Maureen's Journal

June 13, 2016 is the day of my OHS and a day that has forever changed me as a person and my life. We had to be at the hospital at 5:30 am so had to leave the house about 5 am. Nerves prevented the sandman from coming the night before so no sleep for me :) I knew that would happen and besides I figured I would have several hours of sleep in the surgery so finished up work and other notes to my family instead. As night became early morning, I was really nervous and could tell my hubby was as well. We were very prepared so left a few minutes before 5. Our nervousness increased with every mile closer to the hospital we were. When we arrived there was a moment that I said to my hubby maybe today is not the day to do this surgery, let's reschedule. Of course there was no turning back at that point but it certainly crossed my mind! Check in was quick and it was off to the Pre-Op room where all the prep happened and meetings with the Drs. before the surgery. My family was allowed to be with me after I was prepped and we joked, laughed, loved and shed a few tears as well. The clock struck 720 am and it was time to go to the OR. Talk about a heart stopping moment when they said time to go....YIKES!! Lots of hugs and deep breaths to prevent passing out..Off I went down the cold hall, entered the OR and was greeted by the nurses and Dr. Riley and the Anesthesiologist. We had a few exchanges and jokes and off to lala land I went and surgery lasted for over 5.5 hours. Thankfully, I woke up sometime later in the afternoon in ICU and I was happy to be alive and to see my family. The dreaded tube was in my throat and since I couldn't talk I started signing / finger spelling to them that I was hot, I had to pee and when could I get the tube out. Monday was really a blur for me other than a few other moments and getting up into the recliner Monday night and staying there to sleep. Dr. Riley and my cardiologist had come in to check on me but I don't recall any conversations that day. I am officially on the other side and now time for recovery!! Thank you God!

I am an optimist and a glass half full type of gal but facing the reality of OHS is definitely a scary life event. The last couple weeks before my surgery I had many moments fretting about the risks of being on the heart lung machine and waking up in ICU with the tube down my throat. There were also times that I filled with tears thinking about the small chance that I may not wake up and my life on earth would be over. Being the optimist I didn't stay in those thoughts long and took them as an opportunity to make sure I told my wonderful husband, family, friends and colleagues in my life how much I love or appreciate them, treasure them and our times together. Having these special moments with people helped me stay positive, feel very blessed and be less scared. I also had many daily conversations with God and said the Serenity Prayer several times a day. This helped and gave me the strength to accept the reality of the OHS and what lay ahead. I stayed very busy at work and home preparing everything for my hospital stay and recovery period. I wish I had found this site sooner in my journey because all of you and your stories warm my heart and make me feel more normal! Thank you all for sharing!