William's Guestbook

I am so sorry to hear about Fran. Was it her heart? She (and you) were so helpful to me as I prepared for my surgery in Cleveland a few months after the 2 of you. My sympathies to her family.

Hi Lori and Bill I was thinking it must be soon time to hear from you. Congratulations. I\'m so glad you are feeling so great and have all oars in the water. Guess you are looking forward to summer and will no doubt hit that mark a little before us. Stay well. Cheryl, Ontario

Hi Bill The year has flown by, hasn\'t it? I remember you had the late in the morning surgery slot. I was finishing up my testing and getting ready to finally meet Dr Gillinov after he finished with you. Glad you didn\'t wear him out too much! Remember January 2010 as we compared notes waiting for our CC packet to arrive? Seems like you are living life to its\' fullest (remember I follow you on FB). Wishing you both many more healthy, happy years. Don\'t forget to get in touch if you\'re ever in the Bonita, Naples part of FL. Fran

Top of the morning to you, Captain Bill & Lori! Congratulations on reaching your 1-year mark! So glad to know you are doing great in every way!!! We\'ve all been through a lot together. Our best to you both! Duane & Peggy

Hi Lori and Bill What a really nice surprise to see your journal posting. I haven\'t been at HVJ a whole lot just lately as I\'ve had to end up replacing my laptop and now have spent the last week getting it up to speed and figuring out the keyboard. We Canadians (other than from Quebec) have to remember to choose US English where we have to concede to your US spelling of some words as opposed to winding up fighting accents etc. Anyway, I`m working at it. You are sounding fit with drugs. I too have some fuzzy moments now and then and sometimes end up answering the door in a haze. The doctor assures me it is the result of my drug induced athletic low heart rate. The answer is to get up slower! You just be careful and make sure Lori harnesses you to the side rails for fear of you falling overboard. Gillinov may not think to bark if you go awol. Peter and I try to make sure we get a nightly walk in, even after he returns home from a full day of golf and wants nothing more than to sit back with a cigar and water the lawn. I do feel well except for the plague of palpitations I still endure (worse now than before surgery) but I`m not complaining really. Life is good and Ièm blessed to be here. See - Iève no damned idea what button on this keyboard I pushed! You guys take care and careful of that heat. Wow. That is hot. Cheryl

Good Morning Capt\'n So nice to read your witty posts again. Sounds like you\'ve made a great recovery. I am also ending rehab on Friday (my 30th session). I am eligible for 36 but have our grandson coming for a week and I would miss those days so decided to end. It has been amazing how well it has helped me. I will continue to work at the fitness center here in our neighborhood. There is also a water aerobics class 2 mornings a week, so will be there with all the ladies and their noodles. Come September-October I plan to resume my early morning outside walks. Heck, I\'ll be healthier than I was a few years ago. Still planning to get down to your high school weight and take Lori to the prom? Your ejection rate is excellent. A \"normal\" heart\'s rate is 70% and you\'ve achieved that. I\'ll get my results at my 6 month echo and cardio appt in September. Since my heart is enlarged mine may not be that high. But it will definatly be an improvement of pre-op Lastly, love the name of our favorite doctor for your new puppy. And yes, he must be very smart. The famous Dr G has had a few new patients from the HVJ. Keep smiling and enjoying life, not that you need my encouragemnt. Oops, almost forgot, I still get the wacky vision episodes every so often. Fran

Hi Bill (Captain), I just wanted to thank you for writing in my, and my son Danny\'s guest book. You were right about your journals being humourous. I think eveyone involved with these open heart surgeries could use a good laugh. Thank you for MORE than doing your part. Danny is almost two weeks post op and is doing well. He is experiencing soreness in his neck, shoulders and arms but probably from doing too much. He dresses himself, including putting on socks & shoes, was sleeping in bed (often on his side), walking four blocks in our neighborhood etc. All this LESS than 2 wks post surgery. I guess I should be glad he is holding off on the 500 push ups and sit ups. He looks VERY longinly at the basket ball hoop, though. I\'m going to have to tie him down for the first six weeks. I just wish I was that young again. I\'m glad to hear your recovery is progressing well. Continued good health to you and thank you once again for your humor. Mary James

Hi...good to hear you are improving..I have a strange problem with my favourite racehorse...when he races at the 900m mark he just stops almost to a trot and byt he time he comes back to scale he is breathing fine and is fine. Someone suggested that a valve in his heart may be closing....as a person who had heart valve problems could you exercise for a one minute vigorously and then just have to stop ?

Hi Bill Wasn\'t it great that Adam featured our super surgeon (and us) on his blog. Shortly after my surgery i went into Adam\'s database and put in my note about Dr. G and I\'m encouraging you to do the same (unless you\'ve already sent him a magnum of Don Perignon (sp)). Even then, I\'d still encourage you. With all my setbacks early on am happy I\'m progressing in rehab and feeling stronger. Enjoy being on the water, nothing quite as peaceful. Fran

Hey, how is Mr. PH doing? That is what I call Richard - PH. He is still having issues with his memory and just seeming in a daze at times and trouble with his vision and focusing as well. All and all he is getting better every day. You must be out on the boat with summer in full swing!! Hope all is going well. Richard\'s Wife, Susan

Hi Bill I just looked back on your guestbook entries and I see I didn\'t sign my May 17th entry, Bill, Bill, Bill. Anyway, glad to see you are progressing and hope you and Lori are super enjoying your boat this year. Stay well. Cheryl, Ontario

Hi Bill & Lori Thanks for the note. Are you going to therapy 3 times a week and hope you\'re not bringing donuts each time. I know you\'re just passing them out and not eating them, right? I\'ve only gone once but have had some weird sharp \"stabby\" feelings along my incision area. I have to believe I\'m stretching some muscles in that area. Will ask the exercise physiologist when I see him tomorrow. Fancy title, Huh? How many times have you gone and how many times do you plan to go? Take care and I agree, time has gone by quickly. So glad it\'s all behind me and wouldn\'t want to go through it again. Happy boating, now that the weather is great you must really look forward to the weekends. Fran Z

Oh Capt. Bill, you are the one that enlightened Richard to what he is \"a pump head.\" He keeps up with the journals and told me about the pump head/20% impairment, etc., and now I feel that you could be called Dr. Bill instead of Capt. Bill because you have given him more answers than the doctors have. Richard definitely is a PH. He will start a conversation and then just stop in the middle of it and say \"its gone, my thought just left the building.\" I noticed that he occasionally has a bit of a blank stare - again he is not like that - unlike his wife he is tarp as a shack! I tease him now and say \"welcome to my world.\" Although there isn\'t room for two of us forgetting things or not remembering. Great that you are 89%. You might even be 90% by now. I think Richard is about the same! Richard\'s wife Susan

Hi Capt\'n Bill, I just googled pumphead as I figured it was another of your jokes - yikes it really is true! You are a mine of information but I still think you\'re funny. C\'mmon you know you ARE feeling better! Stay up there, love to Peggy. Warmest wishes Penny.

Always enjoy reading your journal updates. Glad to hear your improving every day. Funny you should mention \"pumphead.\" My wife and I were just joking about this very subject this weekend when I first came across the terminology. We both agree we both suffer from this malady already and neither of us have as yet been on the heart lung machine. My surgery at the CC with Dr. Gillinov is exactly five weeks from today. Can\'t say that I\'m looking forward to it, but it is what it is and what must be. Keep in touch. God Bless, John LaDisa Milwaukee, WI

Bill Bill Bill You must have missed page two of the Pump Head definition where it says this condition is mostly relegated to men along with selective hearing! Ask Lori and she\'ll confirm I\'m right. I\'m glad you\'re 89% better and improving daily. Stay out of the winds.

Hi Bill, I just finished reading your journal and it definitely put a smile on my face! I love your sense of humor and positive attitude! I had all my dental work done last Thursday, so that was especially interesting since I ended back at the dentist today for dry socket...WoW is it a lot of work to prepare for heart surgery. I have 17 days left...feels like forever and yet right around the corner at the same time. Thanks for sharing and hope your recovery continues smoothly! Kimberly Schlienz

Hi Bill! Pump head? I\'m pre-surgery and I\'ve something like it for a while. My doctor says it\'s because not enough oxygen is getting to my brain. If it gets worse after surgery I\'m in trouble! I hope your head un-fogs soon and all the good post-surgical results far outweigh pump head! Ricki Shine

Hi Bill Hope Lori has returned and is doing okay. Thanks for the message on FB. Did you just realize you have this throat problem or has it been in the background for the past 2 months. I am happy to say I didn\'t have that problem. Remember Cheryl saying she had a constant cough for months before it finally went away. When you realize what they do to us during surgery, it\'s amazing we don\'t have more problems. Will find out about the amount of fluid in my lungs on Monday when I see my cardio. Am using my spirometer 8-10 times a day. Still have pain in my left shoulder blade area and wish I could get to the cause of that. Hope the weather is beautiful this weekend so you can enjoy your boat. Can\'t imagine the cost of 300 gallons of fuel!! Stay well and post every now and then, I will too, Fran Z

Hi Bill and Lori Very sorry to hear about the death of Lori\'s uncle. That was quite a trip to make on her own so I hope she has returned safe and sound. Give her my condolences. Take care and wishing you continued good luck in your healing. Cheryl, Ontario