Jim's Journal

Just checking in to celebrate my anniversary. One year ago today (Tuesday 13 March 2012) the surgical team at Mount Sinai repaired my mitral and tricuspid valves. Hard to believe it\'s been an entire year! It certainly doesn\'t seem that long ago, when my family and I traveled to New York for a spring break healing trip. Concerning my condition, I have nothing but good news to report. I feel great. I\'ve returned to running, but not every day (maybe long term that will help save the legs). I walk regularly, and I\'m able to backpack and hike, as effectively as I ever could. My last cardiologist appointment was early December. It included an echocardiogram, which confirmed zero leakage from the repaired valves, and steady improvement in heart structure and functioning since the surgery. My only medication is a beta blocker and baby aspirin. I had hoped to discontinue the beta blocker, but my cardiologist has convinced me that its benefits for me clearly outweigh its costs; it has promoted healing (what\'s technically called \"reverse remodeling\") and it reduces the risk of my returning to arrhythmia. The thing that impressed me the most about my conversation with my cardiologist was this: He considers the extent of my recovery to be remarkable and outstanding, given my condition going into surgery. He said it could not have been anticipated that I could get this much better this soon. Prior to my surgery, when I had atrial flutter, severe valve regurgitation, structural abnormalities, and a very low ejection fraction, he said the main goal was simply to keep me alive. The cardiologist said I could schedule my next appointment with him in 12 months; but I told him I\'d see him at 6 months (June 2013) even if I felt fine, as I wanted another echo and consult then just to check on how things look. I wish all of you peace and blessings - especially those who are awaiting heart surgery and those who are in the early stages of post-surgery recovery. You can and will get through this. Trust in the choices you\'ve made and in your family, friends, and medical professionals. \"O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.\" Psalm 95: 1-2

\"O Lord that lends me life, Lend me a heart replete with thankfulness!\" William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 2, Act 1, Scene 1 (spoken by the King) As we near the Thanksgiving holiday, I\'m especially reminded of the blessings I\'ve received from my open heart surgery last March in New York. All has continued to go extremely well. I feel great, and continue to exercise by running and by going to the gym to use the exercise bicycle and light weights at the gym. Next month is my next cardiologist appointment, which will include an echocardiogram to check out the repaired equipment. Last week my wife Donna and I became grandparents for the second time. James Donald Feltz, born on Nov. 7, is home with Mom and Dad and big sister (Nicole, Ryan & Lucy). I\'ve added a photo from the hospital to \"My Photos\". I just noticed that the Mount Sinai website has uploaded to its \"patient stories\" a letter of gratitude that I sent to them some time ago. Here\'s a link: http://www.mitralvalverepair.org/content/view/24/ (The photo on the website is from the backpacking trip to Wyoming that I mentioned in my last journal entry, Sept. 13) I wish all of you blessings and peace in this time of Thanksgiving. For those of you facing surgery or in the first stages of recovery, be assured that you can and will succeed, with the support of family, friends, and superb medical professionals. This HVJ community is an amazing resource, where you\'ll learn much and make new friends. Be sure to use it. Many thanks to you, Adam Pick, for creating this community.

Six months ago today (March 13) I was at Mount Sinai hospital in New York. All the waiting was finally over as my family and I headed down the elevator for the surgical theatre, where the team did an amazing job in repairing my mitral and tricuspid valves in my reoperation. In many ways, March 13 seems a long time ago; but in others, only yesterday. I have nothing but good news to report right now. I feel great. I\'ve been off of coumadin since June. Presently my only meds are a beta blocker, low-dose aspirin, and magnesium; I recently switched from magnesium oxide to a magnesium citrate blend because the absorption rate is much better. My exercise program has gone well. I have returned to running, with my average workout 30-50 minutes. I started in June with a run-walk program. I\'ve continued with walk segments, although they are now only 10-15 percent of the total time. I like the variety, and find it seems to make the running fresher and quicker. I hope to pick a fall or winter race, probably a 10k or half marathon. Last month I went on my first backpacking trip in more than a year, with friends to the Wind River Range in Wyoming. I wasn\'t sure how well I would do, hiking for many hours each day, at altitude that I was not at all accustomed to (between 9,000 and 11,500 feet most of the time). It went much better than I had a right to expect. Although there were times I was tired, and breathing a bit hard going up mountains, I was never gassed (totally out of breath). A wonderful trip, in a great setting. I\'ve uploaded a photo of the group to \"my photos\" on this site. I wish \"heart health\" to all of you: those who are post-surgery like me and hopefully doing well and making progress, and those of you who are facing a surgery that offers the promise of a return to a healthy life filled with blessings. Jim

I\'m continuing to realize blessings from my open heart surgery. The results from the holter monitor that I wore for 48 hours, June 14-16, were fine. My cardiologist reported that there were no heart rhythm irregularities or other concerns at any time. Since that report, I\'ve stopped with the warfarin (coumadin). I’ve transformed my walks into run-walks, beginning on Father\'s Day last month. I\'ve started modestly - very modestly. My workout for the first two weeks consisted of walking for 4-8 minutes, then slow run for 2 minutes, walk 4 minutes, run 2, walk 4, etc., with a total of 5 two-minute run segments. Recently I\'ve reduced the walk breaks to 3 minutes. Two days ago I increased the run segments to 3 minutes each. The above plan is for outside run-walks. Yesterday my workout was at the indoor track at the U (which I occasionally do in lieu of outside workouts; summer heat here in Georgia is one factor), followed by weight room work. Yesterday my run segments were by distance, not time: 4 X 1/4 miles then finished with 1 X 1/2 mile, my longest run since surgery (since early 2011 actually). The half mile run timed at 4:18, which is fine with me. My cardiologist has emphasized easing into this, and I could have maintained yesterday\'s pace, I felt, for more laps without difficulty. In one hour, the starting gun will go off for the world\'s premier 10k road race, the Peachtree in Atlanta. I ran that several times last century. With the brutal heat we\'ve had, I hope all runners and walkers take care of themselves and are safe. Today, possibly, will be the first day in 5 that we don\'t top 100. Right now it\'s a humid 69, the coolest early morning here in a week, by far. I wish all of you a wonderful and safe Independence Day

Three months and a day ago (March 13) to the hour, I was exiting surgery at Mt Sinai, hooked up to many pieces of equipment and just beginning to emerge from the anesthetic blackout. I\'ve come a long way. My cardiologist appointment was this morning. Prior to the appointment I had an echocardiogram and a blood profile. Most important, no leaks for either my mitral valve or tricuspid valve, both surgically repaired. The other numbers from the echo are chiefly good. The ejection fraction, however, now stands at 45%. This news surprised me a great deal, as my post-surgery echo done at Mt Sinai hospital (March 16) reported 61%. Hearing 45% of course sounded really bad to me today; but my cardiologist is convinced that 61% was simply wrong – an error in technician measurement, transcription, or something. Last October I was in the mid 20s (dangerously low) when I learned about my dire circumstances, and immediately had an ablation to correct my atrial flutter. In late December a trans-esophageal echo showed that the ejection fraction had improved to 41%. I had no measurement between late December and the surgery, but the doctor said (and I’ve read) that valve repair surgery generally reduces the ejection fraction, because without a leaky valve the ventricle has to work much harder to pump all the blood in the right direction. My doctor had reviewed the NY echo report earlier, but did not obtain or view the video record. Bottom line: 45 is below the normal range for a healthy heart (55% or higher is normal) but it’s way better than what I had last year. God willing, it might improve further. I considered asking him to obtain and review the video record of the March 16 echo, but it does not seem a useful step – he’s completely convinced that my recent echo is accurate, and that there is no way that my ejection fraction has declined between March 16 and now. My left ventricle also displays some structural abnormalities, which may relate to the ejection fraction; and which may or may not change. Great news on the next chamber up from the aorta, the left atrium. I had severe enlargement at the time of the March surgery (7 cm), which has improved to 4.5 cm. Normal is about 3.7 cm. It’s been a long time since the LA has been as good as 4.5 in size. Before my first surgery at Emory Hospital (2005) it was 4.9, and an echocardiogram from 2007 reported it at 5.1 cm. This improvement, called reverse remodeling, is a huge plus. Probably I’ll quit the warfarin (coumadin) soon. Right now I’m wearing a holter monitor, with 5 electrodes stuck to my chest. This will record my heart’s electrical activity for 48 hours, until noon on Saturday. We don’t think I have any type of arrhythmia, but before my cardiologist clears me to stop warfarin, we want to be sure. I’ll get the results late next week. It strikes me that he may be doing this as an excess of caution, but I’m fine with it. More information can only help. As for other meds, I’m continuing on the beta blocker, carvedilol, in fact doubling my dose. I’m presently at 6.25 mg twice a day, which is near the low end of the range of what heart patients take. I’ll carefully monitor what the increase does with respect to heart rate and blood pressure (it depresses both) as well as how I feel. I’m going off the iron. My post-surgery anemia is gone. I’m staying on magnesium. I’ve been reading up on the topic. It seems like a high percentage of people have magnesium deficiency, apparently due to changes in the modern diet (including minerals in drinking water) over the past 50 years. Magnesium deficiency correlates to a host of health problems, including valve disease. My blood profile does not show a high deficiency (1.8) but it’s at the low end of the guidelines. I’ve saved the best for last. I’m cleared to begin a running program Hooray! My plan, which we discussed, is to start out slowly and cautiously. He recommends beginning at a slow pace -- 9 to 10 minute miles – not pushing hard in terms of effort and distance; listening to my body. I’m planning at first to alternate running and walking at first. We’ll see how it goes. It’s been an incredible three months since my Mended Heart Day in New York. I’m truly blessed by the amazing team of doctors and assistants who have taken care of me, and by the concern, prayers, and support of family and friends. Peace and blessings, Jim

Hard to believe it\'s been 2 months already since my spring break \"heart trip\" to New York City. I\'m now 2 months post surgery and feeling better than I have in years. My resting pulse is in the mid 70s and has not changed in the last few weeks. During the first weeks after my discharge, my heart was really really fast -- resting pulses ranging from the mid 90s to mid 100s. That, luckily, was normal sinus rhythm. Mid 70s is still high for someone who wishes he was in good physical shape, but at least it\'s heading the right direction. I rarely use my heart rate monitor on workouts, but I did last weekend and noticed that I\'m walking much faster than I did in the months prior to surgery, especially uphills, with heart rates that are much lower than pre-surgery. I\'m still only walking for exercise, with occasional trips to the gym where I ride the stationary bike. A few lower leg exercises, but nothing upper body so far at all -- the sternum isn\'t fully healed, they say, until three months. I\'m trying to err on the side of being too cautious, rather than stray in the opposite direction. Maybe I should have looked into cardiac rehab classes. But none of my docs recommended that for me, and I didn\'t pursue it. Hopefully next month, at my 3 month check up, I\'ll be cleared to begin my running program. I don\'t think it\'s possible for me to get into good aerobic shape if all I do is walk and ride a stationary bike, no matter how hard I try to push it. No change in my drugs. My warfarin levels had been bouncing up and down since the surgery, but now they stabilized (INR of 2.7 last Friday; INR three weeks earlier of 2.2). So now the warfarin tech doesn\'t want to see me until four weeks. I\'m continuing on my beta blocker, carvedilol - that is going well. Take care, everyone - Jim

Tomorrow, Friday the 13th, I\'ll be one month on the right side of my valve repairs (mitral and tricuspid) and Maze procedure. But I\'m jumping the gun and posting today, as this morning Donna and I went to my first appointment with my cardiologist, Dr Ouzts, in Athens GA since leaving New York, where I had my surgery on March 13 at Mt. Sinai hospital. Here\'s what I learned, and where I am right now. Almost all is good news. Today\'s EKG shows normal sinus rhythm, which of course is what we were hoping for. Atrial flutter, possibly combined with atrial fibrillation, was what landed me in the hospital last October, thus beginning this journey. There\'s reason to hope that the normal rhythm will continue. The primary cause of my arrhythmia was having severe mitral regurgitation for a long time, and now that\'s totally gone. No echocardiogram for me today. The doctor listened to my heart with his stethoscope, and it sounds perfect -- no hint of a murmur (unlike my first valve repair at Emory Hospital in 2006, when immediately after surgery a minor leakage was observed both on the post-surgery echo and was auditory). We also went over the report from my post-surgery echocardiogram done at Mt Sinai on March 16. Not only did it show no valve leakage, but highly important in my case is my LV (left ventricle) ejection fraction, which last October was 25 percent (normal range is 55-70 percent). Post-surgery I was measured at 61 percent. Dr Ouzts sees this as extraordinary good news. He said I had to have the surgery, but that valve surgery usually lowers a patient\'s ejection fraction, and that if my EF went down to the 30s and stayed there, my life would be drastically impacted -- I would remain alive, but would not be capable of sustained aerobic exercise. An area of continuing concern is substantial enlargement of my left atrium, measured at 7 cm on the March 16 echocardiogram. This increases my risk of re-developing heart rhythm problems. There is hope that this will improve over time. The degradation process is called \"remodeling\" of the heart, and improvement is called \"reverse remodeling.\" My surgeons told me this may happen. Dr Ouzts concurs. He mentioned that one of his patients was at 8 cm, and recovered to 4 cm (normal) post surgery. This will be measured at my next echocardiogram. Some changes to my medications. My magnesium reading is still low, so my daily dosage will be doubled to 500 mg. I\'m starting a beta blocker. The main purpose is to reduce the risk of heart rhythm disorder. It will also drive down my blood pressure and pulse a bit. Recently my resting pulse has ranged between high 80s and low 100s, and blood pressure between low 110s / high 60s and high 120s / high 80s. He wants me to monitor my pulse carefully, to make sure my pulse does not go too low. As I expected, I continue on warfarin for the time being. That will be evaluated at my 3-month post-surgery appointment. He didn\'t promise me that I\'ll be off of it then, but that may happen. I\'m not cleared yet to begin (resume) a running program... major bummer (sigh). The doctor wants my sternum completely healed first; the guideline for that is 3 months after surgery. But I\'m not required to be totally sedentary. I\'m allowed to walk all I want, plus use gym machines (like steppers) that don\'t involve arm or upper body movement or work. I can make the walking as intense as I choose, including hills and trails. There is no risk that strenuous exercise will compromise the quality of my valve repairs, or my heart more generally. Sorry for writing so much. Many thanks to all of you for your prayers and expressions of concern, before, during, and after my surgery. You have helped much more than you can possibly know - Jim

We\'ve been back home in Georgia since Monday evening. That\'s a great boost. I taught my first class post-surgery on Tuesday, and even though my energy level was not great, I\'m happy I did it. The engagement of preparing for class and teaching is helping to dissipate my post-surgery brain fog. But I\'m taking it easy, only working several hours a day and getting in a midday nap every single day. My appetite has returned. Sleeping at night is erratic, but seems gradually to be getting better. Today I woke up at 4:25, could not fall asleep again, so I just got up. My walking program is going well. I\'ve completed my 2.9 mile neighborhood route twice this week, and shorter routes on other days. Plus Donna and I walk our daschund, Rylie, in the evening. But I really want to resume running, which I haven\'t done since last summer. My cardiologist has nixed running for right now (he\'s says I shouldn\'t have the bouncing that comes from running until there\'s more healing of the chest). I hope this restriction will be lifted when I have my 4-week post-surgery appointment with him on April 12. In addition to coumadin, I\'m taking iron and magnesium daily. Today I bought a scar healing topical gel called Mederma, which Adam Pick recommended in his book.

Today is Day #13 since my surgery (two repaired valves, one Maze procedure), seven days since my discharge from Mt Sinai hospital. Yesterday was my best day so far, and last night was my best night of sleep -- not normal sleep but moving in that direction. Last evening Mitch Friedman joined Donna and me for a farewell-to-New-York dinner at Ottomanelli Bros. restaurant on Lexington Avenue. We had a great time talking about out HV journeys and where we are headed. Donna and I are flying to Atlanta this afternoon. Our daughter Kristin and Michael are picking us up at the airport to take us to Athens.

It\'s me, making my first post after surgery. Many thanks to Donna for the awesome job she has done keeping all of you informed via my journal since my surgery. She has also read to me all of your guestbook posts. I deeply appreciate your thoughts and prayers and advice and encouragement over the past week. The past two days have had their ups and downs. Monday was great at first. I was discharged from Mt Sinai, but became very sick late Monday night. I started feeling better about 1 am this morning. Donna and I spent the morning at Mount Sinai for my post-discharge exam. Everything looks good. My chest x-ray shows the lungs are clear, so I\'m allowed to fly home to Georgia. I\'ll be on Coumadin for 3 months after my surgery. Today\'s blood test shows my INR is not quite at the therapeutic level, but it\'s close -- I\'ll have another blood test at the Mt Sinai outpatient lab on Friday morning to follow up on this. Dr Adams concluded that my sickness over the past two days is probably due to an infection I incurred while I was in the hospital (likely a staph infection). Rather than wait to confirm this with a culture, he has started me on a strong antibiotic which I\'ll take for the next three days.

The things researchers and doctors are doing today are just amazing. Scientists at Yale regenerated a totally new blood vessel for this child: http://www.lifenews.com/2012/03/20/adult-stem-cells-create-new-blood-vessels-for-heart-issue/ --Donna Smith

Jim\' out of the hospital--left yesterday around 4 p.m. We got back to the guesthouse-it was a beautiful day and we walked from Mt. Sinai (about 2-3 long blocks--4/10 mile). Jim showered and took a nap. Then we had burgers in the neighborhood--me, Jim and our daughter Nicole. However, he really paid for that good food by being sick all night. So note: don\'t over-do the first meal after the hospital. We even had felt guilty eating well while he was \"incarcerated\" and brought him a bagel earlier the same day. Maybe not such a great idea. He\'s better today. Also note: don\'t let the patient walk by himself (we didn\'t; except for that moment on the front stairs where he tripped and almost fell onto the railing)--there\'s still unsteadiness. --Donna

Everything\'s good except low magnesium and they\'re still working on blood thinners. So they\'re letting him out today! We\'re flying back to Georgia next Mon. --Donna

Jim\'s echo came back perfect. We thought he might go home today; in fact, Dr. Adams and Dr. Chan stopped by yesterday (I missed Dr. Adams again! I think he may be a mythical figure, like a unicorn) and said that actually he was in good enough shape to have left yesterday but because the operation was such an intense assault on the heart (2 valves + a MAZE) they were keeping him in an extra day or two. Right now they want to work on his Coumadin levels--his blood\'s not thin enough yet. Another cardiac fellow stopped by and told him he has something called junctional rhythm; I had to google that one. All his tubes are out and his pacemaker is out. I think it\'s just watching and waiting, and working on the Coumadin. Blessings, Donna

Dad is looking even better today; still very tired and sore of course. They just took his vitals again and all looks good (still on the temporary pacemaker for now). Yesterday afternoon, his HVJ (Heart Valve Journals :) friend, Mitch Friedman came by for a visit, which he really enjoyed. It\'s a rainy and cold day today in NYC so Mom and I are staying inside visiting. Nicole (my sister) is on the plane now in route to the city, so we\'ll see her later this afternoon. He\'s scheduled for an echocardiogram this afternoon to check the results of the surgery. Thank you all for the kind words of support and encouragement - we\'re sharing them all with him. Kris

I still haven\'t met Dr. Adams--we met Dr. Anwanyi--he was the one who came out (beaming) and told us the surgery went well. And Jim met Dr. Adams a few weeks before the surgery but I was sick and couldn\'t go. Anyway, today I saw a doctor who looked like him from the side and back (how many almost bald young doctors could there be in the cardiac unit at Mt. Sinai? lol!)--as I was getting off the elevators walking toward 7West, he was *running* toward the ICU, with another doctor following close behind. It was just like in ER or Grey\'s Anatomy! --Donna Smith

Jim looks like he feels better today--he got most of his tubes out too. Pacemaker still in but his natural heart rate is higher so that\'s good. Jeff and Carol Shebovsky stopped by to visit him today--that really meant a lot to us. I can\'t believe how good Jeff looks--you\'d never know he had heart surgery a week and a day ago! Jim walked the hall to a cardiac discharge lecture (not that he\'s being discharged yet, but they give this talk only on Tuesdays and Thursdays). Remember to sign your guest book entries! And thank you for all the wonderful good wishes in this journal and by email--it\'s just overwhelming to know how much people care. Blessings, Donna Smith

We went to visit Jim this evening and found he\'d been moved to a regular room on 7 West! He\'s very, very tired, and the place where his central line was removed is really sore. He was blowing into this breathing tube to help with congestion and to help his lungs. He did have to have a pint of blood transfused this morning because of low hemoglobin, but no transfusions necessary during surgery. His pulse had been down to 40 so they have a temporary pacemaker put it. (I\'m not sure how or where)…but they\'re gradually removing stuff--they\'re removing the Foley catheter at 6 a.m. He\'s already asking us to bring back stuff we\'d removed from his room before surgery--book, glasses…..so I know he\'s going to be fine! --Donna Smith

They removed the ventilator at midnight. First thing he remembered was the ICU nurse saying we\'re going to remove the ventilator. He didn\'t remember our visit last nite tho at the time he responded to us. --Donna

Jim\'s out of surgery and they fixed everything. Dr. Anwanyu came out and reported nothing negative! No leakage; repaired mitral, put in new ring, repaired tricuspid and did the MAZE. Surgery lasted from 12:01 to 5:30. We can\'t thank you all enough for your prayers. Praise God for his great mercy!

Hi everyone, This is Kris (Jim\'s daughter). We just found out my dad\'s surgery actually started an hour later than anticipated, at 12:00 EST, so we\'ll be waiting a bit longer than we thought. Thanks for the continued support and messages! We will continue to keep everyone posted as we\'re updated here.

Well, they wheeled Jim in for surgery at 10:10 this morning--Kris, Eileen (Jim\'s MIL) and I were able to accompany him in the elevator to the 3rd floor where they left for surgery and we continued to the family waiting area. They give you a pager and then you hurry up and wait! The surgery was rescheduled to 11:00 a.m. because his \"numbers were good\", so I guess that\'s good--they leave the first spots for more serious cases, I guess. They will do 4 surgeries today, so Jim is number 3. His spirits are very good and he\'s ready for this. All your prayers and thoughts are so much appreciated.:)) --Donna

So….it\'s hurry up and wait! Blessings to all. Linda, it looks like you won the bet with Jim. I look forward to hearing your story too. Blessings, Donna Smith

Adam, thank you for your beautiful article and words about Jim and Jeff--that means so much to me; I read it to Jim and he was really moved so much, which was wonderful the night before his surgery. Bless you for starting this wonderful web site! Love, Donna Smith

It\'s a beautiful day in New York today! Our daughter Kris uploaded some new pictures--from the window in Jim\'s room (view of Central Park that Jim\'s roommate has), a picture of Jim when he checked in last night, and Jim and Jeff Shebovsky together. Jeff is getting out of here today! --Donna Smith

Jim was checked into the hospital tonight to get ready for all the pre-op tests tomorrow; he\'s hooked up to a monitor and is receiving a heparin drip. He\'s just down the hall from Jeff Shebovsky and talked with him, and earlier today Mitch Friedman came by our guest house at 102 and Lexington and visited, lifting our spirits! Now I (his wife), my daughter Kristin, and my stepmom Eileen are here and will go over tomorrow and visit. He\'s scheduled first on the list for surgery on Tuesday! So at 7:15 they\'ll take him down for prep, and the surgery begins 8:30. It\'s estimated to take 4-6 hours, but I don\'t know how much of that includes the prep. Thank you for all your prayers and good wishes--keep \'em coming! Blessings, Donna Smith

Many of you have nominated \"My Heart Will Go On,\" including Linda Dixon (my surgery mate on Tuesday). FIRST though was Jeff Shebovsky, who wrote in my guestbook more than a week ago, \"Think about it....we ALL want our heart to GO ON...and ON and ON....just like she says in the song. It is also a beautiful song by a woman with a beautiful voice.\" The Major Award for the Top 10 Heart Songs contest goes to Jeff. \"My Heart Will Go On,\" the theme song to the 1997 movie Titanic, is Celine Dion\'s biggest hit ever. When I get to Mount Sinai later today, I\'m going to ask if we can reschedule my valve repair to April 15, the centennial of the R.M.S. Titanic\'s going to the ocean floor. What could be cooler than having \"My Heart Will Go On\" at the top of my playlist on the centennial. Below are lyrics preceded by youtube link to clip from the movie Titanic. But first, an Honorable Mention (okay, I know, in a sense this is cheating because I\'m only allowed a top 10, not a top 11, but nevertheless…) Looking ahead to Tuesday\'s adventure in the operating theatre, \"The First Cut is the Deepest,\" by Cat Stevens (1967) and covered by many, including Rod Steward and Sheryl Crow: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaQLhTwC5BQ Titanic (1997): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmbw8OycJrE Every night in my dreams I see you, I feel you That is how I know you go on Far across the distance And spaces between us You have come to show you go on Near, far, wherever you are I believe that the heart does go on Once more you open the door And you\'re here in my heart And my heart will go on and on Love can touch us one time And last for a lifetime And never let go till we\'re gone Love was when I loved you One true time I hold to In my life we\'ll always go on Near, far, wherever you are I believe that the heart does go on Once more you open the door And you\'re here in my heart And my heart will go on and on You\'re here, there\'s nothing I fear And I know that my heart will go on We\'ll stay forever this way You are safe in my heart And my heart will go on and on

Donna and I are here in New York. Travel went smoothly. It\'s a cool, crisp and beautiful spring day here. Sunny but the sun has a winter feel. Pretty windy. The small apartment we\'ve rented at the Bubba & Bean guest house is ideal, and it\'s very close to Mt Sinai hospital. I really enjoyed an afternoon walk through Central Park. Just got a phone call from the hospital. They\'ll let me know tomorrow about noon when I can check in\' the exact time will depend upon when a spot opens up in a regular room

\"Slow down my beating heart\" One day out from my check in to Mount Sinai. Then after a Little While, my heart will be \"slowed down\" on Tuesday. Donna and I are at the Atlanta airport now, leaving for NY in one hour. Thanks to daughter Nicole for nominating \"In a Little While.\" Bono wrote the song, released by U2 on its 2000 album \"All That You Can\'t Leave Behind.\" Normally I would not also credit a cover, but Hanson\'s 2005 cover of \"In a Little While\" is brilliant. More importantly for our purposes, Hanson\'s arrangement turns \"Slow Down my Beating Heart\" into the song\'s motif. Here are youtube links, first for U2 then Hanson. Full U2 lyrics below http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkJu_lU3Tn4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtVAJEAWnlU In a little while Surely you\'ll be mine In a little while... I\'ll be there In a little while This hurt will hurt no more I\'ll be home, love When the night takes a deep breath And the daylight has no air If I crawl, if I come crawling home WiIl you be there? In a little while I won\'t be blown by every breeze Friday night running to Sunday on my knees That girl, that girl she\'s mine Well I\'ve know her since, Since she was A little girl with Spanish eyes When I saw her first in a pram they pushed her by Oh my, my how you\'ve grown Well it\'s been, it\'s been...a little while ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh Slow down my beating heart A man dreams one day to fly A man takes a rocket ship into the skies He lives on a star that\'s dying in the night And follows in the trail, the scatter of light Turn it on, turn it on, you turn me on Slow down my beating heart Slowly, slowly love Slow down my beating heart Slowly, slowly love Slow down my beating heart Slowly, slowly love