Heart Surgery Problems

By Dorothy Baughman

It has been over two years since I experienced open-heart surgery. No biggy, many people have had an operation that put them in the ‘zipper club’ as some of my friends said.

But me? I was a picture of health at 66, albeit a bit heavier than I would like. I just thought my little chest tightness and shortness of breath was due to age and the fact that I kept my youngest grandchildren quite a bit. So when I told this to my doctor at an appointment for something entirely different, he panicked and sent me to the cardiologist. I still was not upset but the next day’s heart catheterization did bother me a bit; three discovered blockages and I was off to surgery the next morning. It seemed I had no choice. I was a sick woman. Two bypasses of 60 and 70% were fixable and one blockage was unfixable at 100%; it had made a new route on its own.

My family did not show it in front of me, but my husband of 47 years and my three children were thunderstruck. Mama had never been sick like this, just an occasional migraine or so. Oh and the Christmas she fell down the attic steps and broke two ribs. But still, nothing major.

The usually calm, old me, panicked when I entered the CCU. The throat tube was still in and I was still strapped down. I couldn’t say or move a thing. One finger on my right hand was free. All the TV shows that I had seen with the pathologist about to do an autopsy on a live person flashed through my head. I kept moving my finger up and down until a nurse looked my way from the counter.

“Oh, honey, you’re awake, let me get that tube out.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. From that moment on, it was uphill for me.

Several months had passed since the surgery occurred, when I began to have symptoms I didn’t quite like. I was no longer interested in my usual hobbies, even my freelance writing. I didn’t want to go anywhere and missed church for just too many months to count. The only seemingly bright things I had were my two youngest grandchildren whom I had taken care of quite a bit from their babyhood to toddler years. These kinds of things get a person down and out. I had not been told much of anything except the extent of my blockage; well, many people have it worse. I would never have known what went on while I was under, until I looked it up on the internet. I then found out that my depression was rather common from the heart/lung machine or so the author of the article said.

My family doctor gave me an antidepressant and I felt some better, nothing to brag about. I still could not write and was not very interested in anything. This went on for over a year. I also was not in line for cardiac rehab either. My cardiologist said it was not necessary since the insurance wouldn’t pay and I couldn’t afford it.

After going through all this, one morning I got up and decided I would give the computer a try. There’s no use wasting a good computer. I worked all day with marketing my already written things since I had been a freelance writer for many years; I had gobs of material. I suddenly felt pretty much myself again.

Maybe the antidepressant had finally kicked it, or all the praying my family and I were doing about my situation had reached its mark. I think the Lord just got tired of me dragging around.

One of my points is the fact that no one tells the heart patient what may or may not happen, at least not in depth. I had my whole world turned upside down for almost two years and did not have a clue for awhile what was going on. For one thing, everyone in my opinion needs the rehab to get them used to exercise that helps. A person with pain and the ‘don’t care’ attitude is not going to do this on his own.

Additionally, patients need more education in their heart bypass procedure and its aftermath. This is also needed in the adverse effects of medication. My sleeping meds gave me horrible nightmares where I heard things like my husband calling me, my cat meowing, and the doorbell ringing. Needless to say, when I found out that the meds were making me crazy, I quit taking it.

I really think every patient that is facing major surgery of any sort should be more aware of the ins and outs of his or her condition. I had one of the best surgeons in our state and apparently, he fixed me physically, but when he told me after the cath that he had an opening at six the next morning, did I want to go on with it, I felt as though I were making a hair appointment!

I am as good as I will be at my age of 69 at this point, although my short-term memory is still a bit shaky. The prolapsed memory was the only thing anyone mentioned. One of my friends who had heart surgery was not aware of this until she talked to others and me about it.

Heart surgery is a wonderful thing and saves many lives and I am grateful that my problem was caught before a major heart attack.

I still hold the opinion that even though doctors and other health caregivers are extremely busy, more education in this field should be necessary. One really should not have to go to the internet for health information.

Note: This article has been shortlisted for "$1000 writing contest."

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