James's Journal

Sorry I have not posted anything but have not felt like reading, writing , or doing much of anything. Pain management had a he** of a time getting me comfortable after I woke up from surgery. I was receiving IV drugs frequently in varying doses and combinations but the more the docs tried the more miserable I was. Sometime on Wednesday morning one of the nurses took the time to work with me and helped me work on my breathing and rubbed my arm until I finaly fell asleep.Thank Goodness. Then I was not transferred to the step down unit until several hours after they wanted me there because when I finaly fell asleep with all of the narcs in me I did not want to wake up.Once in the step down unit things went pretty well. I was able to give up the pain meds they were giving me and go back on the ones I had been taking for my back which were able to adequately control the pain. I do feel pretty good but a walk across the room pretty much plays me out. I had to go get blood work today and that wiped me out.Tomorrow I have to go back to Cleveland for some routine follow up tests and we are still working on getting the coumadin to a therapeutic leviel. I am also injecting myself twwice a day with heprin.Hopefully each day will get better and I will build up more stamina. Thanks to all of those that have said prayers or just remembered me over the past few days.

Jim was moved out of the ICU to a step-down room around 5:00 on Wednesday night. Most of the tubes have been removed. When I arrived today, his nursing staff had him out of bed sitting in a chair, and taking short walks. He has spent a good portion of the past two days sleeping. He is still in a fair amount of pain, but it appears that the pain management team is beginning to get things regulated a bit. Jim doesn’t have much of an appetite yet, but is attempting to eat. I will post contact information when he is a little more coherent.

Greetings to all from Cleveland! I was hoping to post an update for Jim last night, but exhaustion set in as it was a very long day. We arrived at the hospital parking garage yesterday morning at 5:00 for a 5:15 arrival. Jim was taken back for preparations at 5:20. I had the opportunity to see him for a few minutes an hour later. He was calm, cool, and collected --- doing much better than my state of mind at the time. HIs first incision occurred at 8:56 a.m. and at 10:43 I was notified that the surgeon was working on his heart. An hour and 15 minutes later I was talking to the surgeon who said that everything went smoothly. Two hours later I was able to see Jim in the ICU. He was sleeping peacefully and appeared to be fairly comfortable. I visited off and on throughout the afternoon as he slept. The breathing tube came out around 8:30 p.m. This morning I learned that he had a rough night, but he is expected to leave the ICU this afternoon. The staff is trying to get his pain medication regulated. I am so appreciative of the kind words and prayers that have been expressed in Jim\'s guestbook and for those of you who kept in touch with me yesterday. Your support has been extremely helpful and meaningful. I will update Jim\'s status again as things progress. Best regards, Kristin

Here it is the night before surgery. The tooth saga finally ended on Tuesday morning after being numbed two different times and my regular dentist started to pull it he decided that I needed to see an oral surgeon. That was on the 2nd July and my doc managed to get me an appointment for the morning of the 5th. The tooth is now history and I am in Cleveland waiting for 5:15 AM. That is when they told me I had to be at the hospital. By this time tomorrow night it will be all over. Today they kept me at the hospital from 9 until after 4 today, what a long, boring day. At least tomorrow I ill be the one sleeping. After all of the waiting it seems kind of anti climatic tonight. Maybe tomorrow that will change. I will take a break from posting for a couple of days and my wife will be updating.

I\'m now down to 19 days before surgery and went to the dentist to get my dental clearance and found out that I have a molar that either needs to be extracted or see an endodontist. To make matters worse my insurance renews July 1 and the only appointment I can get with the local endodontist is June 30 which leaves me paying the entire amount for the root canal in order to get clearance. I think I will probably just have the darn thing yanked. The other problem I have is arranging child care, what a nightmare! Everyone in my family is lining up offering to help, NOT! I don\'t know if I am going to last another 19 days, I think the stress is building to a point that I may just blow a gasket before I ever make it to Cleveland. The good thing about all of this is the surgery has been the last thing on my mind. I have not had time to think about it. Well I believe I have blown off enough steam for one journal entry. I will post the outcomes when I know for sure what they are.

Here it is June 16th and I realize that I have a mere 25 days to go until surgery. The big problem for me is I have a pretty good idea of what to expect since this is my second surgery. Twelve and a half years ago when I had the valve repair I thought 10 years was a lifetime away when the surgeon told me the valve could last that long. It was gone in the blink of an eye and hear I am awaiting a second surgery. Hopefully I will not have to endure a third since I chose the ON-X valve. For the next 25 days I will be on pins and needles. Think calming thoughts for me, maybe I should take up yoga.