The nurses and I had a long discussion about whether I should be given the medication to relax or not. I was hesitant because I am soooo very sensative to medication, but eventually decide it would be best, since I had to stay completely still during the procedure--absolutely no moving!
About the time the Dr. Sorenson came in I was resting with my eyes closed. Once he arrived I woke up and stayed wide awake for the whole procedure. It was really cool to see and hear the entire procedure.
The doctor numbed my artery and a couple of other areas. The numbing worked great because I felt numb all the way to my face. He then went in and up the artery to measure the hole. It turns out is was a "rather large hole" according to the doctor. The size was 25 mm which is almost an inch. I guess for a female heart this is pretty big. After measuring the heart he went back up with a helix and patched it up. The entire procedure took less than an hour. The doctor was thrilled because it couldn't have been more perfect. The surface was flat, with no rounding and it looks like it will stay in there well.
Once the doctor finished I was rolled back to my recovery room where I had to lay flat for a minimum of 2 hours. I could not lift my head, or move my right leg. This was actually not too hard since I was tired, and slept some of the time. When I was awake the nurse wanted me to eat so she could give me my medications. Lucky for me it was waffles, I would hate to try and eat cereal laying down.
After about 2.5 hours the nurse came in and sat me up. I got up for a bathroom break, and ended up spurting blood all over. Apparently I had formed a hematoma or something else happened that she explained, but I can't remember--either way they both result in the same thing. This meant I had to lay back down for about another hour, and the nurse had to push all of the excess blood out of my leg--that took a while. I ended up laying down long enough to have lunch laying flat on my back. Luckily for lunch it was a sandwich, another good laying on your back food.
After about an hour the nurse came in and I got up again. This time it was a success and there was no blood. They then moved me to my room, where I have been sleeping off and on for most of the day, in a bed that my feet touch the bottom--good thing I am not any taller! I am staying overnight, and if all goes well I will be going home tomorrow morning.
Thanks for all the well wishes.
After surgery in my room, holding my new companion that is connected to me while I stay in the hospital.
