As John mentioned, last night was the worst part so far. I remembered getting wheeled into the operating room and waking up in ICU...nothing else. I don't remember anything in between which is probably best. After waking up in ICU, I had the worst nausea ever. I thought I was going to puke. There a lot of tubes hooked up to me when I awoke. I had no concept of time after the surgery. We checked in at 5:30 am yesterday and I was prepped by 7:30am. It wasn't until 6:00pm that I was in the ICU.
Last night was a little rough. It took a while to overcome the nausea. They injected twice before placing a patch behind my ear. It took about an hour for the nausea to go away. The nurses woke me every hour to make sure I wasn't developing numbness in my extremities. I had a hard time finding a comfortable position in the bed.
I had a chance to speak to Dr. Steinberg after the surgery. He reasurred me that the bypass was successful. I was shocked when he told me that the bloodflow on the right side of my brain. I did know bloodflow could be negative. He was able to increase my bloodflow significantly.
I got to see John twice last night....they finally kicked him out just after 10:00pm.
I was so hungry and thirsty, but was not allowed much more than getting my mouth swabbed with water in the middle of the night. I did get ice chips around 4:00am. Ice never tasted so goood.
Since Stanford is a teaching facility, I got visited by several groups of doctors starting around 5:00am. That was fun!
My blood pressure was really low througout the night, but since I could talk and was alert...they decided to forgo the BP medicine.
I got to start a liquid diet for breakfast and have progressed to solid foods for lunch. The food is nothing to rave about, but I was starving.
I was moved out of ICU this afternoon into a regular hospital room. I got several tubes pulled out before leaving the ICU. Now that I'm in a regular room...I was able to get up and start walking (very slowly). I should be here for the next few days.
Just to let you know, with an IV in my right hand I was forced to type this one handed.
Hi Kiddo! I didn't expect to hear from you so soon...I'm so happy to see you up and talking to us. I hope the sailor talk is over for now...I hope you didn't learn any of that stuff from me...LOL :) It is amazing how the ice chips can be so fulfilling. It is so cold here...it's 38 deg and dropping. I actully had to wear my ski jacket this morning.
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Doris
Hi Marisa, We're so glad that the surgery went so well. We are amazed that you were able to get on the computer so fast and that you're able to stand and walk a bit. That must feel good. Have a speedy recovery and we'll continue to follow along through your blog. This was a great idea!
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Hi Marisa, It is great to have the first step behind you. You are so strong and in such good health that you will recover quickly. Also very good news that Dr Steinberg is going to treat the left side of your brain as well. That will give you and John lots of piece of mind as you return to normal activity. I can identify with the terrible nausea feelings...it was not a good day for me yesterday but I am feeling much better today. Get lots of rest and take care of yourself. Bill and I are praying for your quick and complete recovery. Please call us if we can do anything for you while you are away. Laura
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