All Fixed - The Old Tickers Working
So I'm back home and all is well. The heart ablation went well and I was told it was 95 percent successful which is higher than what I was hoping for. Usually they have a 92 percent success rate if the patient is wide awake during the procedure. Because of the arthritis in my back, lying perfectly still for anything is not an option therefore I was put to sleep and that reduces the success rate to 72 percent. It took them two and a half hours to find the defective pathway (Figure 3 on attached link) and zap it. They had some fancy anesthetic cocktail that was administered very slowly and it really hurt my hand and arm but it kept me asleep for the duration. When I woke up I had a sandbag on my leg and I wasn't allowed to move for 4 hours.
I have a hole in my groin and one in my neck and other than a baby aspirin a day for a month I don't have to take any drugs and that pleases me immensely.
I was very lucky and had a room to myself so I closed the window blinds and door and snoozed the rest of the day away. The food was pretty crappy but then again, it's a hospital. I spent a little time knitting but by four AM I was ready to "Get Out of Dodge" so to speak. Of course they weren't letting me go anywhere. I did con the nurse into getting me a sandwich which helped a little. By six am I was really desperate...I got dressed and sneaked out to the Tim Hortons coffee shop and had one of their wonderful breakfast sandwiches and a big coffee. My nurse was not impressed with me when I got back to my room, sigh... I'm sure when Rudee my nurse friend reads this she will just shake her head, I'm a lousy patient.
I'm glad it's over, my husband was a nervous wreck. My good friend D spent the night before here with us and spent the whole day at the hospital keeping my husband sane.
I'm tired, I'm sore but I don't have any arrhythmia and that's a good thing. Now we have my husbands Colonoscopy on Friday (his fourth in two years) and then neither of us wants to see a doctor for a very long time. Thank you to everyone who left good wishes for me...
Labels: Health
posted by Rositta @ Wednesday, April 30, 2008
18 Comments:
Nurse Rudee would have given you what you asked for. Not all nurses would and that's a shame. Really. I'm pleased you had such a good outcome and that the cocktail didn't put your bad pathway to sleep to. Success is a wonderful thing. Now go forth and celebrate!
excellent report my friend, i am very happy for you!
smiles, bee
xoxoxoxoxoxo
Such good news! And now we can all look forward to reading many more of your interesting posts!
Great news! You'll be feeling your old (new!) self again in no time and this is just one less thing to have to worry about. Now you can get on with enjoying springtime. I hope all the snow has disappeared by now. :-)
I am so glad all went well! I had to smile about you sneaking out of the hospital. My mother was never a good patient either--she pulled out her gastric tube when that made her throat hurt. The doctor was NOT happy with her.
You must be feeling relief after going back to your cozy home. I know what it's like.
Happy it went very well and that you were a brave girl ;)
I am so happy that you are 'one tough lady' after a heart operation.
Now I feel bad for your poor hubby....men just don't take these things as well as we do.
Rudee, the Nurses were really good but it's hard to find food at 4 am in a hospital.
empress bee, thanks for your smiles.
traveler one, I have to think up some stuff to write now...
Christina, I wish they could solve your thyroid problem so easily.
Hi Renate, I don't think I would have the nerve to pull a tube out, although I did disconnect the heart monitor before I went walkabout.
Hi Devil Mood, nope not terribly brave actually but I figured anything was better than how I was feeling.
Matty, you know there is no one tougher than your grandson, or a friend of mine who is undergoing chemo for breast cancer. I'm not even close. This was a piece of cake compared to what other people go through.
Again, thanks all...
I'm so glad everything went well Rositta. It sounds awful but I'm glad you had such a high success rate and hope you will be fighting fit now. Well much better anyway.
LOL. . .I can just picture you sneaking down the empty hallways. You are a riot.
So glad that everything went better than expected and you are on the mend.
Great news!
My offspring has my Mountain all picked out for me to climb. If all goes well and he finished his darn house, maybe in June I will be doing it...
Rositta, what great news! I feel so bad I didn't know. Not being able to get to everyone, please always feel free to send me an email. I am so, so glad things went so well. Now, it's time for you guys to enjoy yourselves. I've missed getting over here.
Good to hear that you've got the rhythm again! My mother is eagerly waiting for her procedure, but sadly has to wait because of a nurses' strike. Keep knitting and blogging, Rositta!
Rositta...that's wonderful news! I am so glad you are doing so well. I know these things can really weigh on us and you must feel light as a butterfly now. :)
Husband just had a colonoscopy (1st one) and there were precancerous polyps removed. He went for another reason which resolved before the procedure but thank God it happened or he never would've gone in for the test. So he goes back in 3 years.
Hope you both have a wonderful spring and summer. :)
Seaspray, I don't understand that protocol of 3 years after finding pre cancerous polyps? Steve had to have them at 3 months, 6 months, 1 year and 1 year. Now he's good for two. I maintain three years is too long after finding them...ciao
Glad to hear your procedure went so well (I am late to the party as usual!)and that your outcome was better than expected. It is nice when we get better results than we were thinking; gives you some hope for sure. Hope your husband's procedure goes well also.
Rositta...I am so glad you told me this! I will call his doctor and when I schedule my own i will ask my doctor.
Before I got the endometriosis diagnosis I had to have an EGD and a colonoscopy to rule out anything going on there. i had one polyp in my stomach and o in colon which he removed. he never said anything about pre-cancer so maybe it wasn't that kind and he said I didn't have to have it for 5 years. Actually...i had another one in 2006 because I was having discomfort but it was all normal. So I guess I am not due until 2011.
However...people don't get routine EGDs. I wonder if I have to be concerned because I had a polyp in the stomach?
I will inquire about these things. Thanks for telling me Rositta. :)
Cynthia, not to worry...better late than never, lol. I'm feeling fine actually and I'm going to start training soon for the mountain I want to climb.
Seaspray, your welcome...yes ask your doctor. Anything precancerous needs watching.
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