UPDATE ON DH's SURGERY

Carrie72 · #1 (**permalink**) 03-21-2007, 08:41 PM

Hello everyone! Thought i would drop in to say hi and to let you know how my dh's surgery went. As most of you know, Lee had open heart surgery on Friday, March 16th. The surgeon spent an hour trying to repair Lee's mitral valve prolapse, but wasnt able to because of the condition it was in so he had to replace it with a mechanical valve. DH now says he sounds like a watch ticking! Poor guy...bless his heart! It doesnt bother me at all but he said it bothers him a little. He is so weak and tired and most times, in a lot of pain(they gave him Darvocet for pain). I still feel so bad for him but at least now i dont have to worry about him going into heart failure and dying, which is what would have happened if he didnt have the surgery! The surgeon did such an excellent job! Im so glad he was able to come home today(Wed. 21st), i've missed him terribly and spent quite a few nights crying!! I have to give credit to you ladies who have husbands in the military, i dont know how you can stand it when they're deployed! Lee was at the hosp. for 5 days and i was a crying nervous wreck! His heart was enlarged quite a bit and when they put the mechanical valve in they had to go with the biggest one they had and the surgeon said if they would have had one just a 1 size bigger he would have used that instead but he was able to make this one fit pretty snug he said. THANK GOD!!! (which i did! spent MANY nights praying!) No wonder DH had trouble bd'ing(without viagra), there literally was not enough blood flow getting down there! A lot of his blood was going backwards through his mitral valve and right back up into his heart! Again, thank God it's now fixed!!! As far as the bd'ing goes, we were told to wait about 6 wks. to allow his breast bone to heal(because they had to crack it) and then after that it was pretty much up to Lee...just whenever he feels ready/up for it. We were told that he probably wont need the viagra anymore. He does have to take a blood thinner(Coumadin) for the rest of his life however, to keep blood clots from forming around his new mechanical valve. Im just VERY HAPPY he's alive and home

I missed all of you so much but i didnt have much time to get online and say anything---always at the hosp. I would come home to eat(very very little) and sleep(also very little!) then i was off back to the hosp. which is an hour away from our house. It was all worth it though. Now im just concentrating on nursing DH back to health. After that, maybe a couple of months from now i'll go back on the Femara and we can try again for a baby. How has everybody been? Any new

's out there?!? Oh i hope so!!!

mommy524 · #2 (**permalink**) 03-22-2007, 10:09 AM

Carolyn,
I'm so glad everything went well with your DH surgery. Everyone here was worried about you. You all are in my thoughts and prayers.

Well I should be testing on Monday or Tuesday so we will see.

ekchild · #3 (**permalink**) 03-22-2007, 12:51 PM

glad all went well, good luck

bonitafrita · #4 (**permalink**) 03-22-2007, 01:55 PM

Carolyn!

I am so happy to hear that your DH's surgery went well! My goodness, I have been thinking about you like crazy and was so very anxious to hear how everything had gone! I am sure you are so relieved that his surgery was a success and now all you need to focus on is nursing him back to health! Not to mention, I bet it's so nice to have him back home....I mean, most people don't want to be in a hospital OR go visit family/friends there either! Like Dorothy said, "There's no place like home!" and I think that's one of the best places to relax and take the time to get better!

Yep, I definitely know what it feels like to be sleeping in an empty bed and living in an empty house! It IS tough, isn't it? I don't know if I've ever mentioned this before, but my husband recently had to spend a whole year in Korea....and I didn't get to go with him! He came home for a month halfway through and I visited him there in Korea for about 3 weeks, but dang, that was the hardest year of my life! The first couple of nights were the hardest (I'm sure it was pretty close to what you experienced) and I just bawled my little eyes out. I made sure I slept on his side of the bed, with his pillow, in one of his t-shirts he had recently worn, and a pair of his boxer shorts. LOL I remember smelling the sheets a few times every day and didn't end-up washing them until his smell was no longer there! THAT was hard! Ahhh, memories.....I'm getting all choked-up just writing about it. Haha.

But anyway, I am SO happy to hear everything went well! And was thrilled to see your post! We all missed ya! Keep us updated and don't be stranger just cuz you're not TTC right now! That will be here before you know it! Take care of yourself and that DH!!

Mommie2Ava&Presley · #5 (**permalink**) 03-22-2007, 04:48 PM

Carolyn,

Praise the Lord that your DH came through the surgery well!!! WE have all been praying and anxiously waiting for your report. I know you are glad to be home with DH. We will keep praying for his recovery to go smoothly. Thanks for the update and check back in when you can.

boredelf · #6 (**permalink**) 03-22-2007, 06:11 PM

Carolyn that's great news! I will continue to keep you guys in my prayers.

Good luck!

bobandjen · #7 (**permalink**) 03-23-2007, 02:15 PM

Happy to hear that he is doing well. Hope he has a speedy recovery.

Kiwi/Lime · #8 (**permalink**) 03-25-2007, 10:56 PM

Carolyn----- Glad to hear your DH surgery went well! Hope his recovery is nice and quick! You're still in my prayers!!!