Pat's Guestbook

Greetings Fran & All from Boise EYE-DEE-HO!! Thans for thinking of me, Fran. My surgery went great. Worked on my own head a lot prior to 4/12, my new birthday! Doc told me I could drive after 2 weeks and by the time a month had passed, I was 'back in the saddle' doing my own grocery shopping, cooking, etc. My mitral valve was in bad shape and couldn't be repaired so I have a brand new bovine one and hospital even gave me the package it came in! Believe it or not, I'm now carrying a card that even has the model and serial number on it! Entered hospital on Monday a.m. in wheelchair and walked out Saturday afternoon under my own power!!! No breathing problems any more and I can walk a half a mile. Think that's not too bad for a 73 year old lady! Now that summer's here, I've been doing some canning. Jams and relishes so far. I feel great! I encourage EVERYONE to get Peggy Huddleston's book and CD. Both are exceedingly helpful in preparing for surgery. I bought 4 extra copies and gave them to my doctor and the anesthesiology group. If you live anywhere near Boise ID, I'd highly recommend Dr. S. Scott Huerd. Not only is he a fabulous doc but also has the world's greatest bedside manner. He is altogther a SUPERB HUMAN BEING!!! Soreness is all pretty well gone, had some therapy and exercise beginning 6 wks after. Had the huge chest bump (seems like women get it more often than men). Massage has helped make mine much smaller. Not gone but not nearly so noticeable. My family doc said "just tell everyone you're growing a new boob"!! A real comedian! I am still on Coumadin and lots of other meds. I take more drugs than half the junkies in town, I'm convinced. One on-going problem is that I'm one of those people who has permanent atrial fibrillation and not much can be done about that. Doc says MAZE only works rarely, so I still have the AFib and meds to help control it. AGAIN, THANKS FRAN AND EVERYONE FOR ALL THE GOOD WISHES. I SURE WANT ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO HAVE A POSITIVE ATTITUDE, TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS (AS PEGGY HUDDLESTON SUGGESTS) TO THINK OF YOU AS WRAPPED IN A CUDDLY WARM BLANKET AT THE TIME YOU GO IN FOR SURGERY. MY BEST WISHES AND PRAYERS FOR ALL WHO ARE FACING SURGERY .. IT'S WORTH IT AND AREN'T WE LUCKY THAT TECHNOLOGY HAS COME SO FAR THAT WE CAN BE "REPAIRED" UNLIKE SO MANY OF OUR ANCESTORS!!! PAT HARRIS BOISE ID My surgery was postponed from 4/1 to 4/12 because I tested positive for MRSA so had to take antibiotics and shower with Hibiclens daily plus use a nasal salve for that period. Had never even heard of it but its a resistant type of strep, so everybody should be tested for it since it's dangerous if you have surgery before they can get rid of it. Dr. says a large percentage of the population has it and doesn't know it.