It began on a cold Saturday night in early January. While out for a birthday dinner for my son with his girlfriend and my husband,I noticed my heart speeding up.因为我在高中时被诊断出二尖瓣脱垂（大约2%的人都有这种情况）。这并不少见。我经常感到心悸，但它们很少持续超过一分钟。尽管那天晚上的心悸也是无痛的，这次他们没有停下来。
After dinner,we headed to the ER.他们给我做了检查，给我做了心电图。诊断？心房颤动或心房颤动，据美国心脏协会:“颤动或不规则的心跳（心律失常），可导致血栓，中风，心力衰竭和其他心脏相关并发症。”
They kept me overnight with orders to see a cardiologist before I left on a Caribbean cruise the following Friday.On Tuesday,我遇到一个心脏病专家，他给我做了一个超声心动图，一种类似于怀孕时的超声波手术。在回声之前，医生听了我的心脏说，"You sound fine.You're young and healthy.I'm not worried at all." But after the echo,她走进我的房间，关上了门。
Apparently,我的MVP已经发展到二尖瓣反流，这是一个更严重的情况。Again,美国心脏协会说："Mitral regurgitation is leakage of blood backward through the mitral valve each time the left ventricle contracts."问题是，这会导致血块，和中风。“你得去看外科医生，”她说，“旅途中不要喝酒。”
回家后，我会见了一位心脏外科医生来确定我的手术日期。手术，这被认为是“微创性的”，因为外科医生切开右乳房外侧，而不是通过胸部进行完全的心脏直视手术，进展顺利。不幸的是，心脏手术后相当正常的出血没有停止。It was so bad that seven blood transfusions and nine hours later,我被紧急送回手术室做心脏手术。My blood pressure,normally 110/65,had dropped to 50/20.I almost didn't make it.
That was ten weeks ago.
我的食欲有所改善，还有我的力量和耐力。但是疼痛减轻了，它仍然很流行。If all had gone well,到现在为止我几乎完全康复了。Due to the emergency open-heart surgery,it will be 3-6 months until I'm feeling "back to normal."
Experiencing major surgery is,well,major.Your world is turned upside down.你没有能力完全照顾自己。You feel weak,身体上和情感上。你尽你最大的努力不要成为一个麻烦，避免抑郁症的常见陷阱。
If you know someone who is scheduled for or has recently undergone major surgery,here are some suggestions:
1.发送卡片和/或鲜花
在恢复的早期阶段，沟通，甚至打电话，emailing,or texting—are difficult.沟通很好，但不要期望得到回应。Your friend or family member will respond when he or she is ready.尽管过敏，flowers are wonderful.它们照亮了房间和气氛。
2。与“已分配”的家庭成员或朋友登记
常常，someone close to the patient will be named to accept and distribute communications.It's best to interact with that person for updates,把你的想法/愿望/祈祷传递给他们，也是。
3.耐心点！
你所爱的人，who you're used to seeing alert,happy,and energetic,will most likely be none of those things.至少，有一段时间。Allow them time to heal,to become whole again.
4。Don't Send Food (Or At Least Check First)
Of course,我的犹太朋友和家人想喂我！However,大手术后，nearly everyone loses their appetite.这可能持续一周或更长时间。It's also not uncommon to experience an aversion to food altogether,even things that normally taste good.例如，I had no desire for chocolate,它位于我的营养金字塔的顶端。
5。Stay in Communication
As time passes,it's normal to think the patient feels better and no longer needs to hear from you.After major surgery,这种情况很少发生。让他们知道你知道他们几个月后还在康复，如果复苏的时间比预期的要长，也不要感到难过。告诉他们你还在想他们，你在他们身边，你在乎。
6.Call Before You Visit
有些人喜欢有访客，其他人也不多。Check in first before you make the trip.
7.Give Hugs
When you do see your loved one,给他们一个温柔的拥抱。身体接触往往是最好的药物。
8.祈祷/治疗思想
Inform your loved if they're included in Mi Shebeirach prayers.为了我，it was comforting to know entire communities had me in their thoughts.
9.不要把你的希望寄托在他们身上。
In my case,很多人说，"You look great,you must be feeling better!" While the intentions are good,当你还在痛苦的时候，很难假装你感觉好多了，也很难承认你仍然感觉不好。更糟的是，you can feel like a failure.
Though major surgery takes a lot out of even the healthiest of folks,don't ever doubt your power to contribute to the healing process.保持坚强和沟通，and remember: you can never give too much love or ios下载beplaysupport to those in need.
