4 weeks LVAD POST OPERATION

Good day Annette; this is my first post on this site as well. Your post was very encouraging to me, for my wife is currently hospitalized in ICU recovering from LVAD surgery. It's been about month since the actual surgery. She has had CHF for over 10 years now. Your husband pretty much has gone through what my wife is currently going through now. She was really sick prior to her surgery. I am blessed that I have a surgical / doctor that calls me everyday to let me know daily progress. Yes; it was explained that it will be a long recovery for her and pretty much knew that she will have many bridges to cross, but GOD!! She is currently continuing to make small steps towards her recovery and even though she is unable to talk and make use of her hands right now, she is able acknowledge my son & I voice when we speak to her by the winking of her eyes and turning of her head. Again; I just wanted to say that your post was what I really needed to read at this time. I pray all Blessings continues to shower upon your husband & you journey, and Thank so Much for sharing your story.

Andre Johnson

I received my LVAD and began my bonus days on Dec 4, 2018, so I’m down the road a bit. The recovery is probably going to take a while, with ups and downs along the way. I came home on Christmas Eve (best Christmas ever!) and then was back in the hospital twice the month following month due fluid retention and to get the meds and LVAD balanced. Now that the left side of the heart is working better the right side seems to say, “What the dickens is going on over there?”  as it tries to keep up. They told me that was just part of the process. It was several months before I could shower - what a joy that was! At first the home care was intimidating, but it is like getting behind the wheel of a new car - at first that dashboard looks complicated, but after a while it becomes second nature. Frequent clinic visits at first, but if all goes well the intervals get longer and longer. And the quality of life makes it all worth it. Yes, there’s some overhead, but for me life is pretty much normal. I tell my wife that my heart now hums for her. I encourage getting into cardiac rehab when the LVAD team says it’s OK. It was a comfort to know the rehab folks were looking after me and the benefits went far beyond just the physical reconditioning. Psalm 23 became one of my anchors. The guarantee is that on the walk through the valley is not that the valley will end, but that His rod and staff (which I discovered was physically expressed through our family, friends, and church) will be with us.

I'm so thankful Annette that your husband is recovering. My husband had a heart attack (widowmaker) that came from the blue. He's pretty young 60. The damage was extensive. But we are so thankful that the Lord is not done with him here yet! His was placed May 12 th at the UofU. A great team of folks whom we are grateful for. We also were blessed (insert sarcasm) with covid. So only visits to learn the LVAD system. I'm a school bus driver and when school was abruptly ended I told my husband I was going to learn something new! It's crazy how the Lord delivered that one! Well a few weeks with lvad and Paul is doing pretty well. He's still trying to get the INR locked in. Not cleared for showers but they did say he could work is he wanted/felt like it! He has drainage from his driveline site still! They said he is just juicy as it looks really good and is healing. They said he is a candidate for transplant but after 44 days in the hospital, he doesn't want to go back! Who can blame him? We are curious howmany folks out there have been doing well over their course for years? Transplant is a tough choice because their is no guarantee ours going to work, and then the meds required are crazy! Anyways it's always good to read other folks stories. They are uplifting! Blessings to you all.