Life not easy after heart surgery<\/p>\n
By Tri Hafiningsih<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Six-year-old Aji Bangun seems no more physically
\ndifferent from any other boy his age. He is just as active as
\nmost of his friends.<\/p>\n
But a closer look shows a boy who is actually too small for
\nhis age. Weighing a mere 16 kg, Aji's tiny frame is able to
\nsqueeze under a low table or hide under a chair. His mother,
\nRumsinah, and father, Agus, can carry him around with ease.<\/p>\n
Aji had heart surgery three years ago. Doctors \"sealed\" a hole
\nin his heart so that he could survive to live a relatively normal
\nlife.<\/p>\n
Aji, four-year-old Lusi, nine-year-old Martha and six-year-old
\nNurul were among the children and adults attending a meeting for
\npost-surgery coronary heart disease (CHD) patients in Jakarta
\nlast week.<\/p>\n
The meeting, sponsored by Mitra Keluarga Hospital in East
\nJakarta and Health Care of Australia Group, a foundation managing
\nall Mitra hospitals, was the third of its kind for patients who
\nhad heart surgery between 1992 and 1998. The gathering reunited
\nthe patients and their relatives with the hospital's
\nadministrative staff, doctors and paramedics.<\/p>\n
Life was not easy for Aji's parents when they found out that
\nthe younger of their two children had a coronary heart ailment
\nthree years ago.<\/p>\n
\"That explained why he got tired easily and turned blue after
\njust a few jumps or running around the house,\" Rumsinah recalled,
\nadding that the doctors' diagnosis also explained why Aji had
\nnever put on weight. He weighed only nine kilograms from when he
\nwas 10 months old until his third birthday.<\/p>\n
Rumsinah and Agus said they did not know exactly what happened
\nto Aji. \"All I knew is that something was wrong with his heart,
\nand that it would cost him his life if he did not have it
\noperated on,\" Rumsinah said.<\/p>\n
Surgeon Triatmo Budiyuwono told the meeting that in most
\ncases, children's heart problems cleared up once they passed the
\ncritical post-operation stage. All heart surgery patients,
\nhowever, bear a common badge: a surgical scar across the chest.<\/p>\n
He said parents should not be concerned about whether their
\nchildren could handle strenuous physical activity.<\/p>\n
\"They are not sick anymore. They deserve to grow up normally
\nand can be very healthy and strong,\" he said.<\/p>\n
But another doctor, Anna Ulfah Rahayoe, who treated most of
\nthe hospital's children patients said that children born with
\nheart ailments should be treated as early as possible to
\ncompensate for the impediment of their physical and mental growth
\ndevelopment while sick.<\/p>\n
Anna reminded parents that their children should continue to
\nundergo regular medical checkups to make sure that they are
\nliving a normal life.<\/p>\n
The meeting's organizers, who plan to hold similar gatherings
\nin the future, included a discussion to help the participants
\nunderstand how to lead a healthy and normal life after heart
\nsurgery. Other problems related to health care of children with a
\nhistory of CHD were also touched upon.<\/p>\n
Triatmo said that children were able to forget the fact that
\ndoctors had cut into their chest to fix their heart but that
\nadults usually could not. Either way, former patients should
\nchange their habits after surgery.<\/p>\n
\"You may have to kick all the bad habits that brought you to
\nthe operating room.\" He said that leading a healthy life was a
\nlifetime commitment: \"That is, if you don't want to go back to
\nthe operating room for another 'fix up'.\"<\/p>\n
He warned that repeated operations may yield undesirable
\nresults.<\/p>\n
Triatmo said post-surgery CHD patients and people with no
\nhistory of heart problems should both pay attention to a number
\nof risk factors.<\/p>\n
\"If you are a male over 45, a female over 55, have gone
\nthrough menopause, are a current smoker, have ancestors with a
\nhistory of heart problems, have a high level of blood
\ncholesterol, a diabetic, suffer from hypertension or on anti-
\nhypertension therapy, then you are at high risk of getting a
\nheart attack in the near future.\"<\/p>\n
Doctor Suharyuni, in charge of the hospital's cardiac
\nrehabilitation program, said his staff had developed an
\nintegrated recovery program for post-surgery CHD patients, which
\nusually took at least six months to complete.<\/p>\n
\"The three-phased program is developed to ensure a thorough
\nrecovery for patients, so they can lead a normal life after such
\ntrauma,\" she said.<\/p>\n
The first is a recovery phase which takes one to two weeks,
\nstarting the moment a patient is moved from the intensive care
\nunit.<\/p>\n
The next phase is a treatment period for at least one month.
\nDuring this phase, a patient undergoes an individual physio-
\ntherapy program.<\/p>\n
\"A patient starts with 'passive' movements, exercised on his
\nhospital bed. When the program is completed, the patient should
\nbe able to walk at least 1.5 kilometers with ease,\" Suharyuni
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The last phase is a post-treatment period, in which a patient
\nand his family must regularly visit the hospital for \"active\"
\nexercise programs and consultations with doctors.<\/p>\n
For Eri Sumardi, 50, life had just \"begun\" two years ago after
\nhe had coronary by-pass surgery. \"I watch my diet, exercise
\nregularly and avoid stress,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Eri has shunned junk food and meat. For exercise, he strolls
\naround the neighborhood every morning. He fasts every two days
\nfor his stress management.<\/p>\n
\"I lost eight kilograms through regular fasting, and more
\nimportantly, I always feel cool,\" he said, adding that he was
\nglad to be a \"new\" person -- much healthier than he was before
\nhis heart attack.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/life-not-easy-after-heart-surgery-1447893297",
"image": ""
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