My 82 year old Mother

My Mom just had this surgery, a pacemaker put in. She is in so much pain in her left shoulder, all the way down to her hand. There is certain spot on the top of her shoulder that hurts the most. Because of her age, my fear is she is not going to recover from this, or not be able to stay in assisted livng home. She just moved in there in August,2013 and loves it. If she ends up in a nursing home, I think that will kill her. They also accidently puctured her lung and she has a tube in her side to help with air that is not in her lungs, but floating around? Not sure what the Dr. means by that. Can anyone comment, any information would be helpful. The x-rays they haven taken show no improvement in her lung. She doesnt even look like the same person, like she aged so much and cant stand by herself or anything, this is such a horrible experience for her.

6 Comments

I am so sorry that this happened

by janetinak - 2013-11-09 04:11:26

to your Mom. When air gets in the area around the lungs
( in the sac that lungs are in) it causes the lungs to deflate & it takes awhile to re-inflate the lungs . Hopefully that will happen soon for your Mom. I am sure that @ her age this has been very rough on your Mom. Try to support her the best you can ( sure you will) & hopefully she can get back to her preferred living situation.

let us know how it goes,

Janet

Ditto above to staying positive

by PAMMY - 2013-11-09 04:11:47

I was told just before my implant op 3 weeks ago that there was a 0.5% chance of the cardiologist puncturing one of my lungs during the procedure. When I asked how dangerous this was I was told it wasn't life threatening or serious and wouldn't give any long lasting problems but that a drain would have to be put into my back and would be uncomfortable (this I took to mean painful!) and it would entail a slightly longer stay in hospital. As your mum is older it undoubtedly will take her longer to recover from this. As regard to pain in her shoulder, if you read one of my previous postings (is this normal?) you will see that i was worried about pain in my neck and shoulder but from the comments I received back it was normal. I am now pain free so hopefully your mom will recover but will probably take her a little longer. Let us know how she gets on - I am sure everyone on this site will be routing for her.
Pam

I had a lung problem too

by BillMFl - 2013-11-09 08:11:28

They didn't know it until I got back to my room and had chest pain and trouble breathing. The doc walked into my room, rolled me onto my side, and without giving me any pain killer, stuck a sharp instrument between my ribs and then inserted a tube. I wanted sooo badly to give him the same experience! People your mom's age often recover very slowly. The anethesia alone can be very rough on the elderly. Hopefully she will bounce back in a couple days.

Stay positive

by Elleninminn - 2013-11-09 09:11:14

Don't give up on your mom. Her recovery may take a bit longer than if she were younger, but her body will heal, and likely the pacemaker will make her feel better as time goes on. My mother had serious health issues when she was 80, and I worried she would have to go to a nursing home. Luckily, we found a retired nurse to care for her during the day for a few months, and that nurse encouraged her to walk, climb stairs and be active. My mom was able then to live alone in her own home until her death at 93.

Thank you all for your comments

by ForMom2013 - 2013-11-12 01:11:25

Nothing much has changed. She was suppose to go to physical rehab center in her town, but complications have kept her in the hospital still. I will update as things change, thank you again. Jan

Mom is great!!

by ForMom2013 - 2013-12-04 05:12:06

As of today Dec.4th, 2013 My Mother is doing super good. She is back in her home at assisted living. Her strength is better then before she had the pace maker put in. He punctured lung healed really fast. Before, she could'nt lift much at all. Yesterday she picked up a couple picture albums that were on lower shelf like it was nothing. I don't think she realized that she had done that and how far she has come. I'm so relieved! Tomorrow I take her in for her 2nd appt. for her pace maker. Today was the first day she put the monitor up to her pacemaker through the phone line and sent it in. So, I think tomorrow will be just to let her know how they believe things are going. Thank you everyone for you concerns and comments! I will post anything new that may pop up. Until then, good luck to everyone for yourselves and loved ones!

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I am just thankful that I am alive and that even though I have this pacemaker it is not the end of the world.