Jan's Heart Valve Journal

it's been a long time since I last wrote in my Journal and a lot has happened since then. My surgery to replace the aortic valve and for a right coronary artery bypass was January 4, 2010. I came home 5 days later. I was back in my office, working, by February 1st. I started Cardiac Rehab, phase II, and have finished that already! Now I have signed up for Phase III, which I will do at our city's recreational complex. they have a complete Cardio Room and also a strength training room. My husband is working out with me and we have a personal trainer for the first month to get us started.

We have also joined the local chapter of Mended Hearts and just this morning we took the accreditation class to become Visitors in the hospital where I had my surgery. Next we will shadow a fully accredited Visitor for a few visits, until we are comfortable with the format. Mended hearts visits with patients and their families, in the hospital, either before their surgeries or after. Visitors are available to offer support and answer questions (not medical questions, of course). Mended Hearts volunteers also visit with families of patients undergoing cardiac cath procedures.

I have also joined WomenHeart, an organization that provides education and support to women with heart disease. I've met so many nice people - both patients and professionals! If you haven't visited any of these organizations, you should!

Just a bit about the last months: with the help of family and friends, we made it through pretty easily. What a blessing it is to have such support. the fabulous food didn't hurt, either! And, the flowers: I could almost have opened a flower shop!

It was hard giving up my pain pills but the time came when I decided I just didn't need them any more. Each day I am stronger and can do more. I feel great and am already doing things I had stopped doing before the surgery.

To each of you who are facing open heart surgery for the first time, you will be in my prayers even though I don't know you. Let your family and friends be your support. They will help you in so many ways. Most of all, listen to your health professionals and do what they tell you. You'll be a new person when this is all over with. God bless!

Cabin fever prevailed and I got out of the house today! It felt wonderful! Ed took me to the office first where we visited with co-workers for a while and I actually did a bit of business while I was there. Then we went to the Olive Garden for lunch. That was really nice! After lunch we came home again and I was ready for a nap. I'm still sitting in the back seat and that feels strange but I'll do whatever it takes to get out. Why am I sitting in the back seat? Because my surgeon said I should. Seems the air bags could cause serious damage if they inflated - imagine the pressure on my poor split breast bone. Anyway, the back seat is ok with me for a while yet.

Sheryl, you are anxiously waiting for your dad's surgery tomorrow. I know none of you will get much sleep tonight and nothing I say will make it better but from the great vantage point of already having been through it, I found myself very calm the day before my surgery. I had faced all the possibilities, I knew God was beside me and with me throughout the surgery and I had complete faith in my surgeon, Dr.Knight, and his team. My family was with me and that helped tremendously. Finally, I knew that family and friends were all praying for me and I felt their prayers. Please don't be afraid. Your Dad will be just fine, in fact he will be better than he has been in a long time! Please write to me after the surgery and let me know that he is doing well. You will all be in my prayers.

susan Murphy of Overland Park, KS. Thanks for your words about those ocular migraines! I've had ocular migraines for years and they sound just like yours with the zig zag lines. I don't get the headache pain either. However, these after surgery were completely new to me and really scared me! thanks for sharing your experience with me. Makes me feel a little less weird to know that others have experienced the same thing I am going through.

Aren't these journals wonderful? It's so good to be able to share our experiences!

Jan

I haven't been very faithful about keeping this journal but I think that's just a sign of progress. I am walking up and down the stairs several times a day now and walking out to the mailbox. I even made lunch today! I have also started walking on the treadmill every morning and it feels really good!

Yes, there are still setbacks - little ones. I get tired so fast. And, I still can't do many of the things I want to do. I still have trouble bending over to pick up something and wanting to lift something that weighs more than 5 lbs. My purse weighs more than that! But, I look at all this as just bumps in the road to recovery. To those of you waiting for your surgery date, get your support group around you and let them help you. All of the wonderful friends, family, co-workers who have shown their support have helped me more than I can ever tell them. The flowers are beautiful and day-brightening; the food has been fabulous! Ed and I haven't eaten so well in months. Sue brought me some great books to read and Fred brought over tapes of old tv shows that are a hoot to watch! People are so thoughtful! I hope to start cardiac rehab soon and will let you know how that goes. To those of you awaiting surgery, get over your fear: you WILL do fabulously well and be better than you have been in a long time. To all my "village" who have been so loyal and helpful, I can never express my thanks and gratitude enough: you guys are the best of the best!
Jan

Each day brings something new and each day I feel a little better. I had a bit of a scare last week when I woke up and couldn't see! After consulting my surgeon and getting to see an opthomologist, it turns out that I had something in the migraine family. Seems it might have been triggered by the anesthesia from the surgery or by some of the drugs I now take. If this happens to you, don't panic! When you first wake up in the morning, you will find it very hard to focus and it is like looking through a strobe light, or like your tv is trying to acquire a satelite image and not all the pixels are lining up right. The doctor said it can be accompanied by a really bad headache (migraine type) but I didn't have that. He said it could go away quickly or it could liinger for months.

Also, now that a lot of the drugs I was on are about gone, I hurt more than I did right after the surgery. Several medical personnel have told me that the anesthesia used during the surgery can remain in your system for a very long time! Something like 2-4 weeks for each hour you are in surgery. Don't know if that is accurate but it might explain some of why I seem to tire so quickly.

Merm - thanks for reminding me of all those wonderful chefs, in the freezer, in a box, in a can! I think we will be exploring more and more of them. This morning I woke up with a craving for jello! I also have cravings for salt now that I must limit my intake of salt. Boy, would a potato chip taste good right now!

Finally, I must comment on daytime tv. With Conan O'Brien being booted off the prime time or late night spot, or whatever that is all about, why don't they put him on daytime tv? He'd certainly be lots better than those soaps and could gather a very loyal following! I have been reduced to watching Oprah! Never knew there was so little of value on tv, even with all the channels we have. Thanks to loyal friends who have supplied me with movies and old tv shows. Wonder if I could become a tv addict?

Speaking of addict, I am officially off all pain pills. It's a wonderful thing to be able to muffle your pain in the warm, peaceful atmosphere of a pain pill, but scarey when you start to rely on that pill. So, I have decided to only use pain meds if I have a really bad night, which hasn't happened yet. Daytimes I just tough it out. As the numbness wears off in the area of the "zipper" I become more and more aware of the pain, and the itching as the incision heals. But this is a good thing, too, because I know I AM healing.

One last comment for now: I am suffering bouts of "after surgery" blues. I can be fine one minute and bawling the next. Anything and nothing sets it off. My husband is a saint! He seems to manage my moods so cheerfully. Don't know what I would have done without him through all this. What did the rest of you do when those blues hit? Or did you suffer from them at all? Sometimes I wish I was a drinking person!
Jan