Gary 's Journal

Richard Munson  Good news for you. Consider the medtronics implant i have as an alternative. I ditched eliquis, stayed on metropolol due to aneurism and now take baby aspirin. Tiny little under skin  linc Implant sends any a fib incidents to doctor for 3 years. Like a dog chip. Knock on wood, no reoccurances. Its worth exploring. 

Dan Fouratt  I was on Eliquis for about three months it is not bad.  I did not suffer any bleeding for little scratches.

Rose Madura  Gary, sorry to hear that you have Afib. It is quite common after heart surgery. I had it off and I. For about six weeks after my surgery.  Afib was horrible for me. Sounds like you are getting the care that you need. Godspeed.

Robert Miller  Afib after surgery is pretty common. For me, it returned later on. Cardioversion helped me a lot with my pulse rate. However, it didn't eliminate afib. According to my cardiologist, you can live just fine with constant afib. The biggest concern with afib is blood clots but I am on blood thinner and I had my appendage remove. On the other hand, another surgeon told me that afib can weaken your heart. You might want to discuss this with your surgeon and/or cardiologist and I certainly would like to hear their opinion.

Having said that, you said that you didn't start your rehab yet. I assume that means you just had surgery 1-2 months ago. If so, I think it's a bit early for cardioversion. I would wait a couple months. Also discuss with your cardiologist about meds like Amiodarone, etc. 

Rita Savelis  Alas, afib is one of the most common after effects. Don't know why they don't talk about it beforehand but they tend to deal with one problem at a time. Not everyone wants to know all the possibile problems. Surgery is hard on your heart. But eventually these after effects get taken care of and one moves on. Take care.

Gary Wood  There have been a couple of developments in the last day or two.  

I messaged my cardiologist and told him about the non responsiveness from the rehab department.  I got a call at 9:01am this morning and they said that it hasn't gone through because there was no diagnosis code on the rehab orders.  I would think that someone would have called about that sometime in the last 3 weeks sometime before the 3rd contact that I made with them about getting scheduled.

Anyway, the next step is that they said that the soonest they could get me in was November 20th,  Almost 12 weeks after my surgery.  I made a couple of calls to a different facility about 20 miles away, and lo and behold she said she could get me in tomorrow.  90 minutes after I got off the phone with them, they had called my surgeon that had issued the orders, talked to my insurance and had all the information they needed to get things set up.  My appointment is scheduled for 1 pm tomorrow.  She also said that I may only need a 6 week program, which would be great as that is almost when my leave of absence ends.  The Nov 20th start would have run me into next year and a new deductible and copay, so it all does work out.

The moral of the story is to stay on top of things with healthcare.  Push for the answers that you're entitled to and if you're not getting the response that you feel you should, look elsewhere.





  

Gary Wood  Started Rehab yesterday.  Last week was just paperwork and orientation.  They are proceeding with caution because of my elevated heart rate and the afib.  The Afib was still there, but my heart rate actually dropped to a more normal rate and stayed there most of the day, but was back to the elevated level by evening.

I have another session tomorrow and again on Tuesday, then they'll make a decision on whether to proceed by putting me in a group or not. 

Gary Wood  I did indeed get come home today. It's nice  to be comfortable in my own house. I'm planning on taking it easy tonight. It's been quite the week, but not as bad as I thought it would be. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't schedule it as a vacation trip, but everyone at the hospital was great, as well as my wife.  I'll pass along more of the specifics as my memory and cognition improves. There are a few things that I think everyone will find amusing.

Talk to you all soon. 
Gary

Sue Maize  Rest rest rest Gary! Regardless of how you feel, your body has just been through A LOT. Looking forward to hearing those stories later! 😁❤️‍🩹🙏🏻

Marie Myers  Waiting is the worst part!. I found that my whole experience was not as bad/scary/painful as my worrying mind would have me believe. I too, had never been in the hospital, except to take emergency call as a nurse anesthetist. You will be majorly exhausted for  a couple weeks, and generally uncomfortable while in the hospital. I was in for 5 nights, but some have gone home even sooner. I was worried about pain, waking up intubated, and worried about the chest tubes. None of my worries lived up to their reputation. I was surprised at how exhausted I was, and how sore my upper back and shoulders were. They bothered me more than the full  sternotomy! If you have any specific questions, ask away. You will get through this !

Richard Munson  Nice way to start your surgery journey. You might have picked something easier than hvs for a first time. The cath is the easy  part. If you can get it thru your wrist and not groin much quicker recovery. Worth asking. 

Gary Wood  Thanks Marie and Richard.  I do find it a bit calming to have a back and forth with those that have been down this road as well as talking to friends that take the time to ask questions and provide encouragement.  Most of the crisis issues in my life are things that have happened unexpectedly and required decisions to get the issue corrected and move forward in getting things back to normal.  I'm finding that this process is quite a bit different.  Mine has been 1. Medical student heard a heart murmur on May 7th.  2. Cardiologist appointment on June 20th. 3. Echocardiogram on July 2nd.  4. Report on July 4th.  First appointment with Surgeon on July 25th.  5. Surgery Scheduled for August 23rd.  Some pretty big gaps in there for my liking.  
I'm a Broadcast Engineer and part of my job is to anticipate problems before they become a show stopper, and be ready with a backup plan in case they do.  Maybe that's a part of my anxiety  is knowing that there isn't a lot that I can do other than ask questions and wait.

My intellectual side knows that my Surgeon has done thousands of this type of procedure, and that the outcome is very good.  I'm fortunate that I have very few co morbidities so I should be back up and at it in very short order.  But the waiting is still there...

We're still sorting out some of the peripheral issues involved.  We just moved to Maryland last summer for a new job, and I spend a great deal of time on the road.  The result of this is that we haven't met very many people in this part of the world yet.  We have just recently gotten connected in a church that we feel will be our connection to the community.

We have a small dog and a cat that we need to make arrangements for.  The cat will be OK.  We'll make sure the feeder is full and there are several litter boxes and he'll be OK.  He will probably be upset for a while after we get back, but that will pass.  The dog is not quite so low maintenance so we're working on that.
The reason these are issues are that the hospital is about an hour and a half away, and the Baltimore traffic can be pretty bad, and I really don't want her to be trying to make that trip back and forth every day while I'm there.

Well these are the things that come to mind at the moment.  Thanks for letting me express what comes to mind.  I'm sure there will be more.  
-Gary

Susan Lynn  Gary - I was very nervous for my catheterization since I hadn't been in the hospital since my tonsillectomy. I opted not to take the sedation and I was glad to have the opportunity to watch the procedure on the screen. The catheterization was performed through my wrist and it lasted about 20 minutes. it was a piece a cake, if you have the slightest apprehension, take the sedation and enjoy the quick nap. You'll be just fine!

Gary Wood  Thanks Susan.  It did go fine.  The worst part was they stuck me between 4 - 6 times to get the IV started.  I did have the sedation, but didn't notice any difference at all.  They didn't have the monitor where I could see it and I was OK with that. I just relaxed and kept my eyes closed.  The ceiling wasn't that interesting after about 2 minutes. :)  

All went well and all blood vessels were noted as normal, so I won't be in need of bypass during my mitral valve surgery.  One less thing to worry about. 

Gary Wood  Well, I'm one week our from my surgery. Still a lot of peripheral issues to take care of, Boarding the dog, making sure bills are set to be paid while I'm in the hospital, etc.
 I am finding that some of the emotions keep creeping up on me, which I've read is very common post surgery.  A few times I've woken up in the middle of the night with really nothing on my mind, but I will just start sobbing.  Occaisionally I will laugh uncontrollably at something that is not really that funny.  Doesn't happen a lot, but it is normally not something that happens to me.
I have updated all of my close friends personally as I would rather them hear about it directly from me rather than through the grapevine.  I know I don't like when I hear something about someone that is in my circle of friends long after it happened and nobody that knows bothers to tell me, I'm doing my part that I would like to be done for me.

Marie Myers  The emotional roller  coaster will probably continue for a couple weeks post op also.  It did for me. It gets better though!

Susan Lynn  Gary - Focus on the good things! Woo-hoo! Clean arteries are a great thing! Surgery will feel like a one minute nap. All you have to do is trust your surgeon and team. They'll handle everything.

There's a normal amount of stress and anxiety before OHS, but don't let your imagination run away with you. We did it - you can, too! One step at a time...

Gary Wood  Well a bit of a disappointment today.  I got a call from the hospital and they wanted to move my surgery up to Thursday.  I had to juggle a few things, but made it happen.  10 minutes after I had rearranged things, they called again and said that they made a mistake.  They wanted to move it to Tuesday.... Tomorrow....  There was just no way I could practically make that happen.   They called me back again around 2:30 this afternoon and the soonest they could get me in was September 3rd.

Disappointing because I had my mind balanced between the anxiety and wanting to get it over with.  So now it's kind of a letdown and I have to reset and go through another 2 weeks of the anxiety.

My guess is that someone that was more critical than me needed the surgeon.  I can't blame anyone for that.  I'm still pretty much fully functioning as long as I'm not asked to run a 100 meter dash.


I guess I can also use the time to post some more things here that come to mind and get all the great advice that I have experienced so far.

Susan Lynn  Gary - I'm surprised that rescheduling happens with so much frequency, but you are one of many heart warriors on this site who have been in this situation. It doesn't make it any easier to handle the news especially when you're so prepared to put your procedure behind you. But - everything happens for a reason - you'll just have to wait two more weeks to become our next rock star! You can do this - find something fun and diverting to take your mind off of the delay. Hang in there!

Gary Wood  For those that have had open heart procedures,  How long does it take to be able to walk around the house with reasonable mobility?  I will be having a mini Sternotomy so not as bad, but I expect that there still be a fair amount of pain as the bones heal.  My wife and I are discussing whether I might need a cane just to steady myself, not actually support as would be the case if it were a knee or ankle injury.

Lori Risboskin  Hi Gary, we will be thinking of you on Tuesday. The wait is almost over and I’m right behind you. Trying to focus on my recovery and how much better I’m going to feel when all valves are working the way they should be. You’ll be there by the end of next week. 

Marie Myers  I didn’t need any walking assistive devices like a cane. But if you feel very weak or unsteady, a walker or cane is not a bad idea. 

Gary Wood  Not that I'm counting, but I'm about 36 hours away now. We've been busy with some of the last minute things making sure everything is ready.  Taking the dog to boarding tomorrow morning and finishing up some of the little things that we keep remembering.    I've talked to a few friends, one of which had a heart attack and a bypass 20+ years ago and he had some very good advice and support.  I think one of the best things has been talking with friends that will listen to me thinking through this experience, and everyone has been great, including everyone here.

My wife and I are driving to Baltimore tomorrow.  The hospital is about an hour and 20 minute drive from here and although my surgery is the first one of the day at 6 am, I didn't want to take the chance of there being some unexpected construction or an accident that would cause any delays, so we're going to stay overnight at a hotel that is about 1/4 mile away from the hospital. The hospital has a shuttle that runs to the hotel.

Getting really real now and I'll update when I can.  Looking forward to being on the other side of this adventure.

Gary Wood  Well I'm almost there. Stopped to eat on the way. Surgery is scheduled for 6am tomorrow and we decided to drive to Baltimore today and stay at a hotel about 1/4 mile from the hospital. I didn't want to risk there being an accident or construction to be there at 5am. I slept a little longer than I have been. Snoozed until 5am today instead of 3am that has been the norm for the past week.

Took Harley to the kennel this morning, and George is on his own with run of the house until we get back. Harley is the dog and George is the cat...

Gary Wood  Well today is the day. Thought I'd make one more post before we head to the hospital for check in.

I slept better than I thought I would last night. Not as long but the few hours I got were good. 

The best thing though was that when I woke up, the anxiety that had been getting worse day to day was MUCH better. Very manageable at this point.  

I have to attribute it to all the prayers that I know people have been saying. I'm truly fortunate for all the friends that I have made over many years, and my faith while not as evident as some people in my life, finally had won out over the fear. 


I think I'm truly as ready as I can be and God's plan is playing out as it always does. 

Looking forward to updating everyone on the outcome and the next steps which will be the recovery. 

Thanks again to everyone and talk to you soon. 

Gary 

Lori Risboskin  Hi Gary. Thinking of you, hoping everything went well, and you are on to recovery mode with a sigh of relief. I’m headed for NYC on Monday. Surgery is on Thursday so it’s another wait, but away from home . I will have several tests before surgery, and meetings with the anesthesiologist, perfusionist and plastic surgeon. I’m having 2 valves replaced and one repaired so  guess it’s more involved. I guess it’s a relay and time for you to pass the baton. Get some rest and let the healing begin. I’m looking forward to that phase in this  surreal journey.

Gary Wood  Day 5 post op. I may get to go home today. I'm ready. I think I'm at the point where I'll be more comfortable at home.

Had the chest tubes and pacer wires removed yesterday. I feel like it set me back about a day or so,but it's better today. Waiting to hear from PT. I have walked several times, was told that I will have to walk up the same nmber of steps as we have in the house. And haven't done that yet. 

Lori Risboskin  Congratulations, Gary. Happy to hear your surgery is behind you and I hope you are cleared to go home soon. No doubt you will be more comfortable once you are there. I’m on Amtrak, headed to NYC for my surgery, so my wait is almost over. Interested to hear how your recovery progresses, as I am right behind you! All the best, Lori