my twin will be bere sunday or early monday morning. He will take me home ,regardless of how things go. Pizzes me off--been here since wed night----they won't give me a nicotine patch but will give me all the damn morphine I want.
my twin will be bere sunday or early monday morning. He will take me home ,regardless of how things go. Pizzes me off--been here since wed night----they won't give me a nicotine patch but will give me all the damn morphine I want.
Ask if you can have a nicotine inhaler? they gave me those when I was in for mine. Are you wireless, your monitor? mine I could walk all around the floor I was on but if I left the floor it set all sorts of alarms off. hey 4 days, I wish I could have just been in for 4 days, they made me go in to the hospital for a week or 2 I forget, before they would do the bypass, hospital food SUCKS ! But in your case it may be better than Jane's, so enjoy it while you can. Hey you're are the one who said she can't even make edible biscuits didn't you?
So your better half is doing well enough to come down, that's good news at least, glad to hear that. Your Brother, not Jane.
Don't worry Don, you are to ornery to die besides they say only the good die young and you are just what they call today as middle aged. These surgeries are usually just a walk in the park for these doctors unless there are complications they weren't expecting or they slip with a knife, that's rare. It is a good sign they didn't rush you into surgery the night you got there, so you got nothing to worry about.
More good vibes you have a speedy and uncomplicated recovery.
Go thru the helll of nicotine withdrawal and then perhaps die on the table Monday morning? What kinda sense does that make?
Want me to overnight you a pack of Marlboros Don?
Hey I actually quit for 6 months, the longest ever after mine. And when the wife picked me up at the hospital after she lit one up and refused to let me have one. Biatch, but it did help me to stay off for another few months. Not really a bad thing Don, and at the cost of those dam things, what are Marlboros now 8 bucks a pack? Think of all the money you could save and buy ammo with.
They did finally give me a nic patch late this afternoon (Sat Afternoon) But, can't sleep--again. Blood pressure has been running on the high side since I started taking it at home Monday night. 184/95 at one point. It's been near 'normal' since they started me on Heparin not long I got here and admitted Wed night/thurs morning, but went up again some earlier tonight when I had some family visit, so they gave me something (Lipitor) to bring it down. It did, but also dropped my pulse rate significantly, which keeps triggering an alarm on the monitors--about every 30-40 seconds. As long as I am awake, and moving around even a little, the pulse rate is around 60--lie still or doze off and it drops down in the lower 40s--sometime into the 30s.
I do not nor have I had any kind of respiratory problems. I have never had any shortness of breath, big pains in my chest or any of the classic symptoms of heart trouble. My symptoms for several weeks was an intermittent strange feeling right across the very top of my chest, just below collar bone and down into both arms. Best I can describe it is that it felt like I had a blood pressure cuff on both upper arms, and an odd numbness in my upper arm muscles, especially my triceps and extending somewhat down into the muscles of my forearm. Both arms felt like they weighed 90 lbs. This coincides with a weakness in my legs--I simply could not walk very far at all without having to sit down and rest. This first manifested itself during an extremely stressful morning the 2nd week of July when I was up in Little Rock trying to talk some sense into my brother, right after his brain tumor was removed. Prior to that morning, I would never have guessed I had any heart problems. Just a few days before, on 4th of July, I was playing softball back here at a family/community gathering.
What has happened in this little journey so far... Thurs morning before daylight: Was informed I would be kept and admitted instead of going back home and making a cardiologist appointment I had made for Friday afternoon at another medical facility. It was determined by enzyme monitoring (blood tests) that I had indeed suffered at least one heart attack, so there was no need for a stress test. A angiogram/coronary catherization was done Thursday morning. That involved first, a very thorough shower, with a betadine type soap, especially around my groin/genitals, then right up to the cath lab where they do it. Naked, moved off the bed onto the table, shaved me 'down there, plus about 1/2 my abdomen, covered with all kinds of stuff and given anesthesia just enough I didn't feel anything but could watch the procedure on the screen. They cut an opening to my right femoral artery, inserted a line up the artery to my heart. The line inject dye (cntrast) so they can view on screen, how mch blood is flowing thru each artery to my heart. Not very much evidently--all 4 are 90-95% plugged. In addition, it was found I have a congenital anamoly on one of my arteries that makes it impossible to inert the wire that would normally place a stent--the artery is 'growing in the wrong direction" is what was told to me. Not normal but not all that unusual. Since they would not be able to stent that one, my options was to leave that one alone and stent the others while in the cath lab, then do open chest surgery on the one later--or do all 4 open chest in a few days. I opted to just go ahead and do all 4 repairs via open chest surgery--scheduled to happen beginning in the wee hrs of Monday morning. This is called a coronary artery bypass graft or CABG (generally pronounced 'cabbage').
Since then, they have been thinning my blood considerably by IV drip, monitoring my enzymes, blood pressure etc. Also found I am borderline or pre-diabetic--no insulin injections would be needed, but will need to cut down on my sugar intake. They thin the blood to lessen the chance some of the 'sludge' gets broken loose causing a clot downstream in my legs or in my lungs. Friday Night and Sat morning: Sonogram was done for both my heart itself and for the carotid artery in my neck--no problems found in the function of the heart or clogging of the carotid artery.
In the wee hrs, before daylight Monday morning, I will be shaven down both legs, and all over my chest, then given a "scrub". "they" will wash me thoroughly head to toe, then do it again immediately prior to "the procedure". A vein will be harvested from one of my legs, and this vein will be cut into different lengths to be grafted into my coronary arteries to bypass the clogs. They will also open my chest of course to expose my heart and I will be on a heart/lung machine so they can stop my heart.
I generally feel like **** . My back hurts, my arms and top of my hand hurt from all the blood samples, I miss the fresh air and it's cold as heck in here because blood is so thin. There is no rest in the hospital, and worry whether I will ever again see my home does creep in to my thoughts every once in awhile. Mostly, I worry what will happen with Jane--this is so hard on her. I love her so so much & as I have said many times, she is the love of a thousand lifetimes..
[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 09-27-2015).]
Prayers for a speedy recovery sent your way ----- I Imagine you are scared sh*tless but it sounds like you are in good hands. --- We all expect the "I have never felt this good" post in a couple of days.
Don, Generally speaking, hospitals suck. No one gets any rest there. The beds suck, strange noises occurring all the time, folks coming in and waking you up just to ask if you're getting any sleep, the food has little to no flavor, hospitals in general are just plain depressing and the list goes on. Having said all that, medical science has come a long way in the past 40 years, I have no doubt you're in good hands. Your real recovery will start once you get home. There is no doubt Jane will be hovering over you like a hen with chicks.
Just get through Monday and everything will get better following that. Be assured, your entire family to include those of us who consider ourselves your extended family will be pulling and praying for you.
Please feel free to share any pics of your nurses.
------------------ Ron
Isn't it strange that after a bombing, everyone blames the bomber, his upbringing, his environment, his culture, his mental state but … after a shooting, the problem is the gun?
My Uncle Frank was a staunch Conservative and voted straight Republican until the day he died in Chicago. Since then he has voted Democrat. Shrug
glad to hear you are still alive and kicking, oh I know you are going to be kicking all the way to the grave even when you do go you. I expect you to out live me so I wouldn't worry to much about the surgery, it is a common procedure nowadays and they are good at it.
Funny thing is I never had any chest pains ether and it wasn't until I had a scan that they thought I had a heart condition. I always thought it was my back and that where the pain was, hell I would be out in a field and my legs would just go numb and I would fall down and just lay there for a few min and be fine after that. Ended up I was having little ones and didn't even know it. I think the doctors just like cutting our chests up, J/K I know they love it. the charge is obscene and you feel like an elephant is sitting on you chest and whatever you do don't cough or sneeze after you wake up. If you do you will know what pain is. You can now tell Jane you know how bad labor pains are for women. Only in a different place on the body.
Have any of your kids showed up yet? I told Melanie not to say anything to anyone before the surgery, hey I figured if I survived why bother to worry my kids or brothers and sisters. Then after I told her she could call them and tell them that I was ALIVE ! If I died WTF good would they have done driving hundreds of miles to see me one last time?
Don you are in good hands and will make it threw this with flying colors. I say that as I am sucking on a smoke, and mine was what almost 8 years ago in a Maine hospital. So just do what they tell you and be a good little boy for the nurses, I know you won't, hell I even joked with them about it when I was in.
And if you don't make it through this I will see you in hell along with the rest of my friends when I finally go, I say there are only 2 things to worry about in life, If you are sick or if you are healthy, If you are healthy you got nothing to worry about you got your health right. If you are sick you only have 2 things to worry about, if you live or if you die, If you live you got nothing to worry about, hey your alive right, If you die you only have 2 things to worry about, if you go to heaven or hell, If you go to heaven you got nothing to worry about, If you go to hell you will be to dam busy shaking hands with friends so why bother worrying !
And don't worry about it, if you do get there before me, just look for my dad, he will be the one selling ice cold beer down there.
So you haven't got a thing to worry about, get better soon.
Edit to add,
You get this cute little heart shaped pillow to put between you and the seat belt for the ride home, at least I did when they sent me home, it will be your new best friend. You feel a cough or sneeze coming on pull that pillow as close to your chest as you can because it is going to hurt !
Steve
[This message has been edited by 84fiero123 (edited 09-27-2015).]
Buck up Marine....dig in and forge ahead! You got this.
Wanted to pass on another vote for the medical community being able to do this with very good record of success. Basically "routine" anymore.
My wife had the same surgery.....in 1996! It will be 20 years next year since they had her in the shop. It's not easy, it's not fun, but it's do-able and if my 5'2" 125lb. wife can do it...you can certainly do it. They left 3 titanium rings on her sternum, which raises eyebrows during a chest X-ray, but other than that and the scars on her chest and legs, you wouldn't know she had gone through it.
One of her nurses back then told her that someday, this would be an out patient surgery....not so sure it's not already very close to that status.
I understand they just super glue the incision back together now....the wife had staples. Had to keep anti-bacterial cream on those dang staples 24/7 till they were taken out! She got a Teddy Bear, I guess they issue heart shaped pillows now. Don't lose that sucker and keep it close at hand! As soon as you're able (and the doc's give you permission to) start doing the walking or whatever therapy is used these days. It's kind of like going swimming....the sooner you get wet and used to the water, the sooner you can start swimming and enjoying yourself!
Stay cool, calm and collected, put your faith where it belongs, and enjoy the time off.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your wife.
Best of luck with everything, we'll be waiting for your report as soon as your able.
My dad had this same surgery in ~1976, when it was still a fairly new procedure. He lived for many years, after that. This is pretty much routine, now. Just another bump in the road.
Please post again, when you can. We're all here for you.
[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 09-27-2015).]
Don, my dad had this done when he was in his late 70's. He was up walking the next day, home in 4. Did not even take pain meds after the first couple of days. Keep your pillow handy, when you cough or sneeze you'll be glad you have it.
I had several texts with Don's wife (Jane) and even had a phone call.
Don came through the operation well and was being gradually taken off of the breathing machine around 2:00 PM.
She wanted me to thank all of those who had expressed concerns and well wishes for Don.
I'm sure more will be known tomorrow, if I learn anything, I'll post it here.
I'm telling ya, Don's got a keeper in that one. ------------------ Ron
Isn't it strange that after a bombing, everyone blames the bomber, his upbringing, his environment, his culture, his mental state but … after a shooting, the problem is the gun?
My Uncle Frank was a staunch Conservative and voted straight Republican until the day he died in Chicago. Since then he has voted Democrat. Shrug
[This message has been edited by blackrams (edited 09-28-2015).]
No problem, I know others were just as concerned as I was. I just happen to have Jane's phone number.
I told her to tell Don that I snuck into his recovery room and planted a big kiss on him. I'm sure I'll hear about that later.
------------------ Ron
Isn't it strange that after a bombing, everyone blames the bomber, his upbringing, his environment, his culture, his mental state but … after a shooting, the problem is the gun?
My Uncle Frank was a staunch Conservative and voted straight Republican until the day he died in Chicago. Since then he has voted Democrat. Shrug
Originally posted by blackrams: Don came through the operation well and was being gradually taken off of the breathing machine around 2:00 PM. I'm sure more will be known tomorrow, if I learn anything, I'll post it here.
by your Texas Fiero community. Get better soon.
