David's Posts

It's been a few weeks since my last post, OK seven weeks to be exact, so let's catch up. As you know I've been exercising a lot and today I went for a 30 minute walk/jog around my neighborhood accompanied by my daughter on her scooter. I spread ten minutes of jogging across the thirty minute route. It felt so good to get the blood pumping and to work up a sweat. I've also been back to work for a month now. I had no choice. One day, while I was at home relaxing on the couch, my wife came home from work and caught me watching ... wait for it ... True Hollywood Story about Charlie Sheen. She threw her hands up in exasperation and strongly suggested I go back to work. I also had client commitments, but needless to say, it felt good getting back to the job, dusting off the brain and being productive again. The only real issues I have been struggling with are sleeping and keeping my INR (blood thinning value) in therapeutic range. These issues are tied together. I was taking Ambien for several weeks to get to sleep since falling asleep on my back, propped up, was very difficult. But I didn't want to develop a psychological dependency on them so I asked my doctor for something else. They ended up prescribing a drug that interacted with Warfrin and brought my INR way down. I stopped taking the drug right away but we are still struggling to get my INR back into range. I am happy to report that I am falling asleep and staying asleep without the assistance of pharmaceuticals. I hope to see on Monday that my INR is back in range. Keep your fingers crossed. I've also been planning for a business trip to Europe coming up soon. I fully expect to be jogging in Paris, stopping for the occasional croissant or glass of wine, carefully avoiding anything with sprouts. (I also scoped out where I can get my INR checked if necessary.) I also have trips planned around the country later in September and to China in November. The good thing is Warfrin is globally available and INR stands for INTERNATIONAL normalized ratio. So I should be good. So, I can truly say life is grand. I feel better now than I did before the surgery. I have more energy and enthusiasm and a fresh outlook on life. And with exiting travel coming up I really feel I'm back in the game. Maybe they should make a True Hollywood Story on David Fanson. WINNING!

Yesterday I met with my surgeon and PA for the final time. I know will be handed over to my cardiologist for regular monitoring. The PA removed a bunch of restrictions from me except running around acting like a monkey. I am on a 20 pound weight limitation and still can't do strenuous work like grass cutting, fence mending, or window installation. But my rigorous training has helped me to feel much better and recover really quickly. The surgeon then showed my all the photos he took of the surgery. The before and after shots were amazing - worthy of The Doctors or even Rickie Lake make over show. Anyway, they show the level of calcification and the way the mechanical valve was installed. - Amazing! I also had my blood checked after a two week wait and my INR is still in the center of the target. My PCP and his staff figured out my warfarin dosage in a couple of weeks and locked it in. My next check will be in a month. My eating habits are healthy, but not extreme, so I am in good shape. A couple more weeks of exercise and mental stimulation (reading and writing) and I will be ready to go back to work. believe me, this recovery period has NOT been a vacation. I am just grateful to have had time to work through the ups and downs before being required to focus on something else. I will post again once I meet with my cardiologist for a follow up echo. Until then, be well. For anyone going through this that needs to talk it out, let me know and I will get my phone number to you. Talking to others who went before me was really helpful.

My recovery is going very well so far. I met with my exercise physiologist a couple of time to discuss my medication and how it impact exercise, and we also did some treadmill and stationary bike work. In the meantime, I have been going to the gym every morning for 30 minutes on the treadmill. When the weather is crappy, like it has been, I'll sit on my chair and complain. But, when it's nice out I will go for another 15 to 20 minutes. I try to through in some flights of stairs too, just to add to the therapy. Everyday is a bit like to other, so if you want to stop by and take me out for a walk, or at least listen to tick tick tick, that would be really nice.