Thank you all so much for your prayers, comments, and support of my family and me throughout this experience.
First off, everything went really well. The surgery went off without a hitch and recovery without complications. For those who are interested, I will walk through the days briefly so that you can appreciate the effect that your prayers had on last week. The asterisks (*) are for "on the early side of their predictions." For those who are not, please skip to "Here's the Kicker"
Day 0- Surgery started at 8am. They closed up around 12pm*. I was taken to CV-ICU to recover with my breathing tube still in. I started to wake up around 2pm*. The breathing tube came out around 4pm* and then they sat me up*. (I don't actually remember much of anything about Monday except that my brother Wade played worship music for me as I woke up.) Just before my breathing tube came out, they gave me an alphabet board to communicate with. Unfortunately for the first few attempts, the letters walked all over the page and I couldn't manage to trap them effectively with my fingers. But after a bit, I managed to spell out "A FIB" trying to ask if my heart was in normal rhythm. It was and has been the whole time. Praise the Lord! I was also apparently very concerned with asking everyone in the room if they had eaten lunch yet...
Husband brag - My pain that evening was out of control despite the medication they had me on. Garrett, in his almost MD wisdom, asked the nurse practitioner if they could give me toradol (like really strong advil) to help with the inflammation. They did and it became my miracle drug for the next three days. He also spent the night in the ICU with me and was woken up every two hours for glucose draws and vital sign checks. He said he will think twice before ordering anything q2 hr (every two hours) for patients in the future because he realizes just how little rest they get.
Day 1- Sat up all morning*. Got all of my tubes out* except for my pericardial drain, chest tube, and peripheral IV lines. Walked around the ICU unit* and then walked to my step-down room down the hall*. Sat up most of the afternoon and got to visit with some of Garrett's good friends, my parents, Wade, and my grandparents.
Day 2 - Sat up all day and walked 4-5 times. Got my chest tube and pericardial drain out. That was 100% the oddest feeling I have ever felt. It was kind of like a snake slithering out from behind my ribs and then biting me as it came out. The nurse practioner thought I tolerated it well. Honestly, I thought they would pull them out separately so I closed my eyes and stayed quiet through the first one and was preparing myself for the second one when she said, "All done," so I basically only endured half the pain I was expecting.
Day 3 - Had a great surprise from Dr. Petracek! He came in during the morning and told me I was going home. This was after the nurse practioner had said that I would be inpatient until day 4 because he "never let anyone go before day 4." But we went home around lunch time to my amazing in-laws house in Thompson Station about 45 minutes from Vanderbilt. That night we had a family dinner with Garrett, the Rampons, and my parents at their house. It was such a blessing to have both of our amazing parents together for a time of thanksgiving and relaxation for everyone.
Day 4 - I hung out at the Rampon's all morning while Garrett went out with his dad for some father-son time and his Memphis! My parents surprised me with an early birthday present of a recliner to aid in my recovery and I am so grateful. I am writing from it right now.
mom went to work. Then we went to lunch at Nashville's best pizza place, De Sano's with Garrett's brother and sister-in-law, Kenneth and Kristen. Finally, I took a big dose of pain meds and woke up three hours later in
Since getting home, I have been watching a lot of Today show, movies, reading and walking on the treadmill every day to try to not be too sedentary. Don't worry, this is all approved by the real doc and my in-house staff (Garrett).I have been so blessed. There are no words for the provision and healing I have felt in this process. All credit and glory go to our great God for his work in my life. If you don't believe in Divine timing, let me tell you one more thing.
Here's the Kicker: During the surgery, Dr. Petracek came upon a blood clot in my heart which was just waiting to give me a pulmonary embolus or a stroke. We didn't know about this clot but a lot of people who present in adulthood with an ASD present with a stroke.
Going into the surgery, I thought we were protecting my heart down the road not protecting my life and my brain from imminent danger. I can't tell you in words, especially on blog, how deeply this impacts me. God has a plan for me and spared my life and my mind for His purpose. That's overwhelming. I'll spend the rest of my life trying to find out why.
Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers!
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