Charlie
Hi Eveyone, Thanks for the welcome to the list. Yes, Charlie did have triple by-pass surgery on Monday. He was moved from ICU to step down yesterday. When I got to the hospital today, he was back on an IV. Seems his incisions are not healing fast enough so they put him on antibiotics. He is also getting a fluid build up in his lungs. He has been eating really well, but when they brought his supper, the smell of it made him nauseaus, so he could not eat. It is so nice to know I am somewhere that people believe in the power of prayer, too. I am sure I will have many questions and fears as time goes on, especially after I bring Charlie home. I have started trying to get rested from the last two weeks. I am not staying on the waiting room floor any more. I did not realize how tired I was till I got home and sat down. I know it is important to keep myself healthy, right now. I am looking forward to sharing with all of you. Barbee
Barbee, I was an absolute mess when I went into the ER. I also was put on a balloon pump, I was too far gone for stents, but, made it through. Flying colors. Three years. Quintuple bypass. That pump's an amazing thing. Regarding your previous comments about not being able to sleep from the worry............ I slept MUCH better than my wife. I had the bypass, but my wife kept checking me up to see if I was still breathing several times a night and was actually more tired than me. So your reaction is somewhat normal. You'll learn to resist that feeling of worry. Eventually, snoring will let you know......lol of it made him nauseaus, so he could not eat. At four days, I didn't eat either. One problem, my wife would look at the menu and say "OH THIS LOOKS GOOD". UGH. When something sounded good, it usually wasn't!!! When I started ordering the most bland looking least embellished items from the menu, things started to taste good again. It just flashed back. Day Five. I didn't touch a thing on the plate that day. Oh, that smell. I remember distictly. Must be something about senses returning. I also remember some REALLY strange dreams at that point of recovery. YES. Very important. Charlie's in better shape than it seems to you right now. Recovery is a slow but steady process and tough to measure. Just remember that. If today seems worse than yesterday, don't worry. Those days happen. If it's worse than 3 days ago, then start calling the doctor. So mean while, get your rest. And get the recliner ready. And a few extra pillows. While it's unfortunate that circumstances brought you hear, glad you found us. Fred
Hello Barbee sometimes we get this little setbacks...do not vory l am sure Charlie will be fine...l remember smell of food made me sick too a few days after surgery....but it went away... You are going to need your rest...l know my family was woren out afterwords...and so happy to get me home.. My husband took 2 weeks off to take care of me....that was so wonderfull.. Luca just had off from Christmas to this week...and a good thing l realy needed him home...l had a stroke December 3... cause l could not take bloodthinners...made my stomach bleed...l had a stroke on the Optic nerve...everything else in my body works fine...l am now blind on the left eye....but on bloodthinners... that reminds me...med time here...lol Hugzz Rita Hi Eveyone, Thanks for the welcome to the list. Yes, Charlie did have triple by-pass surgery on Monday. He was moved from ICU to step down yesterday. When I got to the hospital today, he was back on an IV. Seems his incisions are not healing fast enough so they put him on antibiotics. He is also getting a fluid build up in his lungs. He has been eating really well, but when they brought his supper, the smell of it made him nauseaus, so he could not eat. It is so nice to know I am somewhere that people believe in the power of prayer, too. I am sure I will have many questions and fears as time goes on, especially after I bring Charlie home. I have started trying to get rested from the last two weeks. I am not staying on the waiting room floor any more. I did not realize how tired I was till I got home and sat down. I know it is important to keep myself healthy, right now. I am looking forward to sharing with all of you. Barbee
Sorry to hear about the set back and do hope Charlie gets to improving real soon. It takes a long time to really get over this surgery. You have to heal physically and mentally. A good support system is really important and the support person needs an outlet to keep up their strength too both physically and mentally. It is quite a challenge and this board really helps you get through the rough times. I did not have an appetite for the first 3 months and after two years do not eat nearly as much as I used to. I lost about 15 pounds after the surgery and have put back about 5 pounds after two years. You just have to take it one day at a time. It did not help for my husband to try and get me to eat. He finally figured out that it was irritating me so he stopped asking if I was hungry or saying gee, you didn't eat very much of your food. It eventually got to where I was eating about like I did before the surgery and then I added a glass of red wine a day, some dark chocolate and a cup of hot tea and I usually have all three everyday. I do sometimes eat a hamburger about once a month or less and the same with pizza. My diet is mostly chicken and vegetables as I don't like fruit much. My husband still eats the fat food and that is probably the hardest for me. I grew up on steak and potatoes and to give up the beef was really hard for me. Adding fish has been hard also because I only like salmon and halibut and its hard to get much of the time. Also we eat out a lot and that makes it hard. I like buffets where I can get what I like that's good for me and plenty of it. You hang in there and take care of yourself. Check into mended hearts. If there is one in your area its a good group. Ann
We are staying in our cousins back yard with full hook-ups. It's in North Las Vegas. My favorite buffet is The Cannery and you get 2 for 1 most weekdays with a coupon. They have salmon cooked on a log at every buffet and it is delicious and they they have lots of good vegetables such as artichoke, green beans, tomato and all the other good stuff. I don't eat any fried on the buffets. I do eat fried eggs sometimes but not anything else much. At least there is lots to choose from and the buffets seem to be catering to low fat and vegetarians so that makes it easier for me. Even the baked chicken is usually good and sometimes they have turkey breast. We do go to Primm some and stay at the RV Park there. We have relatives in Bakersfield, CA so we stop at Primm for a couple of nights on our way there. Las Vegas is my favorite place to be and I could probably just stay here but I have Texas Blue Cross and until I'm 65 it is my primary insurance so I have to use Texas docs for now. However, when I turn 65, medicare will be my primary insurance and I can go to any doctor that accepts medicare. I realize that may become a problem in a few years also. Just hope it lasts until I'm gone and no longer need it. My children all know not to depend on it when they get old. The gold nugget is the best on downtown. If you haven't seen downtown in some time, prepare yourself. It has really gone downhill. Makes me sad. The Horseshoe used to be my favorite casino and it is just cold and empty now. Guess we are off message but getting to know a little something about the folks here helps me feel closer to you. Ann