It was a very nervous me who took the lift to the operation room. The operation took more than seven hours. By the time I reached the operation room, my unconscious husband was already wheeled outside the operation room. I managed to have a glance at him before the nurses pushed the bed on castors and all into the lift. He looked so pale and lifeless. I was told to wait for the call in the waiting room.

I met my husband’s two friends outside the waiting room. I told them what little I’d known. They didn’t stay long as it was pointless when my husband was in the intensive care unit.

When the call came, a voice told me to go to see the surgeon in his room. The surgeon was already in his room and told me to take a seat. He told me he did 6 bypass grafts instead of 3 as intended. He explained he did 3 more bypass grafts on the minor blockages he discovered that the angiogram had missed. He said he might as well fix them while he was at it. I’ll always be grateful to the meticulous surgeon.

I also paid the dietitian a visit who advised me on nutrition therapy. I was told to prepare low-fat, high-fiber meals for my husband. In the past I couldn’t even get my husband to cut down on his high-fat food. She gave me guidelines on what to eat and what not to eat.

Before I left the hospital, I went to see my husband in the intensive care unit. The seriousness of the unit was obvious when I had to remove my footwear and put on the ones provided by the hospital. I also had to wear a hospital gown over my outfit.

The surgeon was with him. He was looking at the monitors. I could see a few tubes that were attached to both sides of his body. I can remember clearly there was a bag to collect blood and a drip-feed above his head. My husband was barely breathing, he was so still, didn’t move or stir.

My husband was in the intensive care unit for 2 days. He spent 5 days in the hospital room before he was discharged. The first day he was out of the intensive care unit, he was asked to walk. My husband knew what was good for him and faithfully did what he was asked to do, even though he had to walk together with his drip-feed.

Both my husband and I slept fitfully during our stay in the hospital. Nurses came to take blood pressure and give out medication; surgeon came to check on him. It seemed to be a round-the-clock service.

One time while my husband was out walking in the ward, I took over the bed and covered myself with the blanket. I was awoken by the nurse who wanted to take my blood pressure. I told her I wasn’t the patient but the patient’s wife.