Praying that everyone awaiting surgery has a successful procedure and successful recovery and everyone recovering has a speedy recovery.
Have a safe and happy ...Read more
Praying that everyone awaiting surgery has a successful procedure and successful recovery and everyone recovering has a speedy recovery.
Have a safe and happy new year and thanks to the folks on this site for being there.
You\'re the best.
Nine weeks after full blown open heart surgery and I finally feel almost normal again. The only downside is that work is crazy and I find it harder and harder ...Read more
Nine weeks after full blown open heart surgery and I finally feel almost normal again. The only downside is that work is crazy and I find it harder and harder to keep up the exercise routine with everything else going on. Got to keep on track!!!!!
The last few weeks have brought some minor pitfalls, but nothing I couldn’t handle. The pain in the left side of my chest that went up into my shoulder was diagnosed as pericarditis, which I was told will most likely go away on its own. The only other significant issue has been the incision. My surgeon did not do the full monty with the incision and did a procedure to make it very small. Unfortunately, it is taking longer to heal and I have been on antibiotics for three weeks. Annoying but no big deal. The annoying thing is that I have developed insomnia. Oh well.
All those annoyances were overshadowed by the echo I had done yesterday. The technician said the reimplanted valve is working great and everything looks great. Hallelujah!!!!!! That makes everything ok to me. I was so happy to give that news to my wife. She has been my rock. I don’t know what I would do without her.
I continue to read everyone’s journals and I feel for all those with upcoming procedures since for me the waiting and agonizing over the surgery was far worse than the recovery from a mental perspective. I wish I could give some advice that would help to ease stresses. Just have faith and focus on the positive.
I will continue to keep all in my prayers.
Things have been going so great, I have been so thankful for everything. I have been back to work, back to coaching my sixth grade football team and everything. ...Read more
Things have been going so great, I have been so thankful for everything. I have been back to work, back to coaching my sixth grade football team and everything. I saw the surgeon on wed and he gave me the full release. I must say he has been fantastic.
Wednesday night the setbacks started. At Football practice the temp dropped about 15-20 degrees, it got really cold. When I got home I could not stop shaking. After I got warmed up and got to bed the night sweating started again worse than it has ever been. It wasn\'t even that bad the week after surgery. I also had some significant pain in the left side of my chest.
I went ahead to work the next day and had to go home due to hot and cold flashes. Had another long night last night. Went to the doctor today....ct scan, blood tests, etc. No problems with the aorta repair, possibly infection and my internal thermometer is off due to the surgery and the large temperature drop got me jacked up.
I hope to be back on track in a few days. I feel bad for my poor wife, she has been amazing and I think this setback was much harder on her than she wanted me to know.
I am curious, has anyone else had this much trouble with temperature changes? (Shivering like crazy and then breaking into night sweats)
Good luck and prayers to all.
It\'s hard to believe it\'s been four weeks since surgery. From a heart health perspective, things seem to be going pretty good. Blood pressure, pulse and ...Read more
It\'s hard to believe it\'s been four weeks since surgery. From a heart health perspective, things seem to be going pretty good. Blood pressure, pulse and all vital signs are looking good. Been doin two 30-40 minute speed walks per day along with some other low impact cardio and very light weights. Back to coaching football almost full time as well.
Heading back to work on Tuesday, I will kind of ease into it for the first two weeks before going at it full time. I hope I have the stamina to get through work, I still get kind of tired in the afternoon.
Most of the Side effects have subsided with the exception of the night sweats. I shake like I am at the north pole when I get in bed and sweat like I am in a sauna after I go to sleep. The foul taste of salty and sweet foods is almost gone.
I hope that everyone is keeping their chins high and I keep everyone in my thoughts and prayers always.
Most of the side effects are subsiding except for the night sweats. I shake like I am at the north pole getting int
It is now two weeks post surgery and everything seems to be going very well. I am still down about ten to fifteen pounds. Salty and sweet foods just taste ...Read more
It is now two weeks post surgery and everything seems to be going very well. I am still down about ten to fifteen pounds. Salty and sweet foods just taste terrible. Meat seems to be the worst, things like sausage or ham taste like a mouthful of salt. The doctor says this is a side effect of the by-pass machine and will pass. Anyone else have any similar issues?
The only other issue that has caused me any issues is my incision. The doctor had to take the tape off early due to some issues with drainage. The bottom 1\" still looks pretty ugly and is still draining.
I have been walking about 60-90 total minutes per day and doing misc light exercises. I hope to start cardiac rehab next week.
Have a great week!!!!!!!!
I almost forgot to add that my wife has been an absolute angel. I have no idea what I would do without her. I love her so much.
I had valve sparing aortic root replacment surgery on MondayAugust 8. The surgery lasted a little over 7 hours and the surgical team said that everything went ...Read more
I had valve sparing aortic root replacment surgery on MondayAugust 8. The surgery lasted a little over 7 hours and the surgical team said that everything went really well. Had a short overnight stay in the ICU and got the throat tube and into a room on the cardiac wing the next morning.
Lots and lots of needles and holes to plug, wow. The surgery was done at the University of Iowa Hospital. The ICU staff and Surgeon were not much on bed side manner causing many emotional moments to my family. I was pretty obvlivious to all of that until the next day.
I would have to say the cardiac recovery floor is where the hospital really shined, so very helpful to my family. It was just awesome. They were tenatious in get my recovery in gear, walking, spirometer (They are not kidding when they say this thing will make you or break you. I went home from the hospital on Friday, which was really great as wel. I was unable to get the amount of details on my surgery that I wanted, I wanted to know exactly what was done but I did not get the infor I wanted. I willl have to try at the post op follow up next week.
Looking back on this first week, if I hadnt had as much family support as I did, it would have been very very hard on my wife. She has been just absolutely unbelievable.
I will continue to focus on exceeding all recovery milestones, but I dont want to lose my focus on the belief that this is a gift to continue life and will never squander that gift of take it for granted. Most individuals find this issue during a dissection in an emergency, life threatening situation.
Keep the faith and make sure you dispence and receive as many hugs as possible every day. Thats my best medicine.