So 15 months ago I get told I need a double heart valve op, 3 months later i'm told it should be around May/June, today Harefield called and I get offered 7th Dec, I predicted it, knew it would be Xmas!!
Anyhow I have asked them to postpone it until January, the thought of being sat there 10 days before xmas being a grumpy git just didn't appeal, on top of that my co-manager who has been covering me goes in for breast cancer lumpectomy next week and it's just not fair abandoning the peons 😀
Also and although i'm not superstitious we are putting flowers on the family's graves last year and my daughter says "hey look they all died in years ending with a 3". WTF don't say that my op is in 2023! Not taking a chance 🤣🤣
So, am I off my head for delaying?
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Etzel
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I wonder if maybe you wanted opinions on this you should have asked before you cancelled it as whatever we think it is to late now
I know that is not a great time to be having an op at all however no matter what you need this done just as much as your co manager which I am sorry to hear what they are going through needs their treatment done your op is as important
When you asked about January could they guarantee they could do it then instead as getting dates for these ops now so many are waiting
But personally even taking all the circumstances into account I would have been reluctant but would have accepted it while they were offering but that is just me and as long as you are happy with what you have decided then that is all that matters x
Well to be fair I did only have 30mins to decide before the call back! The booking clerk was very good and explained that they didn't have the 2024 calendar ready until Friday and I would remain top of the list.
Hi, no not mad, it's a huge thing and very scary. I get it, I've been there and had a full meltdown when I got the call. I personally wouldn't have said no though, your health comes first. Fingers crossed that the surgery goes ahead early on next year, as so many factors could mean that it doesn't.
I had my valve replacement in early December, all went well and I was discharged. Unfortunately a couple of weeks later I had to be readmitted and found myself in hospital over the Christmas period and they discharged me home on Christmas morning. - one of the best Christmas’s I have ever had and I even got to spend the rest of Christmas Day with my family. Lovely atmosphere in hospitals at Christmas.
It’s your decision. But remember delaying makes it worse. It’s only one Christmas. The operation will give you the opportunity to see many more. Mine has. Best wishes and good luck.
In simple terms - yes you are mad!You have been waiting 15 months risking things getting worse, the company you work for will soon forget/replace you once you no longer go there, the unskilled workers you talk of are more skilled than their egotistical manager thinks they are, and you had a date set in liquid concrete! It won't be set in stone until the day after the operation!!
You are going to a world leading hospital and yet, given the length of waiting lists, you want to defer due to the coincidental deaths of a few relatives.
Personally, I would have said yes to the op having had to wait 9 months with cancellations. This is only based on my own experience and that by the time I got the operation my condition had worsened. I was told I was at the top of the list but it still took some time and the wait depends on so many things going on in the hospital at the time too. I didn't fully understand that until I was actually in hospital and witnessed things like how quickly ICU beds get taken up with emergencies...how theatre and and times have to be rearranged and also availability of specialised staff at the time along with other staff shortages. I hope you don't have to wait too long and that you get another date soon after Christmas. All the best x
So tricky when you are put on the spot. Can totally understand your thought process.
It’s done now, decision made. Get yourself ready to accept the next opportunity eg, make a list of what to pack, find out what you’ll need afterwards and get that prepared…then you’ll feel in a good place and the decision won’t feel so overwhelming and rushed.
Now stop torturing yourself with ‘What have I done’ and have a Happy Christmas!
Hi chrismas seems to be the time for myself and hospital's as well, I had a hysterectomy 17th December a few years ago and my ICD was also December and I am at the moment waiting on a date for cancer surgery. I did ask if the ICD could be re scheduled they said it could be month's so we cancelled our holiday and I went ahead. I worry about what would happen if I said no and I prefer things to be done as soon as but everyone is different and if you feel within yourself that you can wait and the hospital is ok about it you have decided what is right for you.I was always at home for Christmas day and for a change the family cooked it worked out well 😃 take care char
Yes, you're as mad as a hatter.
Seriously though, I think you're the opposite. If delaying until January makes you more comfortable, who's to say it's the wrong decision for you.
Personally, I grabbed a cancellation appt with both hands for my first AVR. Had the op on 19th December, so was in over Christmas. Precious memories seeing my 2year old son wandering down the corridor that you can't buy (and santa).
On the flipside, many years later I cancelled my second valve surgery as I had something more important to do on that day.
Hi been in same place with my husband he in such a bad place this last few weeks if they rang him now to go straight there we would go there will be more Christmas if you cancel you will just regret doing it anyway good luck 😘
I can understand what you did, but it's unwise. Always put your health first and do what needs to be done as soon as possible. As has been said, work will be there when you are long gone. It's the worst possible reason to compromise yourself. Grumpy around Christmas doesn't even rate as a consideration. No point in torturing yourself now though. It's done.
Regarding superstition over dates, I had a similar experience in hospital. They told me my triple bypass would be on 30th April - the anniversary of my mother's death. Christ, I thought. She's coming for me. In the event I was postponed for a week and had my surgery on 7th May. Sorry Mum. Not just now!
Oh my goodness but yes. What a shame that you gave up your chance to get things taken care of before next year. I hope things go well for you. I really do!
Thank you for all the replies and yes you are probably right about delaying. I guess the thing that you don't know is i'm actually surprisingly healthy, nothing that I really want to do that I can't. And as BeKind said 30mins to make that kind of decision isn't much, had I the chance to post here first maybe you would have swayed me.
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Knowing when I am ready to drive again post-op
Am I kidding myself.... 
Scheduled for OHS for ASD closure
I got a new heart!
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