DIY

UPDATE: January 22, 2024 – To all of the Nurses out there reading this, I am not attacking any of you. But, I have worked in the OR on severely medically compromised children my entire career and you know not all nurses are created equal! This blog post is from one heart surgery patient’s caregiver to another. Please find it in your heart to respect the fact that this is from one family’s perspective and experience. And I may not use the proper terminology but that is what the doctors and nurses are for right?

My wonderful husband had a widowmaker heart attack (STEMI) on February 21, 2022. He had 2 stents placed on February 22 with the knowledge that eventually he would need bypass surgery.

He struggled for months with a blood clot, pericarditis, and non-stop chest pains. His chest pains increased to the point of waking him from a deep sleep and he was super short of breath completing normal tasks.

We had an appointment with his cardiologist and it was decided to do another angioplasty to place a few more stents possibly. During this appointment, the interventional cardiologist found that his original stents had failed and that she would recommend a CABG (Coronary Artery Bypass Graft).

We were stunned, scared, sad, and mad at this news. But, we had the “luxury” of time. By that I mean we had a week to prepare mentally and physically for this major life change.

Now, for a bit of background, we had been through open heart surgery over 20 years ago with my father-in-law. So in our mind, we thought we had a good idea of what to expect. Now just over five months post-surgery, I can say wholeheartedly that we were not prepared. My hope with this post is to give you some perspective, hope, real-life first-hand experience knowledge, and share some love.

This is not medical advice! I am not a doctor, and this post is my opinion on caring for open-heart patients after surgery. All products featured in this post are what I purchased myself and have been tested in my own household.  All product links are Amazon affiliate links.

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