Open Heart Surgery to replace my Ascending Aorta
Thursday June 25, 2020 Four-thirty came early as my alarm indicated that I needed to take a shower and wash with chlorhexidine gluconate soap before my surgery. I had a difficult time falling asleep in our hotel room the night before, mainly due to the lack of control I had with putting my family in this fearful position. We opted to stay in Seattle prior the surgery rather than getting up at 3am in Olympia and driving up. Wednesday afternoon we drove to USMC to take my third COVID-19 test (negative!) at a drive-by clinic. Afterward I went a pre-anesthesia appointment to have a doctor look at my throat. It had been irritated from the breathing tube a week ago from my first surgery. Finally, we went to my cardiology appointment with Dr. Aldea to sign consent paperwork and go over sternal precautions post-surgery. We ordered Indian food and enjoyed an early night in the hotel room drifting off to the Discovery Channel. Chuck drove us to the hospital and I was admitted around 5...