Ed's Posts

I have been feeling realy good hardly any pain. I am off of pain meds 2days ago. Started rehab to day was fun. I go for walks every day also. I go see my surgion tuesday of next week. Will remove my stich were my drain tube was. And check me over. Talk to you later. ED

First of all, I want to thank my wife, two daugthers and parents for writing on my blog. I was very surprised and emotional when I finally went into my blog and read their entrys. The day of surgery I was excited and just wanted this thing done! I said my "see you laters" around 5 am. At 6:30 they preped me for surgery....my last thought before going under was, "geeze, I can't beleive how young these nurses look"...that was the last thought I remember. I woke up around 2 pm after surgery. The nurses told everyone I would not remember much that day, but I did remember just about everything; I remember the breathing tube and the nurses taking it out. It wasn't that bad. After waking, I said hi to my mom & dad and asked where my wife was. She was with my daughters at lunch. They were very suprised when they returned to see I was already awake. Not much sleep the first night; every hour they pricked me for an insulin test. So I asked if I could sit in my chair for the first time (2 am). They helped me up, it hurt, but it also felt good to stand. I sat in the chair and was very hungry and thirsty and ate jello and drank water. I stayed in ICU for about 24 hours, then went to a private room. I thought my new room was nice and large with plenty of seating for guests. I walked that day and had a good appetite for supper and finally got more sleep that second night. Friday, I woke up feeling nauseated, which they gave me medicine for. Other than that one morning, I have had a good appetite and went on 3 short walks that day. That same day my heart drain tube was removed. It felt like it was burning when the doc pulled it out; they also removed my catheter. Saturday, the doc pulled the monitoring wire out of my heart, which felt really weird. They then removed the remainder of the IVs. I spoke to the surgeon who said I could go home today or tomorrow - I wanted today. He said my aeortic valve was so calcified that it was growing into my heart; high time it was removed. I took my second shower, which felt good and left for home Sat (Aug 20). The Sanford doctors and nurses were excellent and I can't say enough good things about them. The weather in SW MN has been very nice; If you have a choice, I would recommend doing this surgery during the time of year you can get outside in the fresh air for doing your walks; it really helps with the recovery. I only take one pain pill at night to help me sleep. The incision is a little stiff and hurts when I cough. I haven't sneezed yet, but have a home remedy for not sneezing; I hold both nostrils closed and it keeps me from sneezing. The worst part of this entire ordeal was just thinking about it beforehand. Keep the Lord in your heart, and keep on tickin'.....Ed.

Hy every one. I have not written in a while. I had my cardiac catheterization done the arteries are all open. So having the aortic heart valve surgery done on august 17! So a littel nervos but i have a great surgion. I have decided on the ON-X mecanical valve. So i will be writting to you after the surgery. Keep God in your hearts. Keep One Ticking!