John Lund  Hi Linda,

It is easy to do too much when you are feeling good, which is what I did the week before last week. Emily, my dance instructor, mentioned that I was not as energetic or upbeat (or at least words to that effect) at the dance party this past Friday as I had been the week before. Partly, I was being more careful, but mostly, I did not have the energy that I had the previous week. I definitely need to remember to use caution about how much I do, especially when I am feeling really good and able to do things I have not done since before the surgery on September 14th; even now I am still recovering.

It may seem like a while until you have your surgery, but it really won't be that long.

Take care,

John

John Lund  Hi Janis,

Thank you!!

I am glad that my post helped. I think we all get discouraged at times, even me! :-) We have been through a lot, but we are fortunate in that the valve can be fixed and we do get better with time.

Your husband must be a good man, he definitely is a lucky man!!

John

John Lund  Hi Janis,

Thanks, I plan to post some different pictures in My Photos section Sunday. However, since you asked, you might also like to check out this link/URL (assuming it works): http://gallery.me.com/jflund08

I have a variety of pictures here, including dance pictures and some "movies" here that you might enjoy seeing if you get bored, these might have been good for you a couple of weeks back.

John

John Lund  Thanks Linda!

You are correct! I really have been fortunate to be able to do as much as I am currently doing. I realized during yesterday's lesson how much I had missed real Ballroom dancing, and how glad I was to be able to start back. I told Emily that I would have to start back slowly, and take the time necessary to proceed with the lessons with the goal of being in the competition in June. She understood, and I think was very happy that I had been able to start back, even if on a limited basis.

Hopefully, I will be able to post some new dance pictures from the comp this coming June, the ones that are there now are from the comp in June last year before I knew I had a leaking Mitral valve.

Take care,

John

John Lund  Hi Linda,

That is great advice, no matter what status you are in. There was a time when I probably would have gone to the dance class-party, even feeling that tired. (I talked with someone today who had gone and he said there were a lot of people and they had a good time.) Oh well, I will make it sometime.

I woke up early again today, but took it easier than I did on Tuesday. I still did my exercises after work, but not quite as long, and also at lower intensity levels, but still within the acceptable "health" workout range for my heart. I am trying to establish new habits now that I am in a self-motivated work out routine.

I came home afterwards and plan on taking it easy and getting to bed at a good time. I want to be able to go dancing tomorrow night, and I have two dances lessons scheduled for Saturday. I have not been dancing since New Year's Eve.

I need to be careful and not overdo it. As you said, two steps forward and one step back. Now that I have returned to work pretty much full time, I need to factor the effect of that into everything as well.

I plan on keeping an eye on the heart surgery blog and keeping up with people I have gotten to know here. It is less than two months until you have your surgery, it will get here quickly.

Take care,

John

John Lund  Hi Mitch,

Thanks, I am very glad about what I can do now, but I realized today that I do have limitations and have to be careful and try not to overdo it too much.

I am very tired today, and my legs are complaining a bit, so I have cut back today. I left work two hours early and spent the afternoon with my son getting something to eat and going to a role playing game. Rather than go to a dance class and party this evening, I came home to take it easy and get to bed a bit earlier than I would have otherwise. Working two days in a row is a first, and I am trying for Thursday and Friday as well and there is a lot of work to do there.

I do appreciate hearing from you and the others who most in my guestbook!

Take care,

John

John Lund  Hi Janis,

Thanks, I hope you are doing better today; it sounded like it in your post after seeing the Shawshank movie. It would be tough being cooped up and not being able to get out on your own. I was fortunate in that I could get out and go for walks since it was warmer when I had my surgery and I think that helped a lot.

I don't think that reading what I do would count for much I am afraid. I did the same basic routine on Sunday and Monday as well, so my legs are complaining today. That was more than I had been doing, plus I have worked two days in a row, so that makes for a very different routine this week. I did not do the exercise routine today. Instead, I took off two hours early and visited my son. We went out to eat, and then to a role playing game. I had planned on going to a dance class and party this evening, but decided to skip it and come home and rest as I was very tired. I posted more about it in the other responses below, but I am trying not to be repetitive.

Take care!

John

John Lund  Hi ????,

I had thought of backing off on my posting, and did for four weeks, partly due to the holidays, but there are several people here who I am following and keeping in touch with, so I decided to resume posting on a fairly regular basis as things change/happen. I am sometimes concerned that I post too much.

I do appreciate the feedback and comments in my guestbook!

Going slow is good, heart surgery is big. I was fortunate that I was able to take off from work as much as i did, I think it helped me focus on my recovery, and do more in the cardiac rehab. There was wasted time in a way, but overall the time off was giving my body, mind, and soul a chance to heal better. This did affect my nervous system and it has taken a while for that to recover.

Exercising and working a full day is definitely a challenge. No need to hurry back to work if you can take the time off.

Take care,

John

John Lund  Hi Jane,

Thanks! I am pretty tired today as well, my legs are letting me know in particular. I had done the basically the same exercise routine on Sunday and Monday as well and it caught up with me today.

I left work 2 hours early today, got with my son for a late lunch and then we went to a role playing game. I decided to pass up on a dance class and party that started at 8:00 and came home. It would have kept me up too late and my legs needed the rest. (I have learned to back off a bit once in a while now.)

Today was the first time I had worked two days in a row since before the surgery, and I want to work the next two as well; so need to pace myself a bit.

Take care,

John

John Lund  Hi Nancy,

Thanks, yesterday was a good day, but I cut back today. I left work 2 hours early and went to visit my son, have a late lunch with him and go to a role playing game with him. Afterwards, I had planned on going to a dance class and party starting at 8:00 but decided against it as I was tired and a bit leg weary (wonder why), also I know that I probably would not get to bed until close to 11:00. Getting up at 5:00 is tough enough, so I just came home after the game was over to have a quiet evening. (I could have stayed out late and called in sick tomorrow, but the supervisor and bosses have been very good to me, so that is not really an option.)

February 9th will be here before you know it, I will definitely keep in touch.

Take care,

John

John Lund  Hi Linda,

You heard correctly, it does hurt to laugh. I avoided funny stories, jokes, and books for several weeks afterwards, but kept my heart pillow close just in case.

I added some explanation to that post because one of my Mechanical Engineering friends pointed out that the heart was actually stopped also.

John

John Lund  Jane,

Thanks! Fortunately, I do work with a great group of people, and have known some of them for many years.

It may take a while to get used to some of the work activities though.

John

John Lund  Hi Ivana,

Too bad about your hubby, I know several ladies that have the same issue with their hubby not being interested in dancing.

There is a lot to consider in choosing a dance studio. Since your previous experience was in Croatia, I assume you learned to dance the “International” style dances, either “Standard” or “Latin” or both. I compete in that style. We also have the “American” style which consists of Smooth and Rhythm which is more common for social dancing, at least in my area, as well as competitive dancing. Each style has mostly similar dances, it is just that the International style is more formal and the partners remain in closer contact during most of the dance, while the American style is more open with more separation between the partners. Therefore, you would need to decide which style you want to learn; some studios teach both, others teach mainly the American style. Although I have heard of both studio chains, I am not familiar with either the Arthur Murray, or the Fred Astaire studios. I think there was either one or the other in this area years ago, but they are gone and we have several independent studios here now.

There are a lot of dancers from Eastern Europe and Russia who have come to the U.S.A. and Canada and are instructing students here now. I have had coaching sessions with instructors who came from Russia and they were tremendous, you may try looking for some in your area.

Most studios offer group classes and that is a good way to learn more about the studio and get to know the individual instructors and the types of dances that they teach; plus those classes are a lot cheaper. You need to be careful of studios where they want to sign you up for a big expensive package deal, they can be quite expensive and tie you into something you end up not liking. Look for a studio/instructor that will work with you and teach you the dances you are interested in learning. My instructors let me pay by the lesson and teach me dances I specifically want to learn, although I compete in all 10 International style dances and some others on occasion. I can also buy packages in which I pay for 10 lessons at a time and I get one “free” lesson with the package. Some studios have standard packages and you have to go through the sequence that they specify whether you are really interested in it or not.

I assume you would be competing with your instructor in Pro-Am dances, which is what I do. Therefore, you need to be compatible with your instructor as you will be spending a lot of time and money to learn the dances and compete with him.

It may not do any good, but I will check with the owners of the studio that I go to and see if they have any way of finding out anything about the dance studios in Kitchner.

Good luck, I will post more as I learn it.

John

John Lund  Hi Mitch,

Thank you for your kind words. Sometimes I think I post too much in my journal, so that was nice to read.

This is a great website. I remember how I felt when I first learned about needing Mitral Valve surgery last August, then while preparing for it, also during the initial stages of the recovery, and even now 4 months into recovery I still have my moments. So I am glad I can say something that helps others and also receive support from others who are experiencing similar issues and those who are interested in how I am doing.

John

John Lund  Nancy,

My mistake, you had typed 4-24, I had gotten to thinking that the 10 - 12 weeks did not agree with 4-4 after I posted my reply, but did not go back and check.

Also, I had a mitral valve repair and a Maze procedure to treat atrial fibrillation, so my heart was really worked over and I think took longer to heal as a result. The rehab group started me off with very low intensity workouts.

You should be definitely be fine by April 24.

You definitely need to listen to your body as well as what they tell you. We all have different conditions, surgeries, and responses during recovery. It is risky to pay too much attention to what others have done.

I have requested update notices when you post journal updates so I can keep up with what you are doing.

John

John Lund  Hi Nancy,

You are correct about my age, 64 now, but going to be 65 in April.

I spent the first weeks of my recovery with my single son. I was feeling good enough to move back home alone during my 8th week, but it was not until a few weeks later (10th through 12th), that I was beginning to feel more normal, maybe up to 80 to 85 percent. I still had not recovered my strength and endurance. Now that I am closing in on the 4th month, which will be January 14th, I am getting close to feeling mostly normal though I still am not doing everything I was doing before the surgery.

I had a bit of trouble with pain the day after surgery, the prescribed medications were not doing the job. The second day, the surgeon prescribed something else, which I think relaxed the muscles, but I could only have that for a day if I remember correctly. I had one or two doses and things settled down so that the pain medications were able to manage the pain. I quit taking pain medications around the 9th day after surgery. I was still sore, but it was manageable; I figured that was better than continuing with the pain medication.

I think your doctor is right about you being fine when you do your presentation on April 4th. Just prepare as much as you can ahead of the surgery, because, if your experience is like mine, you will not feel like doing much of anything for 4 to 6 weeks because the surgery sapped so much of my physical and mental energy.

I have really enjoyed dancing and my cardiologist is very happy that I have been an active ballroom dancer and wants me to continue with it now.

I will follow your journal and keep up with how you are doing.

Take care!

John

John Lund  Dear Jane,

I am glad my journals have helped. I wish I had kept more detailed records of some of the things that have happened, but it is also good for me to go back and review the things I have written about my recovery progress in the journals.

My chest muscles got sore when I started working with free weights in rehab. Partly from the weights, and partly from stretching the muscles which had been pretty inactive due to the lifting restrictions after the surgery.

My main exercise had involved ballroom dancing prior to my surgery, with walking also a factor. I have started back on a limited basis, and some of the arm movements also bothered my chest muscles due to stretching. I hope to get more active with my ballroom dancing in 2012 and enter some competitions again.

I am thinking of getting a treadmill or some other exercise machine for use at home.

Take care!

John

John Lund  Hi Rosemary,

I have done well in recovery once I realized I needed to be patient and let the nurses and exercise physiologists guide my exercise routine. Improvement has been slow but consistent week to week. I have come a long way in the three months I have been in recovery so far.

In one of the rehab classes, the instructor told us that alcohol weakens the heart; so that pretty much took care of any real interest in drinking alcoholic drinks. Prior to the surgery I was on a medicine that kept me from drinking anyway. After the surgery, I had a little bit of wine over the Thanksgiving (USA) weekend, definitely well within the recommended limit, plus an alcohol free beer one evening. I have also really cut back on soft drinks and fruit juices in order to cut back on my sugar intake. I am better off without them.

Thanks for your comments.

John

John Lund  Hi Rosemary,

I posted a note about my first day at work. Each week definitely makes a difference. There are ups and downs during the week, but each week normally ends better than it began. I have had to be careful about pushing myself also. I do get aches and pains from time to time, not always related to the surgery.

Take care,

John

John Lund  Rosemary,

Actually it is a combination of the heart and body. If I am careful about my activities and do not push myself too hard, I feel great and think I can do a lot more than I am doing. However, when I do more than I should, it wears me out, both my heart and body. I keep records of my BP and pulse for both the morning and evening. Last week, when my activity level increased and I was not getting enough rest, my heart rate went up for several days to where it was just after the surgery, I was also aware of my heart beating again at times. I guess my heart was stressed again. It is coming back down now. (At least that is the way I think about how I feel.) The rehab folks keep my activity low to avoid stressing my heart during the exercise.

In regards to driving, it does not hurt me to drive. However, it has taken me a while to feel comfortable about driving again after not driving at all for nearly 6 weeks. So, I started out slowly, after two weeks, I feel pretty comfortable now. I normally drive about 500 miles a week; and I am up to doing that yet.

Best wishes on your recovery!!

John

John Lund  Becky,

Thank you for your kind comments. I feel very fortunate to have been in the care of you and Dr. Stouffer. I have recommended that Dr. Stouffer be listed in the surgeon directory on this website. The submittal is currently under review. I strongly recommend this website to other heart surgery patients! I will take your recommendation to do some teaching under consideration. Let me know if there is anything else I can do.

Kind regards,

John

John Lund  Thanks, I am pretty sure that I was asked about the player John Lund when I got to Knoxville; I guess due to the similar names.
It has not been a good year for UT or UF, but they both should get better and maybe give the western division more competition.

John Lund  No problem; I moved to Knoxville in 1970. At the time, or shortly thereafter, I was asked if I was related to a Lund who had apparently played football at UT, maybe in the 60s.
Now, I just watch football, never really did play it, except flag football when going to college. Need to get in better shape now. There is a guy in rehab who was a receiver back when Johnny Majors played, but don't remember his name. Curt might know of him when he starts rehab, probably this week.

John Lund  Actually, I just searched UTs sports page and learned there was a Bob Lund who had 4 rushing touchdowns against Vanderbilt back in 1945; don't know if there were any other Lunds who played football at UT.
I went to the University of Florida, so I am not that big on UT sports.

John Lund  Sorry, I don't think I am a part of that Lund family; though it is not a very common name in these parts. Back in the late 50s, I and my family were in a place called Hypoluxo Florida, which is a bit below West Palm Beach.
However, thanks for checking in, you never know, it is a small world. Thanks also for the get well wish.

John Lund  Hi, I am glad you are continuing with the Argentine Tango lessons. I had forgotten about them; they must be good. Another reason I would like to stay in Knoxville. However, I will most likey be moving back to Loudon this coming weekend. I went to the studio again this Friday, and danced more dances, still stayed with the slow ones. I will be getting to the Cha Cha soon, so, save a dance or two for me; but we can dance something else before then.

I have a great surgeon, it was very nice of him to leave a message for me.

Take care,

John

John Lund  Thank you so much for your kind comments and all that you have done for me and my children.

I feel very fortunate that I had you as my surgeon and Becky as the nurse working with you! You made me feel comfortable (with just a little apprehension) about having the surgery and the recovery afterwards. I am working on the writeup to use when I list you in the surgeon index.

John

John Lund  Hi Brad,

It was good to get it some dancing again.

The hippie costume is a classic. I also wore it in an early showcase dance with Emily back in 2008. I had a beard back then, so it really worked well even if the dance was not much. A friend at the studio put a modified version of the dance on YouTube; not sure if it is still there.

However, this year's costume did get me a 1st Place in the competition.

John

John Lund  Whiting,

Thanks for everything!

It is truly wonderful how we are made! After what I have gone through, I have thought of that often the past several weeks.

John

John Lund  Hi Trish,

As you learned Friday night I did make it to the party. I did not say anything earlier, as I was not sure I would go.

I am glad I did, it was good to see you and to get to dance with you!

Thanks for your messages.

John

John Lund  Hi Trish,

This has been a difficult process in several ways, but I have also had many blessings. Lots of friends have helped and/or encouraged me in addition to Johan and Maria.

Thanks for being a friend. I look forward to getting back on the dance floor.

John