I realise I should have posted this some weeks ago , but a lot has been going on and it slipped what is left of my mind . A follow up to my earlier stay in hospital .
The week after I returned from hospital one afternoon I got a phone call . It was from the hospital . A different one this time , Bart’s , their heart unit . A voice said it was a “something” unit nurse , they had been reviewing my case . I assume because my stay in hospital the week before had been brought to their attention . Would I accept a “private” cancellation , I would accept an operation in an open field if offered . I had been told the operation waiting time was likely to be several months , and probably be nearer to Christmas than not , so naturally I said yes . I didn’t know what a private cancelation was , and I didn’t ask .
Could I manage the 28th on July , yes I could , it was six weeks away . The procedure was to replace a heart valve via cathaterisation , they stick a tube in the artery in your thigh and poke it up to the heart then stuff a new valve down it . All very modern , and involves two overnight stays in hospital then a short period of recovery . The alternative is open heart surgery , a much lengthier and dangerous process all around .
There were a couple more phone calls and a postal MRSA test , all going smoothly . Then one Friday I received another phone call , there has been another cancellation , could I manage to come in on Monday the 13th , 3 days notice . Yes I could , the sooner the better , a tad disruptive , but then so is a bloody malfunctioning heart valve , so bring it on .
My friend Mayra , was going to help me with the going in , the coming home , and the first days care when I got home . She had taken time of work and canceled her holidays to do that around the 28th . It was too soon for her to change for the new plans for next week so substitutes were brought in from the bench . Izzy would take me in , and LJ would bring me home , bags were packed , and we got there at 5pm on the Monday .
As the word “private” cancellation had been uttered I was imagining my own on-suit room with all mod cons , but that was not to be . I was taken to the day unit where the beds are in bays with a curtain over the front , it was just like my stay in A&E a few week previously , except a tad quieter . And typically my bed was opposite the toilets , just like most restaurant tables I get .
Most people turn up on the day of the procedure and return home that evening , a few , like me , arrive the evening before , then stay the following evening to make sure everything is working . I was the only overnighter . Although this makes for a quiet night there is a side effect , because people in this ward are normally nil by mouth pre op , and then need to be fed at obscure times aprè op , the ward does not figure on the catering rounds , you can seriously miss out on tea and food .
The day of the op I was wheeled across to the catheterisation lab and placed on a table , surrounded by instruments , lights , x-ray machines , and screens , which were all being covered in anti-splash covers , just in case my blood escaped . there was an anaesthetist on hand , even though you are awake through the whole thing , and he had his own screen , just where I could see it , perfect . After a good look around the room I gave them permission to start .
It is a painless procedure , apart from the cutting the skin to gain access to the artery , and some electrical “tingling” when they speed up the heart to make it appear stationary , and thus easier to work on . The team were constantly talking to each other about what they were doing , and I had my monitor , what more could a nosey old git want . Everything went well and i was returned to my room , there given a cup of tea and a sandwich . I was connected up to a heart monitor , who as it turned out would become my closest companion for the next week .
The following day I would keep asking when I was going home , and keep being told I had to wait for the doctors to review the procedure . With a valve implantation there is a 10% risk of a stroke , due mainly to flaked off of material in the veins as the valve goes in , and 10% risk of needing a pacemaker , which in my case was increased to over 15% , because of pre-existing problems with my heart . This was apparently causing some argument between the valve team and the pacemaker team , whom I had yet to meet .
The argument was destined to last 3 days , during which I was attached to my monitor by 11 leads 2m long . Eventually I was transferred to a proper ward , on the Friday , mainly because the day ward was shutting for the weekend . then I was told by the nurse , that from the notes I was going to have a pacemaker fitted and the procedure was taking place on Sunday and I would be allowed home , if all was well , on the Monday .
Come Saturday afternoon no one has told me I’m to be given a pacemaker , or what it involves , whenI told the nurse she said “really ! ” , I mean I had done my own research , as far as I could , I was not objecting , just in the dark . An hour later a surgeon in full scrubs was by my bed , first contact with the pacemaker team , he explained all , and was clutching the consent forms , well consent tablet , which i waved my finger over . Later that evening all access to food was cut off .
The procedure went ok , except I was not allowed to watch , so I had an even longer look around the room before they began . Swift efficiency , I was introduced to everyone , operated on , said goodbye to every one and was back on the ward , connected back up to my machine , all with the promise of just an overnight stay , fingers crossed . And so it was .
Now I have reconditioned heart with a gee-up mechanism should it slow down . Mayra collected me on the Monday , now all I have to do is return to the ward with some requested Palestine badges . I would have done it sooner but I came down with COVID after I got home , not hospital related I must add , then Millie died , and on life went .
