Georgie's Journey

My first three days at home have been restful and it’s been great not being restricted to my hospital room. I’ve got almost all my appetite back just feeling queezy in the mornings.  I’ve been sleeping better but not great, still waking up a few times in the night with hot flushes and a bit of pain - I can’t manage to sleep on my side yet and it’s getting uncomfortable sleeping on my back all night.  I’m trying to keep my routine fairly normal by getting up, showering and getting dressed and not lounging around in my pj’s. Since leaving I’ve had to get my blood taken everyday in the morning and then attending the GP in the afternoon. It’s getting a bit annoying but I have too until they are happy with my warfarin levels. Eventually I’ll only have to go once a week and if I keep a healthy regular diet only once a month. We’re coming up with a meal plan so I don’t over do the green veggies.  My dressing came of the pacemaker incision today and I was surpr...

Wow what a day ! All night my heart rate remaind at about 40 it wasn’t a pleasant evening. I had hot flushes and dizzy spells and was sick all morning. Even though I had a sleeping tablet (finally at 2am) I only dosed off now and then I was worried and not sure what was going on with all the commotion that had gone on in the night When the Dr came in the morning he said they have to get the pacemaker technician to re-look , it felt like a long wait but when they came they said the pacing wire was picking up signals in both the top and lower chambers so essentially was confused. They re paced the sensitivity of the wire and my heart rate is now back to normal. I felt instantly better.  They then said once I get my echo done and it comes back all clear then I’ll be able to go home.  So echo was done and we patiently waited all day for it to be reviewed - my surgeon was in an emergency surgery and we were waiting on him to come out to let us know.  I...

This morning was a nightmare. I didn’t get to sleep till 3 am and then woken up at 4am for nurse observations, I managed to get about an hr sleep after that and that was it. Dr and assistant surgeon visited me in the morning - said my haemoglobin was low and I’ll need a blood transfusion followed by an echo and test to see how blood is traveling through the new valve and then I’ll be looking at going home yay !  Perked  up a little in the afternoon and ate half a sausage roll woohoo lol.  Went for wheelchair ride around the hospital.  Blood didn’t come till 9pm and took 3 hours to do.  My heart rate then decided to plummit to 40 beats per minute - 3 nurses rushed in and started doing tests straight away Dr and on call Cardiologist were contacted and I hooked up to a defibrillator in case the worse happened. My pace maker was set at 60 so no one could figure out why my heart rate was so slow. There was nothing they could do till the pacemaker tech...

Just got my chest X-ray back In the top right you can see the pacemaker  The cross-cross wires are were they sewn the sternum up and the small silver ring to the right is my new valve.  My pacemaker is doing 91% of the work so I am literally a battery powered robot- pretty incredible what they can do 

Merry Christmas from the RAH Day 4 post op  Had a horrible evening - high temperatures and hot sweats all night with frequent vomiting. Still had the lines in my neck and couldn’t get comfortable.  Gave up in the end and just watched movies all night made me irritable throughout the day ! Tried sleeping in the morning but couldn’t with all the constant Dr and nurse visits. I got up at about 10.30 pretty adamant that I could get up on my own, made it to the shower chair and then realised there was no way I could wash myself lol ! Having these invasive surgeries really strips you of your dignity but hey you have to take the help when you need it.  I then had visitors and they came just in time as they were pulling the artery drip from my neck- it looked liked a straw both in thickness and length. It didn’t hurt but it was uncomfortable. It also bled a lot a i got blood all over my new pj’s :( I then go set free for 15 minutes -woohoo- Aaron Mum and d...

Hello everybody  Today I had my pacemaker put in, it was a rough morning. They made me sit out of bed and in a chair at 6am for  few hours. I had three drainage tubes pulled out at about 10am. It bloody hurt but lucky I had Aaron to hold my hand.  Just after 10am I went into surgery to have the pacemaker fitted. I wasn’t fully asleep and could certainly feel them screwing it in. I can’t lift my left arm above my head for 4 weeks.  I managed to keep one cheese and cracker down- progress lol.  My catheter and arterial IV line came out in the afternoon and now waiting for the line in my neck to come out also 

Thank you all for the well wishes I have been receiving from literally all around the world. I’m currently in ICU, awake and able to take fluids, not up for eating anything. The surgery went well but there was some complications as electrical conductivity was damaged when removing the old valve and ring that was already in there. This means I’ll be getting a pacemaker and that will be fitted either tomorrow or Sunday.  I can hear the valve ticking which is just a very faint tinging noise.  I’m in good spirits and not too much pain just discomfort from all the tubes.  Waiting before surgery  After surgery on ICU

Thursday 21st December- The big day Good morning it’s bright and early at 4.30am I don’t need to be up for another half an hour but I can’t sleep, lying in bed till that alarm goes off. Have been fasting since midnight,  I had dinner about 7 and a glass of milk and a cookie a little later but only water after that. It’s not even that long to fast I should be asleep and not even notice but being told I can’t have anything makes me want everything- hanging in till 5 and again at 6 I can have 150ml of water and that’s it.  Will get up and have my last antibacterial shower soon, have to wash my hair also. Will drive to the hospital a little after 6am to be there at 6.30. Once I get to the reception area I have to say goodbye to my partner and Mum and dad they’re not allowed any further, I’m a bit nervous about waiting on my own.  How I’m feeling  I feel pretty sick in the stomach I’m nervous but feeling brave. I’m ready to get it all happening now...

This morning I started the antibacterial showers and twice daily nose oitment- I smell like I poured floor cleaner all over myself.  Just 4 days to go now. I didn’t sleep at all last night dreaming I was already in the hospital.  Nerves are kicking in but I’m in a good head space - ready for it to happen and start the recovery process.  I convinced my partner to let me have the dogs in bed for cuddles just for one night, after the surgery I can only lift 2-4kg for 10 weeks and my dogs are a lot heavier than that so squeezing in all the cuddles I can get .  I’m also eating all the good stuff I can get my hands on knowing I’ll loose my appetite for a while I’m stuffing my face while I can.  I’ve also going on a mad organising/ cleaning frenzy - I’ve cleaned curtains, cushions all the bed sheets including spares, organised bills and paper work. Hospital parking tickets which is $65 for 7 days ! Wheelchair hire, packed my ICU bag and ward bag. There won’t be a thing...

I'm done at the hospital being prodded until next week. Had the Cat Scan this morning, had to fast for 4 hours, they put in an IV Drip and a dye that shows better images of the heart. The dye leaves a metallic taste in your mouth, makes you feel warm and like you’ve wet yourself for about 30 seconds. Scan only goes for about 5 minutes. Was in and out pretty quickly today. I’m lucky I’m having all my tests and surgery at the new RAH, from a patient  perspective it has all gone really smoothly and very impressed that I’ll have my own room and bathroom this time around. I have my hospital bag almost packed, just a few more things and then I’m all ready. Feeling really irritable today as things start to get very real, only 1 week to go now.                                                            3rd needle in two days

So today was pre op -  a nice long 6 hour pre assessment at the hospital to get you medically and physically prepared for the big day. So here's how my day went down. Lung function test Ward orientation  Chest x ray Blood tests Meet with Pharmacist  Nose swab Meet ward Doctor Meet anaesthetist Need to fast for four hours tomorrow (Wednesday) and return for CT Scan, this scan is only because I've had surgery before and is a riskier operation. THE BIG DAY To prepare for the surgery I need to start taking antibacterial showers everyday from Sunday and put antibacterial ointment in my nose also, finishing with the last shower the morning of the operation.  I will arrive bright and early at 6.45am, drip inserted and morphine and oxygen  will be giving straight away, this will calm me down so they can get ready. Another line will be placed into my artery in the wrist, I'll be put to sleep pretty quickly and should be in thearte by 7.30am...

All open heart surgeries are life changing, but for me this one will have the biggest impact of them all. When I met my surgeon a few weeks ago already knowing I was having the valve replaced rather than repaired, I was given the choice about what type of valve I would like, pigs valve or a mechanical valve, both having pros and cons. This decision has ultimately been the hardest decision my parter and I have ever had to make! In the end we decided that a mechanical valve would be the best choice for me but this comes with the gut renching choice that I won't be able to carry my own pregnancy. We came to this decision  given the fact that a pigs valve in a person of my age (26) would only last about 5 years, deteriorating even quicker after a pregnancy I'd be up for a 4th open heart surgery in just a short few years. If I was able to get pregnant it would be high risk and closely monitored. The pigs valve would gurantee more surgery and increased complications. Althou...

You might think I'm absolutely nuts for saying this but a part of me is actually looking forward to having the surgery! Why in this world am I excited about having heart surgery you may ask? Because I'm tired of being tired. One good thing about the surgery is that I'm going to get my energy back! At the moment I'm absolutely exhausted just getting through the day is taking a toll, I need a good 3-4 hour nap after doing household chores and everyday things. Working was also a problem, getting through a full time 38 hour week was hard for me and I was just doing reception work. I'd come home and go straight to bed. I'm looking forward to taking my dogs on a long walk without having to stop to catch my breath. Sometimes I feel like I've been swimming under water for hours and need to come up to gulp the air, the chest pain that comes with that is horrible. I honestly can't wait for that feeling to go away!! Two weeks to go exactly today ...

I don't know about you but I think the dentist sucks !  Before valve surgery your required to have a full dental check. I get why, it prevents the chance of infections traveling through the bloodstream which would create complications, but nonetheless I hate going ! 5 fillings and three appointments later ( thanks to my love of sugary drinks ) I've got the tick of approval of being dentally fit for surgery. I just treated myself to a tall glass of coca-cola and the thought of never ever going back !

My story so far... Congenital heart disease is an abnormality of the heart present since birth.  There is no history of heart disease in my family, and wasn't picked up until 5 years of age. I had two holes in the heart, Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD) and Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) and a leaky mitral valve.   VSD - is a hole separating the two lower chambers of the heart, meaning oxygen rich blood mixes with oxygen poor blood reducing oxygen to the body and increasing pressure to the heart. ASD -   is a hole separating the top two chambers of the heart, oxygenated blood from the left atrium flows through the hole into the right atrium mixing with oxygen poor blood increasing the blood flow to the lungs. The increased blood flow to the lungs creates a whooshing sound which you can still hear today if you listen to my heart.  Leaky Mitral Valve -   This means that the valve cannot close completely with each heartbeat, blood then spurts ba...

Georgie's Journey Open Heart Surgery - Number 3  Since receiving the news only a short few weeks ago that on December 21st this year (2017) I'll be having my third Open Heart Surgery, I have decided that I'm going to document my journey so that family, friends and anyone else who may be interested can read my journey of Congenital Heart Disease and so that you may understand the GOOD & BAD   of Open Heart Surgery.