Twists and Turns

My surgery was scheduled for next Wednesday, 6th May. Having been ready for this moment since late December when I was told that I needed operating on, I was in the right sort of mindset for it. It's hard to explain for people not in the situation, but you have to mentally prepare yourself what is to come. I went out and bought all the things I need for my stay in hospital - toothbrush, towel etc. At the end of it all I was actually 'pumped up' for everything - looking forward to everything getting sorted and starting my journey of recovery.

And then I got a phonecall. My date of operation has been pushed back to the 20th May. Why? Because emergency patients are brought into the hospital for surgery, pushing back waiting list patients. Now I understand the reaon behind this - if I was in their position I would want surgery ASAP. But in a selfish point of view, it has totally thrown me. Now I have a longer wait till my surgery. All my plans are messed up. I was applying to jobs which I had the possibility of attending an interview post-surgery, but now this is very unlikely given the change of date. The worst thing is sitting around and doing nothing. I want to get fixed, and I want it done now! It sounds childish but it's the way I feel. It just seems I've been putting my life on hold for a long time, waiting for this moment and it keeps eluding me.

Tying Up Loose Ends

So with a week and 3 days until I go into hospital, I find myself in the odd state of slowly wrapping up everything in my life. I haven't really gone in to my personal life but now's a better time than never. I volunteer as a Research Assistant at a hospital, as well as doing some volunteering at a charity, and then I work at a supermarket (which I plan on leaving very soon now that I have finished University!). So in this last week I have been running around trying to get things sorted for when I will be in hospital. I've said my goodbyes to the people I volunteer with and I have 2 days left of paid work at the supermarket. Not to sound macabre but it feels like I'm planning for my death! Of course I don't actually think I will die, but the way I have had to think of every little thing and make sure it is sorted is a little strange.

I've been reading up some more about people's stories who have had heart surgery. Apparantly sneezing after the operation is a big issue and it can blow open the sternum wires (which are there to hold the sternum together after surgery). I'm really worried about this so I'm monitoring how often I sneeze this week and trying to find ways of stopping them. Apparantly holding your finger against the bone between your nostrils at the bottom of your nose helps. We shall see...!

I also need to buy some things for the hospital. But I need to ring them first. Do they have showers in the hospital? Do you shave there? Is there an actual bathroom or do you always use a bedpan? I need to get these questions answered!

By the way, I went to Thorpe Park (a theme park, see one of the previous posts) and had no problems at all. I did avoid the major rides but the ones I went on were hardly childish so that was good. Can't wait till I recover from surgery and do some sky-diving!

Heart Pain

As there's about 3 weeks left till my operation, I thought it would be a good idea to post an update of sorts. Ever since being told I needed an operation I've found myself more aware of my heart. Little aches and twinges are now much more noticeable. Now the cause of this is either two things: Knowing my heart is in a bad state so things that I didn't notice now are more prominent in my mind; or...there is a change now in my heart which is more clearer after the diagnosis.

Or even more annoyingly, it could be a mixture of the two. For example, when I haven't eaten for a while I find my heart aching. I don't think this is anything too serious. Also, in the evenings I'm more aware of my heart, but my cardiologist has told me this is a normal sensation. What I think is more serious is that I get more out of breath going up and down stairs. Two or three flights of stairs are enough for me. Also, very mild games of kicking a football around in the garden quickly gets me out of breath. I've just come in from a 2-3 minutes outside (no running) and my heart is twinging. Is this a normal thing for people about to undergo surgery? Leave some comments to let me know your thoughts!

I really can't wait for surgery...then I won't have these problems! On another note...I'm planning to go to Thorpe Park (a theme park) next week...I think I better ring my nurse to ask if that's actually a good idea...

Waiting

So I on Tuesday I went for pre-admission and to see the surgeon. My parents came along with me and we turned up for 12pm. The nurses are very friendly and really make you feel at ease. The first thing they did was take a blood test - I'm assuming this was to check for any infections and such. This is fairly straight forward...unless you have a fear of needles like the person after me did! But it really is harmless. What no-one ever told me was that to check for MRSA, you get to long sticks made of soft material shoved up your nose. When they showed me them and said they needed a swab from me, I automatically opened my mouth thinking that's where they would be poking me... After that they take your blood pressure, check your weight and height and that's the end of the tests.

On to see the surgeon? I thought so, but no. We had to wait four hours for him because he was delayed in theatre. Because of the wait the nurses decided to talk to us more. They asked a few questions about my medical history and then went on to describe the days following my operation. It was the first time I actually felt light-headed about it. I didn't know if it was because I hadn't eaten for so long, or if it was starting to get to me. After the talk they decided to show us around the rooms. First stop was ITU where we would be after surgery. It seemed very noisy and there were tons of machines around the place; but the patients seemed to be sleeping through it all. Not an ideal place to be but we were told it was only a short term stop after surgery. Once we recovered enough (a day or two later), we would be moved to a standard room. I tried to check if there was a TV but couldn't get a good look! I think I was expecting something a lot more comfertable, but I can't really complain - a bed's a bed right?

After this was done, a lot more waiting...and finally the surgeon arrived. He was a little eccentric in my view, throwing some jokes around and laughing a lot which I guess did put me at ease. The first question I asked was about the ON-X valve and he had to hold back a laugh - I assume people have asked him before about this. In his view he was unprepared to use the valve until concrete evidence was out regarding its performance. He knew I did my Masters in Research Methods and went on to explain his reasonings with stats and experimental design. What he said did make sense in that a lot more patients and time would be needed for any generalisable findings. I still had some sort of hope for using the ON-X valve but in the end I settled for the St. Jude. ON-X are used in the U.K., but I guess it depends on your surgeon. In my point of view, Warfarin wouldn't be that big of a deal to take for the rest of your life. And the risks posed by it aren't as bad as the rumours out there.

We then threw some questions at him. For those of you out there who wanted some more information on Warfarin, I would highly recommend you doing your own research. What he did say to me however, was things like playing football shouldn't be a problem, or day-to-day knocks on the head. Even eating greens (which can interact with Warfarin) shouldn't be that big of a problem. He did a good job of keeping me calm. Even when I went to sign the consent form acknowledging the risk involved - 5% mortality. I did hesitate at that figure but not having an operation is simply not an option.

It certainly is a strange thing talking to someone you know will soon have there hands inside of your body!