Home and the Road to Recovery

Got a call from Rowie this morning saying that the doctor was ready to let her go home! Quite a surprise - we expected her to be in at least until Wednesday. The drain was removed Monday AM and X-Rays yesterday and this morning confirmed that the fluid was gone and not returning so... no need for further observation.

So, eight days after the operation, Rowie was back at home and tucking into pizza to celebrate not having to have hospital food anymore!

It's quite amazing when you think about it, that eight days ago a new valve was put into her heart, and today Rowies back at home... It doesn't seem long enough somehow, one expects a procedure like this to require some significant time in a hospital to fully recover. It's standard procedure though these days - hospitals being full of germs and of course the cost to operate being a significant factor. But still, it does seem to be astonishing that turnaround is this short.

Now of course the "other" hard work begins, the long road to rehabilitation. We have a booklet on what to expect over the next few weeks and months, the key message of which is DON'T lift anything heavy. The risk that the incision and break in the bone will be compromised is the greatest in the first few weeks, but the booklet indicated that by 8-10 weeks "normal" activities should resume. Poor Rowie won't be able to drive for at least 4 weeks, and then only for short distances. No cleaning either, ironing or washing (doing and hanging) definitely a no-no... She can read a book, watch TV or play cards or do a jigsaw... woo hoo!

Anyway, she's home now and trying hard to get comfortable enough to sleep. She's gotten used to being woken up every two hours for monitoring, so it'll take time for her to adjust back to normality.