Friday, the surgeon’s nurse called with some details of my upcoming surgery. A double heart valve transplant could take 5-7 hours. Some people stay in the hospital for two days, some stay two weeks. But, the average stay is seven days. I decided to treat that like my car’s GPS and try to beat it by about 20%.
She said I will be on a ventilator, which is scary because practically everyone I know who has ever been on a ventilator died on that ventilator. So, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a teensy bit concerned. After surgery, I will be in ICU for as long as it takes for me to get off the ventilator and act like a human (again). I will be heavily sedated for about 24 hours. Until the ventilator is removed, I won’t be able to talk or have my coffee. If things are going well, somewhere between 24-48 hours I will be moved to a regular room. After I am removed from the ventilator, I will be expected to walk and do human things like eat and go to the bathroom.
She asked if I had any questions, but the questions I asked she refused to answer. They weren’t on her script. But Google and the WebMD, Johns Hopkins, and Mayo Clinic websites were all so obliging. So, here is the rest of it. The surgeon will make a 10-12 inch incision in my chest and cut open my rib cage at the sternum like a September watermelon. They will stop my heart… they will stop my ever loving heart. Stop it! Then they will disconnect all the veins, arteries, and what have you, and connect all that stuff to a pretend heart which will circulate my blood. The surgeon will have my actual heart in his hands and remove the old mitral valve and aortic valve. He will replace them with ones donated by a recently deceased human, pig, or cow. Then, they will reconnect all the stuff to my heart, shock it back to pumping, check for leaks and, baring none, wire my sternum and rib cage back together. The finale will be to suture my skin closed using 10-12 inches of whip stitch.
I will be heavily sedated in ICU for anywhere from 24 hours to two days while still on the ventilator but also attached to a bunch of machines. Meanwhile, the ICU team will monitor all the functions of my heart and lungs, and make sure my kidneys and liver take everything well. Once everything is to their satisfaction, they will wean me off the ventilator and take the tube out of my bladder (they always make sure you are awake for that part), and send me on to a regular room where I will still NOT be allowed to have coffee for an as yet undisclosed amount of time. Someone mentioned forever, but surely they just meant until I went home.
Sounds neat, doesn’t it?
I did receive some good news, though. This surgery, estimated at $250,000 (taxes and anesthesiologists not included) will cost me nothing. I have already met my $5,000 deductible and my $5,000 out-of-pocket. That is very good news, because 20% of $250,000 is well…. YOU do the math, I’m a Humanities major.
True to form, I have hundreds of things to do prior to leaving for the hospital before sun up on Monday. These are things I had planned for the last half of September, and all of October; things that will hopefully keep my mind from all the what ifs.
All the what ifs.
What if…
Diane, you are in my prayers now, through surgery and recovery. Asking God to calm your fears, bet the hands of the surgeons, and give you complete recovery!
Thank you, Diane. I look forward to receiving the benefit of your prayers.