Shirley's Journal

Shirley Turner  My hubby also has medium short term memory loss which was diagnosed this march. He also had a slight stroke last November I am struggling to keep it altogether and have had a relapse with my depression it is all overwhelming at times.

Corey Sines  He might be a good candidate for TAVR procedures (Aortic Valve by Catheter). Make sure to talk to surgeons about this option.

Alma Mater  I am so glad that went well. I did more than I should have after the angio, and I know my husband was annoyed with me. Now I kind of feel I should apologize to him! 😃

Get some rest, Shirley. Take care of yourself, too.
Now I'm going to go thank my wonderful husband for what he puts up with!

Jean Raber  Yup, being short-tempered is part of the scene for some of us. You must be a very patient and caring person, Shirley.

Tammy Pilcher  I'm so glad there are no blockages. One step closer to getting his heart fixed! Yay! :-) God bless!

Shirley Turner  I know he does not mean it and I realized he was just letting off some steam. Yesterday I caught him out. I was trying to get his attention the way I do this is I ring a cowbell for meal times and coffee time. But yesterday it was really gusty and I thought that he might not hear it. So I approached the orchard and there he was raking the leaves one word came to mind BUSTED !!!! We had a good laugh about it. He is soooo stubborn. I jokingly said You are going to be such a pain after your surgery you can go and live with your daughter for 3 months we laughed and laughed. What more can I say. It's a good job I love him so much. Thank goodness I was able to go on a long bike ride today I feel great. I am making sure my needs are met and that's with doing things I Iove. Thank you for your comments everyone. I sure do appreciate each and everyone of you. Hugs Shirley

Shirley Turner  I have been thinking a lot about you today Alma and I read some of your blogs. Gee you sure are a superwoman !!! Love your organizational skills in the kitchen. Hugs Shirley

Tammy Pilcher  Awww Shirley, thank you for your sweet post! You should always feel validated. You and all of our other precious caregivers are such blessings. I think there will be a special place in heaven for the caregivers. God bless you!

Alma Mater  Yes, I agree with you, Tammy. I think this can be harder on my husband than it is on me.

Shirley, I'm glad you ended up having a good day and getting to Zumba. You are such a positive person, and your husband is very blessed! Hope the demo goes well today!

Alma Mater  So glad to hear you are able to put your worries aside and keep going with your normal activities. I am praying that the Lord lifts your tension headache, and that Lou's angiogram goes quickly and uneventfully next week!

Jean Raber  Exercise really does help you keep yourself in a good frame of mind. But I really have to work at following my own advice. The weather has been so heartbreakingly beautiful the past week, that I've been happy to sit in the lounge chair for hours reading the Forsyte novels and watching the birds through the binoculars. Yesterday I did take my yoga mat out there and do some stretches.

Tammy Pilcher  It sounds like you're doing a great job, Shirley! Prayers for everything to go well for Lou. God bless y'all!

Linda Wiebe  Throughout this experience and taking care of your husband it is important for you to do self care. I love sitting on the patio and listening to the birds and the breeze.... Take care. linda

Mary K  Glad you have the surgery behind you and that you are feeling calm. We are all here behind you. Sending hugs and prayers.

Tammy Pilcher  Thankful you're feeling confident and more calm now, Shirley. Keeping y'all in my prayers. God bless!

Shirley Turner  Hi Mary Lou is expected to have a repeat Aortic Valve replacement soon. His first Valve was in 2010.

Ruth Reshad  I use the guided imagery to calm down too. I know I snap at my husband sometimes since I'm looking at my surgery in Oct. I feel bad for him and my family having to go through this stress again because this is my 2nd open heart. What is the best way I can nurture him?

Terry Shermeister   Hi Shirley: One of my favorite sounds was listening to CD's of the ocean. It was very relaxing and helped in so many ways. Great walks, yoga, and friends are so important too. Take care, T

Mary K  People respond to stress in so many ways. He may be scared to death and not even know it. Do you have some friends or family that you can talk to for you, or have over for him to feel a sense of normalcy?

Shirley Turner  I confide with my close friend most days and she is a good listener and given me some good advice. I now encourage Lou to go out fishing which he loves, that in itself sent me insane with worry over the past few weeks because he walks for miles and is out for hours. He goes to the beach and walks about 2 kilometers or more in hot weather, and cannot get a phone signal until he returns back to his car. I worry that if anything happens symptom wise he will be alone. But I have had to come to terms with his needs first and that is for him to carry on has normal. He has always been an outside person all of his life. I cannot feta him to the house. He would go bonkers. So my position at the moment is that of acceptance. His trail of thought is if anything is going to happen it will happen. Which is true. I am just glad his last three emergency visits to hospital happened in the early hours of the morning 5.am 3.am when I was asleep next to him in bed. During the day I want my man to be close to me has much as possible so I can be there for him but that will make him more aggravated. I know for a fact he is scared and feeling very vulnerable about a second open heart surgery . It's no walk in the park. I am just taking every day has it comes and making sure I socialize, exercise, and be kind to myself. I am doing my best and that is good enough. I am blessed to have found such a supportive bunch of people I can connect with on a daily basis. Thanks again everyone.
Hugs
Shirley

Clare Auten  Hi Shirley. I just read your story. I hope things have settled down and your husband is feeling better. There are other people here who have had a second surgery. I know how scared you both must be. Keep us posted. We are praying for you both.

Meredith Bray  Much love to you, Shirley. I don't know why we keep our symptoms to ourselves. I'm sure it's partly denial - we've already been through it once, and maybe if we ignore it, they'll go away. Or it's probably not as serious as everyone makes it out to be. I'm always dumbfounded when I go to a consultation with my husband and learn something new about him, and we've been together 16 years. He'll never be "useless" to me, and I try to remind him of that. My father is your husband's age, and of the same mindset. As far as I know, he's healthy. But looking at him, I know he's not. And he won't tell me anything. :( The point is, you're not alone.

Jean Raber  Yes, one of the people here is on here whose son is recovering from OHS. Hope you get lots of good info. I'm up for mitral valve repair at some point. Went through AVR with my mom a couple of years ago, and wish I'd known about this site then.

Steven A Husted  welcome you will find a lot of information here and friends to talk to who will help and encourage you thru surgery and recovery

Robert Osmachenko  Welcome Shirley. Hope you find solace and comfort in this supportive community. What is his "story"? How long did he go for on his first valve?