Where are you heading?

[Eth]

Home again after surgery and some complications. Feel like shit, but I guess I'm healthier now.

Whew! THAT'S a relief!

Heal up, Luki.

[Saria]

Home again after surgery and some complications. Feel like shit, but I guess I'm healthier now.

YES.

Well, sad you feel like shit. But Yay!

[Angelfish]

Home again after surgery and some complications. Feel like shit, but I guess I'm healthier now.

Luckily we don't have to judge whether you look like shit as well.
Welcome home and get well soon!

[Quasispatial]

Home again after surgery and some complications. Feel like shit, but I guess I'm healthier now.

You probably already know what this message is going to say.
Regardless, it is good to hear that you are still alive. Hope you remain well and, as the Spathi so sorely wish to do themselves, "live forever, in no pain whatsoever".
Of course, the odds of that actually coming true is practically zero, but still, one can wish.

[Death 999]

Relief and good wishes!

[Dragon]

Glad to hear you're healthier now!

[Lukipela]

Thanks for all the well-wishing. I'm not really in pain, mostly just really tired and complain-y since I'm somewhat limited in what I can do.

If you ever care to share in a bit, don't hesitate. In all cases, we're behind you and we're glad that you didn't kick the bucket!!

It was pretty standard heart surgery. First they put you in a deep sleep. Then they stick a tube down your throat and into your lungs. Then they put you in an even deeper sleep where you stop breathing and a machine does that for you. Then they cut open your skin and saw open your chest bone to get at the goodies. In my case it was the aortic valve. I've had a mechanical valve since I was 12, but it was quite small (12 mm / ½") and was now upgraded to a bigger size (24 mm / 1"). To do that they disconnect your heart and have another machine oxygenate and pump the blood around your body instead. Then they took out the old valve and sowed in the new one and did some leak testing. After that they put your chest bone back in place with steel wires and sew you up.

I woke up in the ER after a successful procedure. I had to stay there for about a day. After that they disconnect the drain hoses that are still going into your chest cavity and you get sent down to a regular part of the hospital. At this point you still have a lot of stuff connected though, pacemaker, telemetry, all sorts of hoses for delivery of drugs and taking of blood samples, catheter for urine and so forth.

Unfortunately then things went to shit and my lungs started filling up with liquid. A normal person breathing air with 21% oxygen in it has a oxygen saturation in their blood of 98 - 100%. When they rushed me back up to the ER I was breathing pure 100% oxygen and still only had a saturation percent of around 67%. I got to spend another 3-4 days in the ER breathing through a mask and being drained through a catheter.

The second time I came down was better and I eventually got disconnected from all the hoses and machines. In total I spent 10 days in hospital, 4 days at a rehab and have now been home for 9 days. I still tire really easily and sleep a lot. And for the next 4 weeks I'm not allowed to use my arms to lift anything heavier than 1 kg since my chestbone is held in place by wires and needs to grow into a single mass again. I also have to wear a thorax vest so I look like some retarded police officer with a miniature bomb vest.

There's been very little pain in the whole thing, mostly just some pinching in my chest when I lie down some days which can make it difficult to sleep, something I do a lot of. Also I can't lift my daughter or do much of anything at home which is frustrating as hell.

Living in socialist Scandinavia I pay around 9€ per day in hospital, so the total bill comes out to approx 126 €. adding the fact that I'm on sick leave for two months and get paid sick pay by my unionized workplace and the government, the total income loss is somewhere around 700 €. So total cost of heart surgery is somewhere around 850 € I guess. Paying taxes is cool man.

Home again after surgery and some complications. Feel like shit, but I guess I'm healthier now.

Luckily we don't have to judge whether you look like shit as well.
Welcome home and get well soon!

[/quote]

I was going to upload a picture of my chest and new scar just for you, but apparently the "Board attachment quota has been reached". Sorry.

[Angelfish]

I think we have it even better, we get full pay during sick leave (although ofcourse you don't get other benifits like regular travel expenses etc). But after 2 years of sick leave you automatically get fired. Also, this is mandatory by law, not only if you happen to work in a unionized work place.

I'm surprised such intensive heart surgery only goes with 2 months of not working, I expected it to take longer to recover .

[glory_device]

according to what I understand of it, the actual problem for the moment is the chest bone more than anything else. The heart will probably heal faster.

Thanks for sharing the story. since I work on the medical field, I always find it helpful to know of such stories when the outcome wasn't bad!

[oldlaptop]

Wonderful to hear you're alive and well despite everything. Best wishes!