At almost three weeks post surgery I have settled into a new (temporary) normal that is way better than being in the hospital, but a long way from complete recovery.  Today is 19 days since the 7-hour aortic valve replacement procedure that changed my life forever and gave me new hope for returning to my robust self!

Now home, my focus these days is: 

• Mitigating the chest pain that still rattles through my chest, especially after the meds (now just Tylenol) have worn off.   
• Directing myself mentally, to avoid boredom and reduce some of the brain fog being on 500 meds has produced
• Spending as much time as possible talking with my amazing friends and family, who have stepped up in innumerable ways to help me. 
• Adjusting to reduced activity levels and new movement restrictions (for up to three months).  Our amazing Aussies Zoe and Zayna had a hard adjustment to the crazy dad coming home crippled (No more tug of war?  No more obstacle course runs through the house?). But they met the challenge and now are content to lay quietly by my side.  They read the room immediately and adjusted quickly!  (I was really worried since my movement is now limited to a small circle around my chest.) 

Post Surgery, a Bumpy Road

You may had heard that I had a blip or two post surgery.  Yeah it was scary as F.  In fact it’s thanks to the skilled emergency physicians and response team at University of Washington Medical Center that I’m even here with you now!

Per my surgeon, the procedure went as expected.  It was a long surgery as expected because in addition to the valve replacement the surgical team also tuned me up!  (I had an AtriClip put into place and atrial ablation procedure to reduce risk of future stroke.) 

Waking up post surgery was traumatic.  I woke up to a trach tube that was resting on an incisor in such a way that was causing nerve pain.  My hands were tied to my side, and I was barely conscious.  I tried to flag someone about the pain, but no one understood my gestures.  I heard them remarking that I needed to wait an additional 30 minutes before the tube came out, which was super stressful.  But once out, there was relief, and rest! 

Fast forward to later in the day, and I was still resting and slowly coming to.  I met my initial shift nurses Tom and Cara and got a sense for how my routine would play out in ICU. 

One moment I was chatting with the nurses, and the next I was surrounded by an emergency response triage team.  In a literal blink of an eye, my heart rate had plunged from 90 beats per minute to around 30 bpm.  My blood pressure dropped to around 50/30. 

I was a code blue, and a team of 15 or more nurses, physicians, technicians and assistants swarmed my room.  My shocked husband sat in the corner on a couch four feet away, terrified and traumatized. The team lead began interrogating me on how I felt, whether I was following the situation, and what pain I felt.  I let him know I was feeling close to fainting and that my chest was hurting off to the side of the chest incision.

The vivid scene that unfolded will stay in my memory forever.  One team focused on activating and dialing in an external pacemaker that was mounted above my head to my right. This team was calling out numbers like Wall Street floor traders offering bid prices.

The second team was rushing Epinephrine and related heart-support medications into my veins through my carotid artery portal. This team was tracking every move of my vitals to track my heart rhythm and pulse back upward to stability. 

Magicians at work to both of my sides, or so it seemed.  In fact I know these accomplished medical professionals are well trained, experienced technicians and clinicians, always ready to respond at a second’s notice to medical emergencies (especially in an ICU!).  The huge irony for me is that I am marketing director for HealthFirst, which supplies thousands of medical facilities across the US with these exact medications and devices to save lives.  I market the products that were used to save me!

Once stabilized, there were numerous hallways discussions with the medical teams debriefing on what has happened.  Good thing, as little did they know 8 hours later there would be a rinse and repeat!  Yes, at 4:30 the next morning, the same scenarios unfolded again and largely the same teams assembled again to rescue me once more. Even scarier, this time they had AED pads on my chest ready for use (was not necessary!).

Yes, feel free to let out a deep sigh about now. It’s a lot.

The bad news ended there (honest)! The experts kept me on the medication dobutamine and on the external pacer for three days to stabilize my heart rhythm.  There were worrisome (to me) conversations about an implanted pacemaker if my vitals didn’t stabilize after removing the pacer and medication.  But they did stabilize, and I was able to come home three days later! 

I know this is a lot but I had to spit it out, to memorialize my Very Not Good Day but more to commend the astonishingly kind, compassionate and competent staff at the UWMC for getting Tom Thompson’s Ticker tuned up and turned back on!

(Quick shout out to these precious humans who made my challenge lighter with their love, their presence and support:  Bruce Sarvis, Cara Gossett, Josh Thompson, Lauren Allen, Kate O’Neil, Sally Fremmerlid, Brian Hutchison, Lynda Goodrich, Richelle Nielsen and all the Meal Train participants.)