Jim's Posts

Tuesday 11pm..2 weeks after surgery and Jim is doing very well. Doesn't tire quite so easily now and is getting by with only 1 or 2 naps during the day. Still has stiffness and muscle cramping in his shoulder blades which is the worse pain that he has. Fortunately his incisions don't really bother him too much. Yesterday one of his chest tube incisions (which are about 3/4" long) opened when he took a shower. Cleaning and peroxide was all that was needed and it has healed back over today. I'm sure it will gradually close and be fully healed in another week. Have had a couple of visitors this last week which Jim really enjoyed. At least he has no problem staying awake now! Still monitoring his blood thinner, so far so good. Is slowly getting more appetite back but not fully yet. This afternoon he came out dressed in his work shirt and shorts. Was going for a ride with the boys to look at a pond site. I told him it was alright to play like he was working for a couple hours but not to get any ideas going! He knows he is not ready for that yet. In time.

Had protime lab this am (checks the level of his blood thinner). All is good. Had to sit on a bench for about 20 minutes afterwards waiting for me while I ran an errand. Too much...had quite a bit of back pain on the way home. He can't seem to tolerate sitting in any position unless he has a comfortable backrest as it aggravates his back pain. For people that are more muscular, back pain is a very common problem. When you have open heart surgery they use instruments to "spread" your ribs during surgery causing alot of strain to the muscles. This seems to bother him more than the 3 large incisions he has in his inner thigh area from the surgeon harvesting veins for his 2 bypass's and also more painful than the incisions made under his sternum where his chest tubes were inserted. Hard to believe they are not more painful. He did go without his pain meds last night, only using Tylenol. That's a good thing. Everything else the same, appetite etc.

10:30pm...We arrived home mid afternoon Monday. Slept the first night in bed, that didn't work. He was very uncomfortable the next day so last night he slept in his recliner...had a better nights sleep. In the past 2 days Jim has been learning his limitations. We have been briefly out and about (Dr's appt, bloodwork even a short run to Hy-Vee to stock up on grapes which is one of Jim's favorite foods and about his only craving since his surgery.) Today we actually went to the office so I could do payroll but ended up being there about an hour and a half. We then ran into Menards to pick up a couple things. Jim had to go sit out in the truck as it was a bit too much. Even though he is not doing anything strenuous it is way too early to tolerate much activity. He has been having the most pain in his back and between his shoulder blades which is pretty common for his type of surgery. He toughs it out during the day managing it with Tylenol but does opt for a stronger pain med at bedtime. We take each day at a time which includes finding the right balance of activity and rest to keep him healthy. His appetite is steadily improving although far from 100% yet. I gave him his phone yesterday which he swore would have gone into hibernation from not being used for a week, already had phone calls. I might have to take it back. He is staying awake much more now so I expect by next week he will be fighting boredom. I have stashed away several "Our Iowa" magazines over the past few months to save for those boring days. Also have Netflix so he can take in a movie now and then but I expect movies will take a back seat to ESPN, oh joy. Good thing I have a long to-do list for myself that I planned to work on while I have to be home:) To wrap up for tonight, Jim is doing well, moving around a little easier each day and is pretty mindful of his limitations. Good Night! Lori