When A Heart Breaks Part 3 - The Inbetween
Image by mirkosajkoa on Pixabay.
Sunday morning they came in for Scott and said it would be four to six hours for the surgery. They explained I was allowed to sit in the waiting room, but I was also able to leave because they would call me with updates. So I kissed him and told him I would see him later. As they rolled him out of the room towards surgery, I felt tears come and prayed everything would go well. I tend to worry and stress out so I needed to do something other than sit. I then headed to my mom's and prepared to work at taking my mind off of this.
I received a phone call every hour with an update on what was happening. He was doing well, but it was not only three blocked arteries; it was five and the two they discovered were 100% blocked. It was amazing he had only suffered a "light" heart attack. They would finish soon and I would be there when he woke up.
The day after Scott's surgery.
Once Scott was able to breathe on his own, the nursing staff started getting him to move around. This is one of the things that are critical for heart patients to do as soon as possible. The whole situation was a bit overwhelming for him because he had so many tubes and monitors stuck to him causing the move from laying down to standing up a big production. However, these nurses were not seeming to notice, they would come in, rearrange the jumbled mess and get him moving! It was a wonder to watch really. We eventually were able to move around and adjust well as he was doing this walking three or more times a day.
Scott's "Chester Bear" to help manage movement, coughs, and sneezes.
This is one of the tools the hospital uses for heart surgery patients. I know, a teddy bear. The bear is not your average squishy toys loved by many children; it is very firm and is used to help a patient out during recovery. The patient uses this to help them stand up, cushion the pain from coughing and sneezing, and manage some of the pain. For more information about how these bears help open-heart patients, you can view an article HERE.
To enable the doctors to reach the heart, they had to break his breastbone! So not only is his heart having to heal, but he is dealing with the pain of broken ribs. If you have ever experienced a broken rib, you will know it is painful when you move, cough, and/or sneeze. Holding the solid bear against the chest helps to control the movement and protect the chest and heart.
It is actually quite adorable seeing this man carry around a teddy bear! It is now one of the bed pillows I have when making our bed.
The first few days after surgery Scott was in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where they monitored everything from his heart functions to the draining of blood trapped in the body cavity during surgery. Once he was stable and they are able to take some of these tubes, he was sent to a normal recovery room, where he was monitored and pushed to exercise by walking the hallways. It was here he also received information about what he went through and what we would need to do once we got him home.
Someone is ready to go home!
After eight days in the hospital, Scott was so ready to come home. We received his paperwork and he was homeward bound with a notebook to read and a mile-long list of prescriptions. But what was going to happen now? How would things change for the better so he would not have another heart attack? These were questions we were still having to figure out.
0
0
0.000
What an ordeal! Yeah, heart surgery is so intense. I'm with you...I wouldn't be able to sit around either!
He has really been working hard at the walking. We did a 3 mile hike yesterday and he did amazing. Scott says he feels better than he has in a very long time. I am so happy about this.
OMG !! I had no idea about it sis, hope he is doing well...
We kept it very quiet. I was nervous about putting the info out there until he told me it was okay.