The first week I got my heart was a big ‘ol blur. I do remember it sucked, as the pain was unbearable for the first four days. After that I mainly sat in my room until I recovered piece by piece. Having the news interview me was super cool, especially because a couple months prior I toured their facility and met their team. News has always interested me in general so it was cool to be on the news not for the spotlight, but to know I was working with professionals in the industry. However, like the camera nerd I am, I did not like my original responses to the interview. So I spent the next twenty mins refilming everything, despite struggling to breathe (lungs were still quirky from the surgery at the time) but to me it was greatly worth it because the video they made was fantastic.
The next good thing was being able to walk. While I may not have been as motivated as I used to be while in the adult unit, I often enjoyed being able to walk by myself with no issues whatsoever. I was especially pleased when they removed all the tubes and IV in me because I was walking on my own two feet! One small step for a sick boy, one giant leap for my recovery.
A funny story to me during this time was when my surgeon removed my pacemaker. So one day the doctor comes in and checks up on how I am doing. Eventually he gets onto the topic of the pacemaker with my nurse and grabs it. At this point he was not talking to me, instead checking vitals and such with the nurse, pacemaker wires in hand (they go inside me). Then, with no warning, he pulls them out. Honestly the best way I can describe what I felt is as such:
AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH-
Oh ok
It didn’t hurt but man it scared the heck out of me and felt really weird. I’ve never trusted him since > : ( (Joking obvi, he the best surgeon I could ask for)
Leaving the hospital was definitely but more anti-climatic than you expect. They say the hardest part of the hospital stay is the last couple of days before you leave and I couldn’t agree more. By the time I was allowed to leave, I was more happy that I could leave than being able to overcome these issues. Everyone asked me what I would first do when I got out. I had no lofty goal like seeing friends, talking to family, or even laying on my bed. I simply wanted to shower; a luxury not given to me in A WHOLE MONTH.