Tag Archives: sleeping

Monday – Five Weeks Post-op

Posted on by MaryO

day-mon

Today went pretty well.  DH did some computer work with an employee.  After about 2 hours, DH rested his eyes for a bit while the other guy finished up.

I took the opportunity to go out to do some grocery shopping.  Exciting stuff!

A few phone calls, then DH napped some more – a bit of computer and you know the rest!

Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies

Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sometime before this adventure started, DH had ordered 2 boxes of Girl Scout cookies.

Those arrived this evening and DH said he’d have “just one”.

I didn’t check how many he had but I saw that 4 (the typical serving size for Thin Mints) is 125 mg of sodium.  Possible trouble looming.

Maybe I’ll have to sacrifice myself and eat them all first 🙂

day-tues

Today was a pretty good day.  DH actually did some more work got a testimony ready to file, then some napping.  He went out with a friend to meet some others and actually had half a cup of coffee for the first time since surgery.

While he was out, I went to bell rehearsal to sub for someone else.  A very odd feeling to be subbing in my own group but they’re getting ready for a festival and someone has to ring my position – and it can’t be me.  I won’t be able to be away overnight for a while.

It was nice to be back, even briefly 🙂

day-wed

Up early in the morning for the stress test on the treadmill at the cardiologist.  I dropped DH off at the front door.  By the time I’d parked and gotten upstairs, he was already hooked up to the monitors but they wouldn’t let me go in.

Apparently, he passed with flying colors, all the way up to a 7% grade so he can start cardiac rehab as soon as we can get it set up!

On the way home, we saw my mom out walking so pulled over to say hello.  She was on her way to the library.  She had an appointment with her oncologist next Wednesday and she had been dithering about changing that in case DH’s rehab was on Wednesday mornings.  I told her not to change it – she might change TO the rehab date.  As it turned out, the oncologist had cancelled her.  Problem solved.

We decided to be brave and went to Bob Evans for breakfast.  DH did fairly ok with veggie omelet, egg beaters, fruit plate and dry whole wheat toast.  Another step in getting out into the real world again…

day-thurs

Last night didn’t go well.  I tossed and turned all night.  DH started trying to sleep in our room and went to the recliner about 1:00am, then back to the room about 4:00am.  About 8:00am he was in the recliner again so I guess he didn’t sleep well, either.

The day was like most days – a lot of napping and working.

DH called rehab and he can’t start for 2 weeks.  A bit disappointing 😦

I cleaned out our pantry and got rid of all the canned foods with sodium in them.  I took some to my mom, then took the rest to church to send to Western Fairfax Christian Ministries.

I went to church choir.  They’re getting ready for Holy Week and Easter so there’s lots of new music to learn.  I’m starting to feel less mole-like.

day-fri

Another lazy day.  We were going to go to the mall to walk but work and naps got in the way.

DH is sitting in his recliner listening to some app that will teach him Spanish.

Our son came home and DH actually went with me to Union Station to pick him up from the train.  I parked as close as I could so it was a short walk to the escalator, then another walk, another escalator and a longer walk.

DH was hungry so we went to get some Jamba Juice.  Even though the store was open, they said that they were cleaning up and closed.  DH went into Starbucks against my better judgement and got some kind of strawberry muffin thing.

On the way home, he wanted to go to McDonalds so I went through the drive-through and got 3 shamrock shakes, a grilled chicken sandwich for DH and a quarter pounder, no cheese for me.

Going out into the world is going to wreck all my careful food planning over the last 4 weeks!

day-sat
I woke up at 4:00am with a raging headache, possibly from that shamrock shake.  I’m not used to all that sugar any more 😦  It’s too bad – that’s about the only thing I really like(d) at Mickey D’s.  Oh, well.

At 11 we had our first Mended Hearts meeting.  That went pretty well.  I actually talked some – DH, of course, talked more.  I found it ironic that the snacks included no coffee but the raffle gift was a coffee cup.  HMMM…

It was good listening to other patients and caregivers talking about some of the issues we’ve gone through.

day-sun

 

Today was a take-it-easy day, a bit of TV, napping and playing piano duets with our son.  At night, we took him back to the train station.  Later, DH said that his chest was hurting a bit, probably from so much walking in the train today and Friday and the walking through the parking garage and hospital on Saturday.

Hopefully, a little Tylenol will help.

Next report next Monday…

Related articles

Monday – Four Weeks Post-Op

Posted on by MaryO

This is the first of the timeline posts that I’m actually writing more or less as they happen!

day-mon

Last Monday, Feb 18 was the first visit with the cardiologist.  Getting there was a bit of a problem but the appointment itself went smoothly.

We got into the inner sanctum and a very nice nurse named Lisa took down DH’s info.  It worked out well that we hadn’t finished all the paperwork since she had lots of info fron the hospital, anyway.

She took DH’s blood pressure and oxygen levels (both good), then took the bags of meds and vitamins away for cataloging.

The doctor came in and asked some of the same questions as everyone else about how he was eating, sleeping, exercise, swelling, pain.  He listened to DH’s heart and lungs and everything sounded good.  He checked the legs for swelling…none.

We made 2 more appointments – one for a low-stress treadmill next week and one with him for three months out.  There’s also bloodwork to be done before the treadmill. After passing the treadmill test, DH can start rehab.  Yea!

When we got home, there was a call from the PCP’s lab.  DH called back but had just missed them.

day-tues
DH slept in the bed and out of the recliner for several hours last night.  Another step forward!

DH finally got through to the PCP’s lab and the cholesterol numbers were excellent.  Hooray!  Other numbers such as liver enzymes were good, too.

day-wed
DH did some work today, with several naps in between. I got the car taken care of. He got the disher unloaded and reloaded – with resting afterwards.

He decided to start off the night sleeping in bed and made it until about 4:00 am. He said that there was no pain but he would be more comfortable in the recliner.
day-thurs
DH spent most of the morning working (at home) on a proposal, then most of the afternoon napping.  Most of the pain seems gone – hooray! Evening there was a short meeting with a nap before and after.  Then, dinner and another nap before bed.

He started out for about an hour in bed, then back to the recliner for the rest of the night.

He doesn’t seem to cough nearly as much. Hooray!

day-fri

Friday through Sunday – lots of napping, trying to sleep or nap in the bed but usually winding up in the recliner.

day-sun

 

It was a nice day so we took the dog outside for a very short walk…followed by more napping.  DH is looking forward to the treadmill test on Wednesday so he can start the rehab soon.

Tips For Visitors

Posted on by MaryO

Hospital

 

These are based on our personal experiences and may not apply to every situation.  If you have other tips, please add them to the comments section and I’ll edit this post.

Call before dropping by. The patient (or caretaker) may be napping and not up to entertaining visitors

Send an email before calling. The sound of the phone ringing can be disruptive.  I turned off all the ringers but one  in our house and that one is very low.

Leave a voicemail.  Then we can get back to you when it’s more convenient.

Don’t be general with things such as “call me if you need anything”. People like me will never call – unless that’s what you’re really hoping for.  Instead say something like “I’m bringing you dinner tomorrow night.  What are your dietary restrictions?”  Or “I will sit with the patient on Saturday for 10-2 so you can get out of the house for a while”.

Limit your visit to 20 minutes or so. Twenty minutes may not seem very long, but plan for your visit to end promptly at the twenty minute mark unless the patient invites you to stay longer. Being hospitalized is exhausting and staying awake to entertain visitors can be draining.

Do not tell the patient about other friends or relatives who had the same surgery/disease but didn’t survive.

When talking with the patient, don’t expect him or her to solve YOUR problems. Leave those outside and focus on the patient.

Be SURE the patient isn’t allergic to flowers before sending them.  By the same token, don’t wear perfume, cologne or shaving lotion.  The patient may be allergic to those scents.

Don’t wake up a sleeping patient.

If a nurse or doctor wishes to speak with the patient, leave the room to give them privacy.

Do not use this time to text or make phone calls.  Pay attention to the patient.