Nov 11, 2010 – More diagnosis, mystery & perplexity

Laying on the ambulance stretcher, wrapped in warm blankets & secure straps… oxygen tank and tubes around my head to help give the extra oxygen my body really needed.  I was just waiting, and waiting… not sure when we would be allowed into the ER room… the ambulance technicians and my wife were also getting more anxious as the time was passing by.

After approximately 30 minutes, I was finally rolled into one of the ER resuscitation rooms.  The whole place was quite packed with patients all around, crowded would be an easy way of saying… but I was quickly rolled into that special room, transferred from the ambulance stretcher onto another bed in the ER, and again a bunch of tubes and heart monitor probes all hooked up to me.

The ER doctor on duty was young man, quite handsome and smart-looking as my wife pointed out in a conversation we had a bit later.  The doctor began his questioning of what happened, and how I was feeling at the time, etc.  I was feeling rather calm, but still really weak after the ordeal of the collapse earlier that day.  He then brought some computerized equipment for an ultrasound scan (electro-cardio scan) to try to see what was happening with my heart.

The scan showed some dark areas around my heart, and he then said that this must be some “fluid build-up” that was putting pressure on my heart.  He called the cardiology department (he used a special hospital cell phone) to request for a cardiologist to come for further diagnosis.   A young female cardiologist came to see me, and she did some more scanning with the ultrasound machine.  She had also confirmed that there was some fluid build-up around my heart, but since the machine was more of a portable one, and perhaps not as accurate in diagnosis, she had then called the specialists in cardiology to bring down their specialist with a full size machine.

It took about another 15 minutes or so for the specialist to come down with his equipment, so an ER nurse and my wife had tried to help me be more comfortable, while I waited.  Of course the time of travel, and the different events that happened that day, well, I just really needed to pee!… as my bladder was just getting too full!

Thankfully, I was quite an “expert” now at using those portable hospital urinals (easier for men to use)… so, I asked to have a couple to finally “relieve myself”… and then felt better too! 🙂

The cardio specialist arrived soon enough, with a rather large computerized unit on a cart, he rolled it near my bed in the ER.  More tests and scans were done, but took quite a bit longer to do… to be more precise in finding the problem areas.  After the specialist finished, another specialist (whom I recognized from the Lakeshore hospital) came to check the scans and redo a few other scans to be sure of what they were finding etc.

After the cardio scans were done, there were more cardiologists that had come by to see, and speak with me about what happened, and basically asked me the same questions that other doctors had asked me.  Then, soon a whole bunch of young and older cardiologists were all around my room bed, and then there was some conversation on what needed to be done.  It was like seeing a movie with all these young and old professionals learning and discussing my situation, and wondering what they should do. 

It was actually somewhat amusing to see… and then a really odd-looking and older cardiologist doctor came close to me at my right side, but he was quite spooky looking…  he had an old scruffy grey beard and long messy hair… someone you might see in a city alley holding a bottle wrapped in a brown bag… or perhaps some old western movie character ready to wipe his whisky drip off his mouth and moustache.  I call him the “whisky cowboy” doctor, but thankfully he didn’t smell of whiskey, otherwise I’d really be worried!

Then this whisky cowboy doctor finally spoke to me,  but as he was talking to me he actually wasn’t looking directly at me… but rather looking down at my chest area… it was strange I thought… what a weird doctor!  I had to assume that he was legit, as there were about 7 or 8 other cardiologists standing by, and they were like being instructed what should be done… like they were at school, in a classroom or something.  🙂

Well, he said that I do have too much fluid build-up around my heart and that there were two options they had to remove that fluid, but which one would be better and more effective? One option is to put a special tube in my side, near the heart and sometimes that works, but is not the best option. The other option is to insert a tube inside the heart cavity, but requires some more surgery.  I was told that this option is better overall, as it would ensure that most of the fluid would be removed.

So I thought that would be the decision, but with all the talking and discussion, no decision was yet made.  The whole group of cardiologists just started to leave the room, and the old whisky cowboy doctor just said, the decision will need to be made by my surgeon doctor!… Well, I waited and then a couple of other surgeon doctors came by to see me, and said the same thing… I was beginning to think there’s no one here that can make a decision?… how peculiar?

Finally, my surgeon doctor arrived to see me… apparently he was off duty, and was “called in” to see me?  He immediately made the decision that I would have the surgery to have a tube inserted to remove the fluid, and he indicated that they would just re-open the lower part of my incision, so that there wouldn’t be more scaring etc.  However, he wouldn’t be able to do the surgery this time, it would be another surgeon… a senior surgeon that he was completely confident in, he reassured me that I was in “good hands”.

After the decision was made, I was soon prepared to go to the operating room that same night.  Of course I was feeling apprehensive about this, but there wasn’t much choice for me, I thought.  This was just another step in my recovery?… apparently this sort of problem doesn’t happen to many of the heart surgery patients, perhaps only about 4% of heart surgery patients have this sort of problem of too much fluid build up around the heart post surgery.  Well, I had to be one of the four percent?…

Next posting will be about my second trip to the operating room, and then the recovery room with the Ninja Turtle nurse!…

Thanks for reading 🙂

Nov 9th – 11th , 2010 – The story continues…

Two days had passed at home as I was still feeling rather weak, still with pain and discomfort.  Being home again also brought up some fears of not being well protected due to the 24/7 nursing care was no longer around.  And not knowing much about all the new medication I had to take, it was somewhat stressful to keep track of the medication schedule.

My wife was now the “in-house” nurse, and though I appreciated her help on things, I knew that it was an added stress for her to deal with.  We had to call the head nurse at the hospital on Wednesday (Nov. 10^th), as I my skin was looking anaemic, and I may need to have some iron supplements, which wasn’t part of my prescribed medications.

My red blood cells were really low at the time, but we didn’t know for sure… other than some pale color appearance that was showing on my skin.

The next morning, Nov. 11^th I had got up as usual, had some breakfast however I still had some slow movement in walking, especially going up the stairs, it was like lifting a heavy load on my back just to get up one level of stairs!  Man did I feel old!

I was determined to just work through this heavy feeling, as I just wanted to get better.  I decided to take a shower thinking that it might help in having a good warm shower to make me feel more refreshed.

Then it quickly happened, as I was getting ready to get into the bathtub for my shower, a heavy wave of weakness came over me… all I could remember thinking was, OH NO… NOT AGAIN!… I had collapsed immediately in the bathroom, my chin hit the side of the bathtub as I fell completely unconscious… my wife was downstairs at that moment, she heard the “thud” and ran up the stairs (faster than a speeding bullet!) to rescue me from my demise!  She had to lift my “bent-over body” from the bathtub, as I my head & upper body were hanging inside the bathtub as my legs were still on the floor beside the bathtub… a wonderful sight I’m sure!

The 911 call was made and soon there were paramedics from the Fire department who were at my side helping me to my “sleeping room” to get me checked and stabilized.  I was still naked from the shower, so had some boxer shorts put on me while they were connecting me to oxygen tubes and monitors.  The Urgence Santé (ambulance) arrived a few minutes later, and had then “taken over” the procedures to get me wrapped up, and rushed to the hospital again!

It was cold outside but well wrapped up in blankets, as I was wheeled out the door into the ambulance.  My neighbours that were home, would have seen this happening for sure!

As I was rushed back to the closest hospital (Lakeshore)… they had brought me into the critical room where there are lots of medical equipment and two ER nurses and doctor on duty.  I was transferred off the ambulance stretcher to the ER bed… but the ambulance staff had to stay for a while in case of another hospital transfer was needed.

A diagnosis was done quickly and then a call to the CT scan technicians.  As I was waiting for the transfer to get a CT scan (to check if there was any brain or heart damage from the collapse)… my wife and father-in-law had come into the ER room where I was laying.  My wife was wheeled in on a wheel chair, as she was feeling so weak and scared that she couldn’t walk!  We had some brief conversation and then I was quickly transferred to get a CT scan.  I hadn’t had a CT scan before, so I didn’t know what to expect.

The ER orderly quickly manoeuvred my bed on wheels to transfer to the CT scan room… I was going down the hallways at supersonic speed… with the rush of wind blowing over my body like a wind tunnel!  🙂

Once inside the CT scan room, it was rather small I thought, but maybe because the CT scan machine was quite large!  Anyway, the medical staff had then transferred me to a special table and hooked up some more tubes and such… then told me briefly what I needed to do, hold your breath, don’t move your head… just try to relax!  And then sent me into this “star-gate” like experience with my right arm stretched out over my head… they then squirt this hot liquid into my veins…. it was like OW!.. you didn’t tell me you would inject me with hot liquid pushing through my veins at supersonic speed!  That was painful!… I wanted to swear and punch that guy in nose for doing that to me!  Especially because he didn’t warn me what he was going to do!…

Well, soon I was wheeled back at supersonic speed to the critical room again, saw the doctor… and had to wait for the CT scan results, which wasn’t too long… and then the decision was made to send me back to the Royal Vic hospital, as that’s where I had my heart surgery done.  Apparently there was some other problem with my heart… which I didn’t know about… until later.

So the ambulance technicians got me all wrapped up & connected again, with tubes and oxygen… put me into their truck, with a nurse from the Lakeshore hospital and my wife was riding in the front seat with the driver.  We headed out of the Lakeshore with full speed, red lights and siren… the driver was going at full speed to take me to the hospital downtown… about 25 km away.  We had hit the highways soon, and travelling at top speed… with all the bumps and turns we were going through, I remember telling the nurse:  “If I survive this ride, I’ll survive anything!”…

Soon we arrived at the ER entrance of the Royal Vic hospital.  The ambulance driver, technician, nurse and my wife all waited just outside the ER door in the hallway.  We waited for about 30 minutes.

I’ll continue the story in my next posting… thanks for reading! 🙂

P.S.  If you don’t mind… I would like to know if you’re reading this?… if you could put a small comment, like “Hi, I was here”  that would be fine! Thanks!

Heart valve replacement – animation (link)…

Below is a website with video animation of a mechanical heart valve, the same one put inside my heart… (St-Jude Medical)… see the “Valve Replacement Procedures“:

http://health.sjm.com/heart-valve-answers/videos-and-animations.aspx

Nov 8, 2010 – The return home…

After the usual early morning routine in the hospital I was told by the doctor that I would be returning home for my continued recovery.  My neighbour patient (Greg) had moved his bed to the other side of the room since Joe went home on Saturday, and Greg wanted a bit more freedom of not being so “cramped-in” as he was still waiting for his surgery day to actually happen. 

Something we quickly discovered about the hospital rooms was that each room could accommodate up to four patients, but there was always one space “not used”… and it was always the one on the “right side” as you came into the room, the beds are numbered 1, 2 ,3, 4… and the number 4 space was always empty, so if you were lucky to be in bed number 3…  there would be more space around your bed to put chairs for visitors etc.

After breakfast, I called home to make arrangements for my lift to return home… something that I was certainly anticipating for a few days… and looking forward to be with my wife and son… and to get back to a life at home again.

There were still some details to process, so I needed to wait for the nurse to get all the necessary details & papers from the cardiologist before I left the hospital.

In the mean time, I had packed up all my belongings, got dressed in my regular clothing, as it felt great to have some normal clothing to wear again!  I took another walk down the corridor to get some more exercise to build some strength and mobility in my bones and muscles again.

Finally the nurse came to see me, we discussed some details of the medication I needed to take and when I needed to schedule upcoming appointments.  I still had the 50 staples on my chest, the ones holding my incision together… it was still uncomfortable having those on, they felt like a huge zipper on my skin! They would be removed in about a week or so.

Well, my wife came in about 11:00am with my father to pick me up for my return home.  I was feeling a bit weak still from all the ordeal, still rather tired, but yet anxious to be going home. 

An orderly had come with a wheelchair to bring me down to the main entrance, as it isn’t really safe for heart surgery patients to walk that distance, as we were beginning our recovery process.

Soon I was in my dad’s car, heading home and I thought.. wow… only one week after open heart surgery! … but I was feeling a somewhat scared of going back home, as I was still having some pain and discomfort… just the movement of the car over the bumps on the road home, the stop and go of the traffic was really uncomfortable for me, but I knew I needed to be strong and had to get through this discomfort. 

We stopped by the pharmacy to get my prescription medications filled… I was certainly not used to taking so many different medications, it was quite a list!  Especially since I never had any prescribed meds that I was taking before my operation… so, this was something new for me.

Also needed to pick-up a “medic-alert” bracelet that I would need to wear for the Coumadin medication warning (a blood-thinner).

When I arrived home, I needed some help to walk… and just getting through a few stairs felt like I was climbing a mountain!… nevertheless, I made it to the living room… sat on the couch and felt glad to be home again!

The remainder of the day was spent resting and talking, reviewing the medication schedule and the details and just getting re-adjusted to being at home again… so, the recovery continues.

More stories to tell, until later… thanks for reading! 🙂

Nov 6th & 7th, 2010 – The week-end crew… and learning how to walk again!

The hospital week-end crew is a bit less in number, for nurses, doctors and staff… it get’s somewhat quieter on the floor, and the staff seem more relaxed but still quite efficient to do their work well, considering the fewer nurses and orderly staff.

I was still learning how to walk again, movements were quite slow… nevertheless I was determined to try and get my strength back, and to be more mobile again.  I had a permanent connection to an IV fluid unit, which you need to roll around with you if you move away from your bed.  Another annoying thing about those IV unit pumps, they only last about ten minutes on their internal battery, and then they start beeping like crazy to be plugged back into a wall outlet.

So, regardless of how much I wanted to move, being hooked up to an IV unit was very limiting!  The week-end crew sometimes had some student nurses learning with a more experienced nurse, all the necessary duties and such.

My pain level was finally starting to subside from the previous two days, however I still needed the strong pain medication at the regular intervals, as the pain had not completely disappeared, it just wasn’t as severe!

I had a nice little digital T.V. to help pass some of the time resting, and I had also used the phone to talk with friends and family.  My operation recovery was starting, as I was starting to feel some strength come back to me.

I was wondering about my neighbour patient (Greg), who was still waiting after 2 weeks to be called to go for his operation… as he had been re-scheduled up to three times.  The main reason was due to lack of nursing staff for the ICU for that particular day, and sometimes other more urgent surgery was priority, so it was difficult for some patients who had to wait much longer than others.

By Sunday (Nov. 7^th) I was wondering if I might be sent home on Monday, Nov. 8^th.  My other neighbour patient (Joe) had left on Saturday, Nov. 6^th and he was operated the same day as I was, but earlier in the day.  His operation was a double by-pass surgery.  Apparently the patients with by-pass surgery have a bit easier time to recover than those with a heart valve replacement.

Well, soon I had another session of exercises with the physiotherapist.  It would be of importance to be able to walk a certain distance and to go up and down one flight of stairs. I had managed to do this, and the physiotherapist was pleased to see my strength and balance looking much better.

On Monday morning, I was expecting to return home, if the results of the blood tests were good and with the doctor’s discretion; they would decide when I could return home.

So, I was doing whatever I could to be able to return home on the next day… did my breathing exercises more frequently, did some more walking in the hallway, and even though my recovery was still difficult and I was still feeling weak, I was fighting to just push through this, so I thought.

That evening I had some friends come for a visit and we had some good talk with some laughter… it was great to see some friends again.

More story to follow in the next posting… thanks for reading! 🙂

Nov 5, 2010 – Another early wake-up

It’s about 6:00 AM and the room lights are flicked on as the orderly comes to get us all weighed in for the day, and our happy “vampire” quickly passes to get our blood work for the day!… however my movement was slow going with the lack of sleep and the ongoing severe pain in my left shoulder. 

Soon the doctor “Possy” comes by (i.e. several doctors with a rolling cart) with all the patient logbooks to pay their daily visit with all the patients (one by one). A quick review of our file with a brief dialog between doctor and patient begins and on how things are going with our situation.

Knowing that it would be the only time of day I would see them, I quickly asked the doctor that my shoulder pain was becoming unbearable and that I may have an infection or something!… he quickly responded “it’s not an infection”… but then assured me that I will be sent for an X-ray to check the area that was giving me so much pain. 

Before I could even have breakfast, another orderly came in with a wheel chair to take me to the X-ray department.  I was quickly rushed down the corridor, then into the elevator and down a few floors to the x-ray room.  The x-ray technician then asked me to stand up and put my left shoulder about my head to hold on to a support to get the x-ray photos done… that was so painful to move my arm that way, I almost felt like I was going to pass out!… however, I managed to pull through that painful ordeal, and then was put back in the wheelchair to wait in the hallway nearby for the orderly to bring me back to my hospital room.   This took about 15 minutes or so… and I was getting hungry too, as time was passing and I knew that the morning breakfast was coming to our rooms… I just hoped that there would be a meal left for me when I got back to the room.

I was returned to my room, and thankfully there was a breakfast meal left beside my bed, I was able to eat… even though some of the food was quite unpleasant, you eat what you can as anything somewhat edible is better than nothing.

Soon the physio-therapist stopped by to see me, and asked that we try to take a walk down the corridor.  I stood up slowly (felt like I was dragging a heavy load on my back) as my legs felt so stiff, they were extra heavy and tight with the bloating from the medication and too little movement from staying in bed too long.

It was a difficult walk down the hallway, as I was only able to go a short distance and finding it just difficult to move my body… it was like I was just learning how to walk again!  I couldn’t believe that it was this difficult just to walk!…

Soon I came back to my room, sat down on my bed again and then just laid back down for some more rest… this was certainly going to take longer to recover than what I was hoping for.

The remainder of the day was rather uneventful, except for the ongoing pain medication and discomfort… just hoping that some pain relief would come my way soon! 

Later that evening,  I was having more difficulty sleeping and also feeling quite hungry, but I didn’t have anything else to eat… just water.  Soon the night-time came and as I was just sitting in my bed trying to rest, it was also unusually very quite in the corridor, as all the lights were out, I saw a man on a wheel chair come into our room… he was another patient, and he was just in our room doorway… looking around.  I didn’t say anything, just watched him.  He was looking around the room with the dim lighting trying to perhaps find something he was looking for?… I’m not sure.  Then the old man looked over at me and noticed that I was looking at him… he got nervous, quickly rolled his wheel chair back into the corridor and was not to be seen again!… weird I thought, that was just too weird,  but perhaps I just averted a small crime of him stealing something from our room.  Apparently we were told to be careful not to leave any items like electronics (computers, iPods etc.) as someone had some of their personal items stolen in the hospital.

So, my night was still not over… as I was getting too hungry.  I signalled for the orderly or for a nurse to come, and when an orderly came to see me, I asked if I could have some kind of snack to eat… he quickly responded that there was no such thing!… then quickly left the room.  However, a few minutes later the night-time nurse came by to check on me, so I asked her if there was anything that I could have to eat.  She said that there is something she could bring me to eat.  Soon she came back with a nice little snack of crackers, cheese, apple juice and some chocolate pudding too!

After my little late night snack I was able to get some sleep… something I desperately needed!… so signing off for now, to be continued… 🙂

Nov 4, 2010 – Another early morning wake-up… and then the extreme pain… excruciating pain had begun!…

I just couldn’t believe the level of pain I was experiencing as I couldn’t move my left shoulder without the extreme pain shooting through my whole body!… however, I had made an effort to just push that little “red button” (to call the nurse)… and then waited for almost 15 minutes or so to ask for some pain medication, the nurse had asked me what level of pain I was having, and I said: “10”! (the levels are described between a number of 1 to 10, where the higher the number would mean the most extreme pain level).

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Something that I found online about “Postoperative Muscle Pain (Myalgia)”:
Severe muscle and joint discomfort that may be experienced after surgery is known as postoperative muscle pain (myalgia). This is a fairly common, quite distressing, but rather interesting condition. It usually appears on the first day after surgery, is often described as feeling similar to the pain one might suffer after unaccustomed physical exercise, and is usually located in the neck, shoulder and upper abdominal muscles.

There are a few theories about the cause of postoperative myalgia, but it is usually attributed to the use of a muscle relaxant drug called succinylcholine. Hence this is sometimes referred to as “scoline pain”.

Succinylcholine and Scoline

If the muscle relaxant succinylcholine, also known as scoline, has been used during anesthesia, this may in some patients cause generalized aches and pains in the muscles for two to three days. This drug is sometimes used routinely, though less so now than years ago, and also has a special place in situations when the anesthesiologist needs to place a breathing tube in the patient’s throat (intubate) very quickly. These pains, often referred to as scoline pains, are more prevalent in very muscular and fit patients.

What Causes the Pain?

Although the problem of postoperative myalgia has been recognized for many years, the exact way in which succinylcholine causes this muscle pain is not fully understood. Most believe that it is due to uncoordinated contraction of muscles that occurs a few seconds before the muscle relaxation that is the desired effect of the drug.

More info, at this website: http://www.netwellness.org/healthtopics/anesthesiology/musclepain.cfm
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So my day wasn’t starting off too well!… I had quickly learned that the pain medication (a narcotic) would be needed to relieve my pain and also some “Tylenol” given with this heavier medication.  Also, I discovered that the time it took to actually get the pain medication from the nurse could take up to ½ hour (as they were servicing several patients at the same time)… and once the medication was taken it could take another 15 or 2o minutes for it to work at relieving the pain.

After waiting and hardly moving in my bed for a few hours, I had managed to use some of my right arm to lift myself up enough to sit on the side of the bed… as I expected to have some breakfast soon.  There was a physio-therapist lady that came to see me, and asked me a few questions then requested that I make an effort to stand up and try to sit on the chair for breakfast… but I was in too much pain to move anywhere!  She was understanding, and then just discussed some important exercise movements I should do, in order for me to start my recovery properly.  The breathing device (spirometer) was explained, and how to do some breathing exercises at every hour during the day.  This was important to get the lungs working well again from the trauma of the operation I had just been through.

Soon the breakfast meal was served, which really wasn’t very good… I don’t recall exactly what was served, but I remember most of the meals weren’t very edible at all!  I ate what I could, remembered what I should try to order for breakfast next time, and soon knew after a couple of days or so, which food I should order on the hospital menu… as there is only a few food items you can have that are actually edible enough!

Well, I then tried to lie down again to get some more sleep… but that lasted for maybe a few minutes as some orderly would come in the room and bring some towels, wash basin etc.  I just couldn’t move much for anything, so as the heavy medication I was taking started to take effect, I had then managed to get some sleep for a few hours before lunch-time.

The nurse stopped by a few times to check my vitals (blood pressure and temperature) and helped to move my pillow for some better comfort… as I couldn’t move my own pillow much due the stiffness and pain I was having.

I was still connected to that “drainage unit” that day, however the doctor had checked the unit that morning and told the nurse that it can be removed!…”finally” I thought, as anything that can be “disconnected” always feels so much better… another small step to gain your “freedom” again.

The removal of the large drain tube from my belly was uncomfortable for sure, and a bit tricky too! However, the nurse was quite good at this… thank-fully… not her first time removing something like that!  The tricky part was to “time” it just right for the tube to come out of your belly, breathe, then not, then the pull & pressure applied… then some huge bandages with heavy tape to block the hole etc.  After the all the bandages and tape on my belly, I started to look like a “Buddha” belly … LOL 🙂

Well, the remainder of the day was often just waiting and waiting, not sure for what, perhaps just for the next moment to pass… I would sit on the edge of my bed and just stare at nothing, still feeling a lot of pain, and not sure why the pain was getting so extreme!  The pain medication was only allowed to take every 6 hours… but the pain would start to return about every 4 hours… so, it was tough to hold out for those extra 2 hours.

Visitors would come and go several times during the day for my room-mates… and it was easy enough to hear their conversations as any little conversation was certainly welcome and sometimes interesting to listen… regardless of the “situation” we were in.

As I was going through all of this, I was certainly feeling frustrated, angry and upset about just about everything… it was hard to deal with nearly dying, and then knowing that the recovery process would take several months… it plays on your mind and emotions… it is difficult.  My thoughts would often go out to my wife and son, who were at home and dealing without having “Dad” around the house… there were some many feelings of uncertainty and getting all the important details taken care of.

My wife, son, family members and friends would usually come in the evening to visit… it was certainly nice to see some familiar faces, and to have that special love and care.  The extra “food goodies”, cookies, some fruits and yogurt… was a welcome “snack” stash to have when the meals we had just weren’t sufficient.

Here’s a photo taken by my father-in-law… such as amazing look eh!… 😉

Well, soon the day was coming to an end… and as I was still in need of more pain medication, I would need to ask the doctor in the morning what could be causing so much pain in my left shoulder.

Sleep was difficult, as it was hard to get comfortable… but the pain medication soon took its effect and I managed to get some better sleep that night.

The next day, would be another one to deal with… and I’ll update on the next blog posting… thanks for reading!

Below are a couple of photos, taken Nov. 27th of the surgery incision, still now healing!

Nov 3, 2010 – Our early morning wake-up… and a day in the life for a surgery patient begins!

After our early wake up of 6:00am by putting on all the lights and the early morning “weigh-in” begins! Each patient needs to have their weight recorded before the day begins.

So, a large weigh scale on wheels is moved around the rooms to each bed by an orderly, and we need to get up off our bed and stand on the digital weigh scale to accurately record our weight… as this is done as regular routine each day.

Then the “nurse of the day” (i.e. your assigned nurse for that day) comes by to take our “vitals”… blood pressure, heart rate and body temperature.  This is recorded each day in your “patient binder”, which is basically a logbook of records.  The binder is labelled with patient name and room number, and it is kept with the nurse throughout your stay in the hospital.

Soon afterwards, all the patients are given a wash cloth, towel and a wash basin to get washed up… but if it’s just the day or two after surgery, you do need some help with your actual movement as your muscles and strength are rather weak. So there is an orderly who helps with that, for some of the patients to get washed up as needed.

Which of course is usually a welcome help, as it is quite difficult to move much with all the tubes connected to you (such as an I.V. or two connected on your arms), these can prevent you from moving easily.  Also, for us heart patients we still have the “large drain tube” attached to our belly area, and you really cannot walk with that electronic drain unit that is placed beside your bed.  That drain unit is about the size of two laptop computers stacked on each other, it’s made of hard plastic and has several digital readouts & settings and with a vacuum hose connected the main wall behind your bed.

Drainage unit looked something similar to this photo:

I was still in a lot of pain from the operation, and it was another thing that made just moving in your bed difficult!… but there was some strong medication to relieve the pain (such as: oxycodone), which really helped, when needed!

Our morning breakfast was then served around 9:00am (quite a long wait from the wake-up time of 6am)… and I would usually eat everything that was served, but on some meals the food was so unpleasant, it just wasn’t edible!  Another reason why it is so easy to lose weight in the hospital!

Around mid-morning I was then transferred to the “regular” patient room on the floor, it was at the end of the hallway, in room #59.  As I was being placed to my new location, I was put with two other men, one was still waiting for his operation day to be scheduled, while the other patient was the man who was operated the same day as I, he was the first case of the day, I was the second.

Within a few moments of settling into the new room, we had introduced ourselves… the man on the left side of me, his name is “Greg”… on the opposite side (diagonal) his name is “Joe”.  Joe had an approximate age of 60 and was the man operated the same day as I, he had a double by-pass done on his heart.  Whereas, Greg had an approximate age of 63 was waiting to have a 4 or 5 by-pass done on his heart!

Greg was very friendly, and well-spoken and likes to talk and tell jokes, he was quite amusing and had a good sense of humour… Greg is an artist of modern sculpture, and has his business located in the eastern townships.  Joe is also quite friendly, but more reserved but has some strong ties with his family and friends.  Joe is a businessman and investor, who also lives in the same area that Greg is from… they never met before, but they just so happen to live in the same village in the eastern townships.  Joe is a speed reader, and he would read the Wall Street Journal cover to cover within a very brief time! It was amazing to see this man read so much material in so little time!

My stay with these gentlemen certainly was interesting to help pass the time, and sometimes our conversations were interesting as they had some amazing stories about their little town, and the various projects they were working on etc.

Well, as I was still in recovery from my heart operation, there was a noticeable drop in my “haemoglobin” as well as my level of magnesium.  So, I was soon connected with a magnesium I.V. and then the blood units were also connected to me to help restore the needed fluids in my body.

The nurse I had on duty that day was a bit strange, as she was having some difficulty in connecting the blood unit bag on the I.V. tube and she had made quite a mess of mis-connecting things and some blood from the bag had spilled onto the floor and splattered on a curtain beside my bed.  She didn’t clean it up either, as it was left for an orderly to do… which wasn’t done until a couple of days later!

The same nurse kept checking my temperature about every five minutes while I was having the blood unit and magnesium I.V. and after the second blood unit was connected, the nurse had stopped the flow after only half a bag was used.  Apparently my body temperature was a bit too high to continue with that, but I needed to have the two full units of blood transfused to bring the level of haemoglobin to the correct amount… but that didn’t happen.

That evening after our supper, I was very tired and went to sleep quite early, and managed to sleep for a while.  But I was then awakened later around 8pm to have more things done, a blood test, more magnesium and the heparin (blood thinner) was also connected… though I don’t recall when exactly the Heparin had actually begun for the I.V. connections.

More pain medication was needed before my night-time sleep, and though it is effective the actual sleep time is not as good… so the lack of sleep just made it more difficult to recover.

The next day would be something new I was going to experience, however it was not something I could have ever imagined!

Stay posted… for more details in my next posting.

Thanks for reading! 🙂

Nov 2, 2010 – Transfer to “Step Down”… and a shocking discovery revealed!

It was mid-morning for the transfer to the “step down” room, which is basically a large room with several beds of patients who are starting their recovery process from surgery.  The room is filled with the medical equipment & heart monitors and there are several nurses on rotation duty who stay in the room to watch and monitor the patients at all time.  I remember trying to just move a bit, and it was very difficult as every muscle in my body was feeling so weak (felt like I was hit by a train! LOL!), no doubt from the surgery and perhaps due to the heavy medication as well.

Soon some food is brought for lunch, but is basically a very light lunch of soup broth and some liquid food, which I found was quite unpleasant tasting (surprise?… hospital food!), but I guess is necessary for anyone who just had surgery and tubes recently removed from their throat!

I had other tubes hooked up to me, one was a rather large tube attached to my stomach just a couple of inches higher than my belly button, this tube went to a portable unit to drain & vacuum “the excess” blood & fluid from the heart area due to the operation.  A bunch of “sticker type” probes were also attached to my chest area and connected with wires to a heart monitor device.

The shocking discovery was revealed by conversation with the cardiac surgeon concerning the real problem my heart valve. After many years of believing that I was born with a defective valve and had been told that I have a heart murmur, and it must be due to a birth defect, there was never a worry about it until I hit my mid forties…

After collapsing while I was playing floor hockey (2006 and 2007 & 2008), I was rushed to the hospital to have some diagnosis done.  There were several tests done but the diagnosis then was that the heart valve had some calcification on the valve, but it wasn’t “dangerous” per se. After my heart operation, the cardiac surgeon told me that there was no calcification on the valve, and there never was!

Apparently my heart valve was perfectly normal at birth, but at some point in my childhood I had an infection of some kind that was not taken care of properly, (perhaps some neglect of getting proper medical care), so unknowingly the bacteria from the infection had accumulated on my aortic heart valve and began to slowly close the “valve flaps” and ultimately cause my heart to fail many years later.

Learning of this discovery was very important for me as there was a concern that other family members might have been born with a similar “defective” valve, however this is not the case and no other family member would need to worry about this for their health situation.

So, the new aortic valve replacement looks like the photo here, it is a “St-Jude Regent” mechanical valve.  It makes a “clicking” sound all the time, but you can only hear it when in a room that is quiet.

Well, the day in the “step down” room was soon coming to an end, and the nighttime sleep was quite difficult as there were several patients complaining and crying out loud to get help for their pain.  It was similar to an ER room with different problems of patients “misbehaving” or some were having complications from their surgery and needed more careful attention to help them get some rest.

I also requested a desk fan to have near me through-out the time I was there, as I was going through some un-usual “hot-flashes” ?… of sweating and generally feeling too hot, as the rooms on the surgery ward were quite warm (too much heat for me).  [Later I learned that my” hot flashes” was due to some hormonal imbalance (i.e. in the central nervous system) that was caused by the heart trauma that my body was going through, this was also due to the CPR work that was done on my heart.  My osteopath doctor had told me this, and prescribed some medication to help balance the hormone levels, and it worked.. soon the need for a cooling fan had stopped!].

Some of the other more un-comfortable things that happened this day was having my catheter tube removed, as it was quite painful at the point of removal, but the result was some relief too, as it’s always good to have “tubes removed”!

Then I had to get used to using those “portable urinals”, which isn’t too bad for men, but for women it is not as convenient.  There is a “portable toilet” they call a “commode” which is basically a chair toilet on wheels, (the wheels have brakes on them to prevent the chair from moving, un-expectantly!)… so, I also had to use that wonderful “commode” at one time during the day, which was quite unpleasant, and I had caused a very, very smelly stink for everyone around the room!… you know… its rather embarrassing as you need to use “the commode” in your “semi-private” curtain around your bed area… but in a hospital, just about all the “discreet” things are not easily done… as there’s very little privacy to have.

The other items that were given to me included a small heart shaped pillow and a “spirometer”… the heart pillow was to be used when I needed to cough (or sneeze etc.) and to hold the pillow against my chest to prevent the incision from getting damaged, where the metal clips were holding the skin together along the incision.  The “spirometer” is a breathing device to be used daily, every hour, to breath inwards (i.e. not to exhale), it helps the lungs to get stronger and help “open the lungs” after the surgery.

Well, this was just the beginning of my recovery… and there’s more to my story, when I get transferred to a “normal” hospital room the next day.

Thanks for reading… 🙂

Nov. 1st – The all-important Operation Day!…

Well, finally, the day came for my operation, and all my days in the hospital before that were filled with waiting, reading and also worrying about all that was happening or about to happen.  I guess the difficult part was “fear of the unknown” and if there would be any complications during or after the operation.  The cycle of emotions that you go through for something like this is really quite the turmoil and stressful.  I could also “see it” and “hear it” some of the emotion of other patients also going through similar anxieties and feelings of uncertainty.  I guess it’s just a normal process that one goes through when faced with the fact that you will soon be undergoing major surgery.

There was one man that was in the same room who had his heart operation done about a week previous, but had to return for more treatment due to some infection from the operation.  He was in some pain and discomfort but was able to keep his “good spirit up”.  Our first conversation was about the hospital food and he said was pretty bad as his experience with hospital food and their service was that he found they were rather stingy on good food and also quite a limited supply of “snack food”.  I would soon find out all about the hospital food at the Royal Vic… and it turned out to be even less good than the food at the Lakeshore hospital.  So I would be in for some serious weight loss for the next few weeks.

Well, the day before operation day there are certain “prep details” that involved no eating or drinking anything after midnight and some special cleaning process of my skin.  There was an orderly that came to see me the evening before operation day, and helped me understand what parts of the body needed to be cleansed with some special “antiseptic” pads (or something similar, not sure what it is called).  This cleansing was also done the following day but only on my chest area.  Also, needed to have a large area of my chest shaven… but this was done about a week earlier after my angiogram test… which I found a bit strange why they did that then?

Anyway, I was the “second case” of the day for the operation schedule, so that would be around 1:30pm.  However, I was approached by the nurse on duty to get ready and pack-up all my belongings into a large bag at 11:00am… which kind of stressed me out, as she was very “pushy” and demanding that I should have been ready and she was not very helpful in her manner and obviously upset with me for this important detail.  I expected to go quite a bit later, but not knowing all the other “prep” details that still needed to be done.

Of course I was also annoyed with her, as some nursing staff don’t always show their “best side manner” as their patience wear thin on matters.  However, I’m sure they have their good days too, and for the most part I believe the nursing staffs are really exceptional!

I was soon wrapped up into a special bed stretcher and rolled out of the “temp” room to go down to the Operating Room floor.  I was put in a special waiting room which was quite a large room with several beds and other patients being attended to.  To my surprise as well as one of the nurses on duty, it was someone I knew from a church I attended a few years ago.  She had approached me the moment she recognized me and was in a bit of shock to see me there “getting prepped” for the operating room.  We had a brief conversation as I explained what had happened, and soon I was being rolled out of the waiting room to go to the operating room.

Just before entering the operating room, I was approached by some staff to answer a few questions and to sign a paper that I was in agreement to have the operation done and that I understood the risk involved in this type of operation.  Standard procedure I’m sure, as the surgeons and hospital need some official record.

It wasn’t long to get rolled into the operating room and I had a hair net put on and then transferred through the air filtered/conditioned hallway. Once inside the operating room, it wasn’t quite the way I imagined it to look like, the walls were painted a kind of yucky green color on standard construction block (similar to a school hallway) and the large lights over the table looked like flying saucers.  There were about four staff technicians wearing light green garments and with facial masks, skin-tight gloves and hair caps all working around the operating room, it is a circle of machines and computerized equipment, it looked a bit like a Star Trek episode… I was quickly put on the operating table which was really warm (pre-heated) so I was glad that it was at least warm enough to lay down upon as the room temperature was rather cool.  The nurse was already preparing a few things and had my right arm connected to some type of apparatus, but I don’t recall much detail of as soon the “gas mask” (anesthetic) was coming to make me fall asleep.  I didn’t see the surgeon come in the operating room, but the operation took about 2 hours, and then another two hours for the post-op procedures… though I’m not sure when the catheter was put on… glad I was under anesthetic  for that procedure, and also had a special drainage tube attached just about 3 inches above my belly button which is connected to a medical box with a small clear vacuum hose.  BTW: That small drainage hole on my belly is still trying to heal, but I now look like a “little alien” with an “extra belly button”.

After the post operational procedure, I was transferred to the ICU where I recall coming out of the deep sleep, had a couple of tubes down my throat, mouth and nose covered, however that was so uncomfortable that I had motioned to have it removed, and at some point the tube was removed as it seemed that my lungs were breathing well enough…

Though I only have a vague memory of the ICU staff removing that uncomfortable and rather large tube down my throat!…

I was relieved  to have it out!

When in the ICU, I recall the room feeling like a “star trek” unit, with all kinds of computers around me, and the ICU nurse was bringing some crushed ice to chew on and swallow, as my throat was so sore and very dry.

My head was also sweating heavily as there was some hot air being directed under my feet and “into the covers” of the bed I was in.  I needed a cool cloth applied to my head as it was just too hot for me.

Soon the ICU technician had removed the extra heat being put on the bed, and I was able to cool down better.

The rest of the time in ICU it seemed strange as I had fallen asleep but I was awake a few times when my wife, my son and a few other family members would stop in to see me.  However, I don’t recall much of that time, as to what was said or done.

The next day I was transferred to the “step-down” room which is up on the eighth floor… I will describe this in the next posting.

Thanks for reading!  🙂