Posts by Laura Kelly7

Amy King said:God! I'm the second daughter, and I just wanted to jump in here and let everyone know that Dad pulled through. 🙂 You guys were such a massive help to us—it really meant everything to have someone who actually knows what they're talking about explaining things during such an uncertain time, because honestly, we were flying blind. Up until he ended up in the hospital, we thought he was perfectly fine... nothing wrong. As it turns out, the big issue was a heart defect—mitral regurgitation (I actually have it too, though mine was caught ages ago. Every time doctors asked if there was any family history—not knowing—I’d just say no). Then, when they did his head CT, they found some ischemic damage in the frontal lobe, about 1.5cm, though they couldn't pin down exactly when it happened. Whether it occurred during this recent hospital stay or much earlier is anyone's guess. Since the cardiac tests showed the heart issues are "old news" with several existing scars, it's entirely possible that brain damage happened way back. He's just not the type to talk about health stuff—he hates doctors and hospitals—so unfortunately, things had to get this complicated before we even realized how bad it was.
Since you all seem genuinely invested in this, I’d be more than happy to snap a photo of the discharge papers, but I don't want to overwhelm anyone with a wall of medical jargon... Long story short, he's home now and recovering, slowly but surely. 😉 I just wanted to check in and give you all an update—if you remember us—to let you know we got our happy ending. 🙂 Thank God, and thanks to the doctors and everyone else who helped make this happen! 🙂

Just wanted to say how glad I am for you all; that's fantastic news about your dad, and I hope he stays healthy moving forward. 😉

Wishing him the fastest recovery possible. 🙂

Scott Allen10 said:🤷....I mean, when you go to bed, you probably take out your contact lenses....when you go in for surgery, you strip off your clothes and shoes....you pull out your dentures....you wipe off the makeup, the nail polish.....

Generally speaking, stripping all that stuff off—including contacts, if we’re looking strictly at the medical side—falls under the category of precaution!....It basically means there shouldn't be any hurdles if things suddenly turn into a total mess in the OR.

Look, say you’re getting an epidural, and right after the catheter is inserted and the block starts, you suffer a cardiac arrest and they have to resuscitate you....it's chaos—push this, move that....do this quickly, grab that....check the pupil reactivity immediately......beeeeep-beeeeep....sorry, dear colleague, I can't see a thing because this girl has contacts in, and even if you'll forgive me, I can't exactly pop them out while they're performing CPR or whatever else is happening....

Bottom line: get everything off yourself and out of your way and don't overthink it.....there's definitely a reason for it....🙂

Scott Allen10, thanks for the answer...as far as that "don't overthink it" part goes, that's a little hard for me—I'm a naturally curious woman...😁

That was a really vivid description, especially the beeeeep-beeeeep part (now it's stuck in my head like something out of an episode of *House*)—I know it's a precaution, but I'm not exactly "planning" on having a cardiac arrest (God forbid)—black humor aside, I realize there's always a chance of complications...😢

And honestly, it's a bit embarrassing—I'll be stripped down to nothing, then "out of it" from the spinal, and on top of that, acting like a blind chicken....🙂 so I thought I'd at least maintain a shred of human dignity and actually see what they're doing to me... (though maybe it would be better if I couldn't hear or see anything at all)🤣

And besides, how could they not check pupil reactivity? Contacts are transparent and you can see the eyes and pupils perfectly fine... alright, okay, I won't make a big deal out of it anymore; I'll just see what the anesthesiologist says...

It's a good thing I don't have dentures and I don't wear much makeup or nail polish, otherwise I'd have to worry about all that too...😛

Thanks everyone for the answers 😉

Sarah Garcia84 said:You’re better off taking your contacts out—there’s always a risk of complications if you don't.

Thanks for the input, but I'm actually curious—what kind of complications are we talking about here?
I've been doing some digging online, and honestly, I'm coming up empty.

I also noticed that they recommend taking contacts out before an epidural, yet I know plenty of people who went through with an epidural while wearing them and nothing happened at all.🤷

Laura Kelly7 said:Does this apply to spinal anesthesia too? And what about someone who wears two-week contact lenses—the kind you actually sleep in?
Thanks in advance for the help 🙂

Seriously, does nobody here have an answer? 😢

urbanscout50 said:Don't wear contact lenses while you're under anesthesia!

Does this rule also apply to spinal anesthesia—and what about someone wearing two-week contacts, the kind you basically sleep in?
Thanks in advance for the help. 🙂