Preparing for heart surgery
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Preparing yourself and you child
When your child is born with a Congenital Heart Defect most likely surgery will be required to repair the defect.This is a scary thought and it can be very helpful to prepare yourself and your child as much as possible
There are several forums available where you will be able to talk to other parents who have went through the same experiences that you are facing right now.
It is a big support that you are not alone and you will see that the CHD community is a very supportive o
There are several books available to help you learn more about CHD and how others have experienced it..also for children
Click the link and you will be redirected to the CHD-UK website
Don't be afraid to ask the medical professional involved questions, it will help you to understand what will happen and what to expect.
Some questions that you can ask:
- What type of anesthesia will be used?
- Will I be able to escort my child to the operating room? Will both parents be able to be present?
- Do you have any suggestions regarding preparing my child for surgery?
- Where will my child wake from surgery? Can I be present?
- What kind, if any, pain will my child have after surgery?
- Is a tour of the facility available, including the operating room?
- Will my child have IVs, devices or a breathing tube after surgery?
- What kind of recovery can my child expect to have?
Surely you can add many more to this little list..note them down and ask the surgeon or the pediatric cardiologist or your Cardiac Liaison Nurse..
If your child is at an age that he can talk try to prepare him/her through play about going to hospital.play for example with a teddy bear, put a plaster on it and let your child play with a toy stethoscope on it ,so that your child will be a bit familiar with things that will happen with him. Talk also with him /her about going into hospital.
Depending on the age you can tell just a little bit or you need to explain more things. Answer questions as honestly as you can and as much that you
think your child can understand.
Let him /her talk about their fear..it's better that they vent it out instead of bottling it up.
You can say that most children are forgetting what happened during their hospital stay after wards and that you will be next to him/her to make sure they will be alright
What to bring to hospital?
Once you and your child are prepared to face open heart surgery, the
real work of packing for the hospital and otherwise preparing for the
practical aspects of the hospital stay can be quite challenging. The
length of your child's hospital stay will vary, based on their
individual situation, but most open heart surgeries will involve a
minimum stay of five to seven days. If you will be staying with your
child and not returning home until he or she is released, consider
asking a friend to feed your pets and bring in your mail and newspaper.
Yourself:
Bring a jacket or sweater. Hospital rooms can be
quite cold,
Additionally, make sure to pack lip gloss, hand sanitizer and lotion.
Your hands can become painfully dry and cracked from washing them many
times each day with harsh hospital soap, make sure to use lotion to
prevent this. Pack your mobile phone and phone charger so that you van stay in touch with friends and family, Keep a small
notebook and pen on hand at all times to write down notable things that
doctors or nurses tell you, as well as to write down questions that you
may have for the next time that a doctor arrives
Bring also enough small change for snacks or coffee/tea/cold drink.
Try to occupy yourself at times when your child is asleep or when you have to wait, like a good book from your favourite author.
Your child
If your child is still a baby bring some familiar toys. A musical toy that you can attach onto the hospital bed with soothing music can help to settle your baby.Also a stuffed animal or favourite toy can be brought along
Bring sleep suits with front buttons so that there will be easy access to the chest incision and you can button it up as much or as little to make it comfortable.
When your child is older bring pyama's that are short sleeved and with front buttons as well.
Pack comfort items such as a favourite toy DVDs and books ...it will help to pass the time,You can also think about hand held video games, iPods
and laptop computers to make it a much more pleasant stay.
The date of surgery has arrived
You have had the phonecall or letter to confirn thescheduled dat of surgery.
Be aware that sometimes a surgery will be cancelled if there an emergency operation has come in between. This is difficult and can be hard emotionally if you don't expect it. So always try to keep this in the back of your mind.
When all goes ahead as planned a alot will be done in preparation of the surgery
