not thinking it's a big deal... until they shoot that junk in me and i have an allergic reaction to it that made me want to scratch my face off and i was quite certain my lips were ....

aaaahhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 



next... a few days go by and my doctor's nurse calls me:

nurse:  "hi... (read this with a soft sympathetic tone!) ... i wanted to go over your CT Scan... and let you know there IS an aneurysm."

me:  inside my head "duh, please tell me NEW info!!" 

what i did learn from this call was that my "smallish" aneurysm was now a "big enough to repair" aneurysm.  this made me :) :(

when i learned in 2010 that i had that little sucker, i didn't like the fact that we couldn't repair it.  i always felt like a time bomb.  if it were to burst, there's no making it to the hospital... in 30 seconds your done. 

I HAVE KIDS!!!! I CAN NOT DIE!!!!

And now with this new info... i was sent to a cardiothorasic surgeon.  and that brings us to this week.

mike and i went into the doctors office.  immediately i was distracted by the fact that he looks EXACTLY LIKE MATTHEW PERRY!!!!  it's sooo awesome!  anyway... back to my heart... 

my aneurysm is 4.9 c.m.  at 5 c.m. they operate.  HOWEVER...i ALSO have a bad aortic valve... so surgery is a must.  what i THOUGHT i was going to hear was ".... outpatient... back to work in a few days.... "  but what i ACTUALLY heard was:

"5 to 7 days in the hospital.  another week completely down at home.  then another 2-6 weeks of recovery.... you can go back to work PART-TIME after 4 weeks... MAYBE."

anyone who's spent five minutes with me, knows I CAN'T SIT STILL FOR 4 MINUTES LET ALONE 4 WEEKS!!!!!  i can't be down that long!!  i have a husband.... kids... dogs... laundry... FURNITURE TO PAINT!!!!!!  THIS CAN NOT BE HAPPENING!!!!

then.... there's the alternative... without surgery, it's like a watching waiting game.... of when will it burst.  the dr. was quite certain i wouldn't make it to 55.  that is UNACCEPTABLE! 

so surgery it is.  full blown... all the way... open heart... surgery.  april 29th.  memorial hospital.  i have an echo scheduled for monday to see what's really going on with the defective valve.  then i have to squeeze in a heart cath... then surgery.

so, my plan for the next two weeks:

~ create a master calendar to organize my family, make numerous copies and pass out to all my extended family (there is NO WAY i'm a control freak!!)

~ turn my bedroom into a haven of relaxation and healing (where do i put the dogs??)

~ paint AS MUCH FURNITURE AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE (i NEED to keep my store stocked!)

~ research activities to keep me from going bat $hi+ crazy for 4-8 weeks

~ TAN.  i really want to look good for this surgery

~ get two nail fills.  again... i need to look put together!

there you go... i don't know if that answers all the questions... but feel free to ask more!!  thank you for all the love, concern and prayers!!!!

love you all!
laurie