Melissa's Journal

Well, I can\'t believe time has flown by so fast. Once I returned to work, full speed ahead. So, I thought I would share a little of how the last few months have been. I did return to work on April 12, 7 weeks post op. The hardest part back then was opening doors, I didn\'t have the strength back then. I was told that I would be 100% recovered by the 3 month mark, which was the end of May. And my girls held me to it. And I really was, climbing jungle gyms with my girls. When I first started walking again more, my legs couldn\'t keep up with my heart. It was a great feeling to know that I could wear out my legs before I was out of breath. The summer flew by fast, both girls birthdays and our anniversary. We had lots to celebrate. I started back working out at the gym again. Slowly using resistance machines and working up my cardio. I now can use an eliptical machine for 1/2 that I couldn\'t do before surgery. I used to get out of breath before I would even start to sweat. Now I can actually enjoy extercising. Although, I don\'t run, never liked that anyway. I do feel younger and full of energy. I am going back to my caridologist in LA this week. I was suppose to go in August and was rescheduled. I am looking forward to my first echo and will report back when I can. Since, I am doing so well, I thought I would \"give back\" to the community that has helped me so much. My husband and I and a few co-workers are walking in a 5k for the American Heart Association on Oct 2. I thought, what a great way to devote some time & money. If you like to donate in my name, please copy and paste the link below: http://sanluisobispoheartwalk.kintera.org/ Once again, thank you to my family, friends, Adam Pick and the people I have met through this journel. You guys have all made a difference in my recovery. If you would like to reach me, you can find me on Facebook. Melissa Boardman

My recovery is moving along smoothly, some days slower than I would like. I don\'t really see a change day by day but can look back a week and see huge improvements. Like other patients I get impatient and frustrated that I can\'t do what I normally do. Jason and I went back to LA on Thursday to see Dr. Burnstein. He was really excited about the surgery and how well I was doing. He stated that my surgeon, Dr. Yokoyama did what only 2 to 3 surgeons in all of LA could do. That explains why a lot of patients on this site have had to travel quite a bit to get their surgery. He said that my heart sounded great. He removed the remaining stitches from where my chest tubes were that didn\'t just fall off on their own. Just in the last couple days they are looking better and feeling better. The only medication I am taking is 1 baby aspirin a day and Ibruprofrin for the continued aching/chest discomfort. Also, I don\'t have to limit my liquid intake anymore. Yay! He wants me to walk more (of course) and not be afraid to push myself. No lifting weights or anything heavy for another 4 weeks. I will start driving soon and return to work on April 12. He set me up to get some lab work done to make sure my liver and kidneys are working properly. Dr. Burnstein wants to see me again in August with a new Echo to check out how well my heart is doing. My incision was covered with thick yellow glue that looked bad with dried blood in it. Yeah, I know you didn’t want to imagine that. I finally got all of it off last week and now I have a nice thin pink scar all over again. The new incision was right on top of the first scar I had from my first open heart surgery over 30 years ago. It’s thinner than the last one since the original scar grew as I grew. Now I’m putting vitamin E on it everyday. It looks good as Kayleigh wants to check it out almost daily. Sierra says her chest looks better than mine, no kidding. My pale skin is still showing bruising around the scar, and aching/pain is manageable. I still haven’t gotten used to being warm all the time. Before surgery I would go to the gym and workout, sweat a little and by the time I got to the car I would be completely cooled down, even cold again. Now I go for a walk and it talks quite awhile to cool down. Now, I’m the first one to turn the air conditioner on in the car. I’m sure there is more I want to tell you guys about, but my girls are driving me crazy. They are wound up ready to go on an Easter egg hunt. Hope you all have a happy Easter. Thanks for all the well wishes, prayers and FOOD (my co-workers are awesome, see you guys on the 12th). Lucky for me, my mom is still coming over each weekday to take the kids to school and keeps me company. Melissa

I feel very fortunate to say that my recovery has been uneventful and by the book. I am feeling better everyday and achieving small milestones that don\'t sound like much but are huge to me. It\'s been more than 3 weeks since I\'ve been shopping. So my mom and I headed to Kohl\'s yesterday and got the girls some Easter dresses and a few other things. I think we are ready for the Easter bunny too. I was pretty tired by the time we got home, but it felt good to shop. My pain has decreased quite a bit as I\'m only taking 1 prescription strength Ibuprofen every 6 hours or so. Good news from the lab, I didn\'t have an infection on my incision so I can stop taking the antibiotics. I\'m not taking naps during the day anymore. I have been out walking this week, each day a little more than the day before. The weather has been warm and beautiful so who couldn\'t resist walking near the beach? My arm that had the IV has finally healed and the bruising is gone. The brusing on my chest and neck continues to fade and my skin is peeling like crazy. My girls are doing well and understand that I still can\'t do much. In fact Kayleigh told me last week that I was like a platypus because I don\'t do anything. Leave it to a 6 year old to inspire me to get better quickly. Sierra likes to bring me her stuffed animals and blankets and is now used to sitting next to me instead of on me. I couldn\'t ask for a better support group. My parents have been great. My mom comes over every morning and gets the girls ready for school and then spends the day helping me. At times I get frustrated that I can\'t be the mom I want to be right now, but my husband goes above and beyond to take care of all of us. Once again, thank you to my family, friends, co-workers and the heart valve journal community for your support. You guys rock! Melissa

Jason and I went back to LA yesterday for my first post op appointment. My sternum and incision are healing normally. The doctor is happy with my progress. I did show him that I had some leaking fluid at the top and bottom of my incision last week. So he took a sample to send to the lab and put me on antibiotics to make sure it wasn\'t an infection. LA and back in 1 day was exhausting. Especially for jason who had to drive the whole time since I can\'t drive. My swelling has gone down quite a bit. The brusing is fading, but with my fair skin I\'m still a little yellow/green on my chest and neck. I\'m still limited to less than a litter of fluids a day as too much fluid can cause congestive heart failure. But, I still take a lot of medication so I\'m always thirsty. As for pain management I\'m down to taking 2 prescription strength Ibprofen every 6 hours. Stopped taking Vicoden last Sunday. I am going up and down the stairs at home with ease now. I still get out of breath, but I can go up more quickly and more often than last week. I need to get out and walk more, but it has been really cold and windy this week, so I haven\'t been out much. Thanks to all who have sent care packages, food & flowers. You guys are awesome! Melissa

I am happy to report that all is going well with my recovery. At times too well and then I\'m wiped out and sleeping again. My girls are getting used to being \"gentle\" with mom. Which didn\'t mean anything to Sierra when she pounced on my chest the first time she saw me. Luckily I had a pillow in position so she didn\'t hurt me. Just scared the crap out of me. My husband has been incredible. It has been great having him home with me this first week. He goes above and beyond to make sure I\'m OK and of course takes care of the girls. He heads back to work on Monday. We couldn\'t have gone through this ordeal without my parents. They took care of the girls (and spoiled them) for a week and now my mom is comming over in the morning to get the girls off too school. And helping out in the afternoon too. We had our first family meal Tuesday night after my first trip up the stairs. My dad made his best spagetti & meatballs. Brought my appetite back after having hospital food. I am truely touched by the love and support of family, friends, co-workers and heart valve journal community. Thank You everyone. My only complaint is trying to get all this sticky glue off my body. This stuff is really hard to get off. Melissa

It feels good to be home. Getting used to the different pain medication than I had in the hospital. I learn from other patients to set an alarm at night so I wouldn\'t wake up in a lot of pain. So thats what we did. Slept great, had forgotten how comfortable my bed is. My bedroom & bathroom are down stairs, living room with reclining couch is upstairs with kitchen. Challenge for today, get upstairs. Also, taking a real shower will be nice. Can\'t wait to see my girls too. And I need to get caught up on the other journals out there. I haven\'t read anything since before my surgery. Melissa

It is good to finally be home and listening to Melissa sleep soundly! We had a four hour drive back to Los Osos and Melissa was in good spirits (she had a lot of medication before we left). By the time we got home, she started to have pain so the first stop was the pharmacy. Then just by walking in the front door, we both relaxed and were eager to get back to our routine. The girls will be spending one more night at grandma and papa\'s house though in order for us to get situated. After dinner of non-hospital food and some Vicodin, she is sleeping soundly in a comfortable bed. I\'m sure she will be posting again soon during her recovery. -Jason

Wow, it haseen onee hell of a week. I want to thank everyone for their support and prayers. Jason has been by my side advocating for me when I\'m too sleepy to talk. My parents have kept my girls calm and informed throughout this process. Kayleigh lost another tooth the other day my mom went to great lengths to make sure the tooth fairy came to their house. I thoink I\'ll take you back this week to see things from my prespective. Tueady afternoon my parents came down with my girls. My sisters, Debby & Kathy and bro-in-law Jackie came over too. I went on the hunt for the best huge mexican meal as I knew I would\'nt have anything great. We went on a wild goose chase looking for El Torido and finally ended up in Beverly Hills. I was stuffed. Ended the meal with some chocolate dessert. In heaven. I\'ll see if Jason can post a couple pictures. Wednesday was surgery. I was surprising calm. Just ready. I had read enough about was to expect. I tried to prepare Jason for what I would look like afterward with all the Iv\'s and tubes. I remember waking up from surgery and Jason with a big smile rattling off all that is good and what Dr. Yokoyama was able to do. I gave him a thumbs up and my parents and sisters took turns comming in to see. All I kept thinking is it\'s over. Pain is manageable with drugs. The rest will take time. Day 2, Thursday was rough. I was moved out of the CCU and into a step down unit. Kayleigh came in to see me and brought me projects she had made. It was great to see her. Sierra is only 3 so we decided that it would be more difficult for her to see me all hooked up. My parents headed home on Thursday and have been spoiling the girls ever since. Tursday was the roughest day, felt like I had been hit by a truck. Each day since has been better. Especially, getting those tubes taken out of my chest. I felt like an alien. My challenges are coughing up the crap in my lungs. I have a nasel drip anyway so I do my best to sleep sitting up. The other thing is balancing the drugs. I try not to take the heavy drugs before meal time otherwise I just sit and stare at it and wont eat. There is talk of me going home on Monday. Part of me really wants to go home, the other part enjoys the security of nurses and doctors around. I have had enough of the beeping machachines and 4am x-rays. Thanks for thinking of me and my family. Melissa

Melissa is making progress slowly but it is forward progress. She walked with me around the 5th floor today and is spending more time sitting. It is exhausting for her right now because of all the medication, but she was still able to climb five stairs today. More more lung treatments and rehabilitation today. It is slow but forward progress and Melissa is determined. What more could we ask for? She was able to read everyone\'s comments last night but she is still a little to tired to blog right now. -Jason & Melissa

Well after siting in a chair and eating lunch, Melissa started the next step of her physical therapy, walking. She walked the entire 5th floor without feeling dizzy or light headed. After our walk, she was tired. Not because of the walk, but because of the medication she is on. Right now, she is in bead sleeping very soundly. She says she wants to write something tonight to everybody so stay tuned. -Jason & Melissa

Melissa\'s chest tubes are coming out today. She will also be up and walking after sitting. She is very happy that the tubes are going to be removed because that is the main source of her discomfort. She finally got some decent sleep last night in spite of chaotic hospital noise. Her breathing is getting deeper and she is able to cough more forcefully. She might even post a blog late today or tomorrow. We are hoping to leave the hospital and return home on 3/1, but we will see how everything is going by then. Love to you all, Melissa & Jason

Melissa has moved to a new room at 12:45 P.M. She has fewer tubes in her now. Kayleigh was able to visit but Sierra would be too much at this time. At about 2:00 P.M. Melissa was able to sit in a chair for over a half hour and move her legs. Her blood pressure reacted normally to a sitting position, so this is good. I am sitting right next to her and will be until she gets out. She wants to thank everyone for all the warm responses and is looking forward to personally blogging again. We will keep you guys posted! -Jason & Melissa P.S. At least we can see the Hollywood sign out of our room window (No smog today)

I saw Melissa this morning about 9:15. She is doing better and her voice is slowly coming back. Both Dr. Yokoyama and Dr. Burstein came in and checked her progress and said she was recovering normally. Melissa said they were moving her out of CCU around 12:00 P.M. The girls and I can\'t wait.

Just saw Melissa at 7:15 and her breathing tube is out! Her mouth is very dry and her voice is very low, but her sprites are up. She should be getting ice chips soon so that will help. I can\'t believe how warm her hands are because for so long, they were always so cold. She says she feels good so the recovery is going smooth. I\'ll write tomorrow. -Jason

I went to see Melissa and she is doing good. She is unable to talk because of the breathing tube, but she was able to give us the \"thumbs up\" on her condition. She still has to rest, so bringing in the girls might not be such a good idea :) I can tell she has a lot of things to say, but it will take some time. I\'ll report back when she has her breathing tube out.

Melissa is now currently in the CCU (Critical Care Unit) and we just talked with Dr. Yokoyama. He repaired her pulmonary valve and was able to clean out her narrowed artery. In his opinion, he says she would not have to surgery again, ever (we were expecting to have this done again in about 20 years). She had to have a couple of blood transfusions, but she is doing good. I\'ll post more when I see her. -Jason

Melissa is calm and in good spirits today. We were in the hospital at about 5:30 this morning for pre-op. After all the blood tests, Dr. Yokoyama and Dr. Burstein came in and gave us a consult. Everything looks good so far and Melissa will be in the O.R. for about 4-5 hours. She was wheeled in at 7:00 A.M. promptly. I will post with more news when it becomes available. Thank you everyone for all your support! -Jason

Hi all, Welcome to my journal. I thought this would be a central location for Jason to update everyone from surgery to recovery. Thanks to Adam Pick\'s book and all the patients & caregivers for sharing their stories. You have helped me understand what I will be going through next week. Check out \"My Story\". Melissa