Hal's Posts

This will be my last update to the blog. My recovery from surgery has been excellent. I have had no setbacks. I have had no chest pain! I am sleeping on my sides and I feel I can sleep on my stomach. I have had no fever. Nothing over 99.1. I am walking three time a day for twenty minutes without any problems. I use the incentive spirometer daily and have reached 3400 ml. I have had a few minor recovery issues that are all resolving. The worst of the issues centers around the 15 pounds I gained in the hospital and the subsequent 22 pound weight loss I experience the past two weeks at home. Nothing in Adam Pick's book prepared me for this. Needless to say 20-30 trips to the bathroom per day was all the exercise I needed. I developed a minor gout problem in my right foot but this is just about cleared up. I spite of all this my appitite the entire time has been excellent. The breathing tube from my surgery must have irritated my vocal cords and I have been markedly horse. This freaked out the MDs in my family, but this too has cleared up. Lastly, I have some 1-2 minute episodes of double vision that are easily dealt with. So that is about it. Good luck to all of you who are about to undergo surgery!

It is sunday nite. The weekend went very well. Started my meds and walking program. I'm taking one nap a day for two hours. Sleeping at nite is interrupted frequently by trips to bathroom which is my most annoying problem. Pain is not an issue. Lindsey, MIke and Jeff were here for the weekend and we had ten for lunch this afternoon. I have been eating well. Somehow I gained a lot of weight in the hospital which is normal and I'm hoping to lose it all gradually.

Got out of the hospital and home without any glitches or issues. Moments before discharge Dr Stewart came to visit. The perfect end to very smooth surgery. The NY Presbyterian experience was excellent and the cardiac care team was extremely effective. As for pain meds I only took two Percocet on Tuesday and then switched to regular strength Tylenol on Wednesday. I am gradually getting of those.