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And So It Begins

My personal story

By Nellie NaibertPublished 2 years ago 5 min read
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And So It Begins
Photo by Hush Naidoo Jade Photography on Unsplash

Surgery, any surgery, is a scary thought. I have been through quite a few in the past six years, but this was the first one related to my heart.

Discovering I had a heart disease that meds could only help control, but wasn't enough to give me enough time to get to the hospital if I went into cardiac failure terrified me. I had three doctors in the cardiologist department explain to me that I needed an ICD. It would help when my heart decided it wanted to go to fast or slow down. The ICD would also give me a shock if I went into arrest. (I am sure you heard on medical shows when doctors put paddles on someone and say clear, well that is what the ICD does but internally) I haven't been shocked yet, but my understanding is that it feels like you been kicked in the chest by a horse. Some patients collapse when it happens, some black out. I, seriously, hope not to experience it anytime in the near future.

Like with any surgery, you get all your typical preps. IVs, blood pressure cuffs, wearing the god awful gown with your backend hanging out. Some people are put only in a twilight zone, for me, they put me under and with ketamine. (ketamine was used per my CPRS to help control pain after surgery.) I also had an artery line done after I was put under. (this is also not common)

After a couple hours when I woke up from a good ketamine trip (I was wandering through South Korea in my dreams), I was in horrible pain. Not in my chest as you would think, but actually in my elbow. It was from the artery line I was later told. The nurses were trying to help maintain the pain and gave me pain meds right away and also distracted me by asking me how my dream state was, I laughed and told them they could have waited till my walk was over.

Now with most ICD patients, they spend time in aftercare room for a couple hours to be monitored and then can go home. Not me. Again, because of my original disorder I was to spend 24 hours in the hospital. The hospital stay was mainly for pain control. Often after surgery I go into extreme flares. One time after a surgery, I lost function in my arm and they had to have a CNA to feed me.

Being in the hospital was actually a good thing for me also...after dinner they had brought up a portable x-ray machine to check on the ICD, and found that my lung had collapsed. The bed was grabbed and nurses were rushing me back down into a surgical room. To be honest, I felt like I was in a medical drama with the rushing, the whispering amongst themselves and my own personal anxiety of not understanding what was going on. (and for me to get anxious is quite uncommon, I am usually the calm one during emergencies)

The doctor who was going to put my chest tube in talked to me in a very gentle calming voice what had happened and what they had to do. Because I had eaten, they could not put me under, I had to be awake during the whole procedure. They put a blue tent over my head (thank goodness because of course when I got home, I had to look up the surgical procedure on Youtube and I would had freaked out seeing what he did to me) One nurse held my hand, another rubbed my head gently. They kept talking to me about my granddaughter. (the one nurse was involved with original surgery and had seen her pictures before hand) I was wheeled back into my room by 11 pm when I was able to call my husband and let him know what happened. (I forgot to mention, I was in a different town, the hospital in my town does not do ICD surgery)

So now I am hooked up to an IV, an EKG and a chest tube contraption. But I am still getting up to go use the bathroom, of course with a nurse or CNAs help. Me using my trusty walker and then following behind with all my hookups.

I was lucky and they did let me go home the next day. They did a portable chest tube that they trained my husband how to drain and clean. I had to wear that blasted tube for 8 days after surgery...and it was a pain with dressing. (though, because of tube, I did stick to jammies which I rarely do after surgery...I will get into that at a later date of why I refuse to wear jammies after surgeries) Oh, and I will tell you. When they did finally take the tube out...the whole office heard me. It was a 1...2....3 pull out...and I felt like she was pulling my spine through that hole.

I am going to be honest with you. I was in pain, I am still in pain and it has now been going on six weeks since surgery. I was a mummy for quite awhile with all the bandages, (got to remember, I had extra bandages from the chest tube) and they had to even leave one of the EKG patches on as the chest tube bandage was on it. (added discomfort)

It has been a pain as I am only allowed to use my walker. I, usually use a cane when walking, but since I use it on my left side, I cannot put pressure on that arm till full recovery. I have at least another two weeks with the walker. Nice thing is I have a cup holder and a bag on it, so still can carry my coffee and throw my wallet in bag and not worry about a purse.

So...there in a short nutshell...my surgery background and the beginning of a new journey for me.

Upcoming will be what to do in preparation for surgery. This isn't just for ICD implants but any surgery. I have to say I am a veteran to them and learned how to prepare my home and myself.

As always, thank you for joining me on my journey. And always feel free to ask questions.

humanity
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About the Creator

Nellie Naibert

58 year old with ICD implant. I have a heart disease that required me to be implanted with an ICD. I also have a rare nerve disorder called CPRS. My journey is a guide for those with implants or upcoming.

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