Rich's Photos

Hi Everyone. Been a while since I last updated this page.  I'm doing well and want to encourage anyone having to go through this.  This is me, 4 days shy of my one year anniversary.  Yes there is life after Valve replacement. 

Seven Weeks with my new Piggy valve. 

Feeling pretty good this week. 

My chest is still a little sore, especially around my solar plexus area. I think it's muscle pain  from all the coughing I've been doing.   

My BP & Heart rate are holding steady. 

Still doing at least 2 miles everyday.  This morning I took the dogs with me for the first time since surgery. Since one of them weighs as much as I do, I've been holding off walking him until my chest felt better.   

We all had a good walk, but they were tired when we were done.

I also got to do a little fooling around in my forge this week.  I Still can't swing a hammer yet but I did a little sanding and file work.  It felt good. 

The biggest thing to report this week is I FEEL NORMAL.  I can't really explain it, but mentally I don't have the mental fog or light headedness I've had.  It's subtle but real. 

Next big thing is a stress test on Dec 8th then hopefully rehab.  

SIX WEEKS !

Last week was rough. got a full blown cold (or flu or whatever it's called these days post covid.) Coughing , sneezing , runny nose, feeling run down. (even more run down than normal) . and on top of all that, I got stung by a wasp, on the eyelid, on Halloween. As you can see on the picture, I don't respond well to wasp stings . Hopefully this week will be less eventful.
I'm still coughing a lot, which is keeping my chest sore.
BP is holding steady around 120/ 78, Heart rate is still bouncing around with a resting rate in the 70s.
Still walking 2 miles every day at a sub 18 minute mile pace without getting out of breath. I'm assuming that means my lungs are still clear.
Friday I go see my normal cardiologist, so we'll see what he thinks of all this. Hopefully he clears me for rehab. 
The picture below is the day after the sting, so the swelling has gone down just a little from the night before. I think I looked better coming out of surgery.

3 Weeks since the big cut.  Feeling really good.

Still have the cough, but got a chest x-ray and the lungs are clear. Primary Doc thinks it's a cold, but put me on Prednisone just in case. 

I walked 2 miles in 39 minutes this morning.  Could have done another but trying not to over do things.  

Food is starting to taste better, so I'm eating more. 

Slept in the bed last two nights. still waking up several times a night but I can usually fall right back to sleep.  

Totally off any pain med. Chest is still tender, especially when I cough, but otherwise pretty good.

Only issues now are my BP is starting to climb. and my heart rate will drop below 40 sometimes when I'm just sitting around.  Still feel fine even when it gets this low, and it picks right up if I get up and move around. Doc thinks it's due to the Beta blocker they have me on.  They had stopped my normal BP meds when I went in to the hospital and gave me the beta blocker instead. I think it's not doing the job on my BP.  Talked to PA this morning and will be restarting my Amlodipine tomorrow along with the Beta Blocker.  We'll see what happens.  

I'm keeping this journal because it helps me organize my thoughts and track my progress, and hopefully it may help someone else who is going through something similar.  If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask away.  If you want to chat privately I'm good with that too. I truly consider it a Blessing if I can do anything to help someone else on this site.  

Day 4.  I’m Home.  Physically I feel surprisingly good.  Mentally I’m a little bit overwhelmed. So much has happened in the last 5 days, it’s hard to wrap my head around it.  It’s going to take a little time to process it all.  Thank you all for your prayers and support, they have been a huge blessing throughout this process