Heart To Heart Edition of 1/15/2006

The free online monthly newsletter published on the 15th of the month from
Maggie Lichtenberg, PCC
Recent open heart surgery patient and thriver

Each issue features a motivating topic from my just-published E-Book, The Open Heart Companion: Preparation and Guidance for Open-Heart Surgery Recovery. The book's Table of Contents is on the website. Excerpted from Chapter 6, today's topic is:

The Hospital Experience for First-Timers

If you’ve never spent time in a hospital before this, think of your stay as traveling to a new high-tech environment where caring nurses, technicians, physicians, and surgeons have ever-improving control over surgical outcomes. In other words, take the high road. Just as you have thoroughly discussed the benefits and risks of your open-heart operation with your cardiologist, surgeon, and others involved in your decision, you and your caregiver-advocate will gain precious new confidence by taking the time to learn the hospital ropes beforehand.

As your surgery date approaches and you proceed through your pre-operative consultations and tests, you will observe that everyone at the hospital is focused on the specific job they have to do. It’s all for your health and wellbeing, of course, but it’s a busy place and, feeling more vulnerable than usual, you may feel like you’re caught in a whirlwind. Expect to be ushered from one test to another, from blood draws to x-rays to electrocardiograms, all preparing you for your entrance into the OR. Eventually you’ll be following your surgeon’s specific “night-before” instructions. Then, after surgery, caring nurses will greet you when you wake up in the ICU and again in your hospital room.

Most important, keep asking for explanations or procedural clarifications as you need to. You have a right to know, and to be involved in, every step of the way. I won’t be more specific than this because every surgical team has its individual plan and guidelines for you to follow. However, if you’re not sure what’s going on, ask. If you’re anxious, you can request a sedative. If you’re uncomfortable, physically or mentally, let someone know.

More on hospital procedures and regulations, packing tips, and suggestions for just before you go – in Chapter 6 of The Open Heart Companion.

The E-Book’s Biggest Benefit:

Not only do Part One and Part Two prepare and empower you for your open-heart surgery operation, Part Three supports you during the difficult recovery gap between hospital discharge and when you are finally healed enough to enroll in a cardiac rehab program – a gap of four to eight challenging weeks.

If you have purchased and used the E-Book, The Open Heart Companion, please let me hear from you. What sections of the book were most useful to you? Where did you wish I would have included more information? What helped you the most, and why? With your permission, I would love to share your story or your review of the book.

Please email me at Maggie@openheartcoach.com comments and experiences that will be informative to others, for future issues of Heart to Heart or for a future edition of The Open Heart Companion. Please include your first and last names, city and state. Thank you!

I am currently leading a free monthly heart surgery support group for both caregivers and patients. It is by telephone for one hour on a teleconference line that we all call into. The next call will be Monday evening, February 13, 2006, 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM Eastern time (or, depending on your time zone, beginning 8:00 PM Central, 7:00 PM Mountain, or 6:00 PM Pacific). For a complete description and to register to receive the call-in number, go to http://openheartcoach.com/PhoneSupportGroup.html.

Wednesday, March 22, 2006, 6:00-7:00 PM
New Heart Wellness Center
Albuquerque , NM

For those of you in the Albuquerque, New Mexico area, I will be the featured speaker for the Heart Hospital ’s March “Women’s Heart Connection” event. These events are free and open to the public.

Description: Whether you are the caregiver supporting someone you love, or the patient facing a huge medical challenge, the sooner you choose to take a positive, proactive approach to the situation, the better the outcome will be. Hear Maggie Lichtenberg’s inspiring story of turning fear before open-heart surgery into several positive outcomes – by taking active, loving care of herself, by regarding herself as “too blessed to be stressed,” and by continually reaffirming that it would all work out.

______________________

The E-Book version of The Open Heart Companion: Preparation and Guidance for Open-Heart Surgery Recovery is now available. The paperback book will be available in early March 2006. Click here for the book's description. Click here for ordering the E-Book, the paperback book, or both together at a discounted price.

"The Open Heart Companion is just that -- a book that acts as a loving, wise,
and comforting partner who gently guides you through the stages of
preparing for and successfully completing open-heart surgery. A
life-saving gift filled with invaluable resources, real-life stories and
must-know information, this book is required reading for all patients and
loved ones."

Cheryl Richardson, author of Take Time for Your Life

“The Open Heart Companion is must reading for anyone who requires open-heart surgery. Written by a life coach who has been there herself, The Open Heart Companion will help you get the most out of this dramatic and life-changing experience.”

Christiane Northrup, MD, author of Mother-Daughter Wisdom and Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom

“The lessons herein are applicable to anyone with a challenging medical or surgical condition, not just those with heart disease. Because it outlines a series of plans for thoughtful and collaborative action, this book will be equally useful for patients and for those assisting in the care of a family member or friend…I am grateful to at last have a guide I can recommend not just to my patients and their families, but also to my medical and nursing colleagues as we strive to improve the care our patients receive.”

         Kathleen Blake, MD, cardiologist at The New Mexico Heart Institute
         From her Foreword to The Open Heart Companion:
                  Preparation and Guidance for Open-Heart Surgery Recovery

Heart to Heart, Copyright (C) 2006 Maggie Lichtenberg. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without express written permission from the publisher.
Privacy Policy: We do not share any subscription information you provide with any other individual or organization.

Maggie Lichtenberg, Publisher
Open Heart Publishing
4 Cosmos Court
Santa Fe, NM 87508-2285
Phone: 505.986.8807
Email: Maggie@OpenHeartCoach.com
Website:OpenHeartCoach.com

Heart To Heart

Edition of 1/15/2006

HeartToHeart - Volume II, Issue 1 - The Hospital Experience for First-Timers