Patsy's Journal

It looks like Spring has finally clawed its way out and everything is beginning to turn green and bloom and show signs of new life around here. I simple love listening to the ‘Spring Peepers’ 🐸🐸🎶 putting on their concert each night! I’ve had a long, trying fall and winter, but I’m also trying to claw my way out. I came down with a virus of some sort at the end of September. Doctor’s visits and tests of all sorts, but nobody ever figured out what it was. It seemed to go on forever and I just kept getting weaker and weaker. I landed myself in a wheelchair because I didn’t have the strength to walk across the floor. Had another angiogram the end of December which showed very high pressures in my heart and lungs….nothing actually new, just higher pressures and lots of fluid. In January, they took a sputum test and found that I had contacted Klebsiella pneumonia either at the doctor’s office or at the hospital. About a week later, they were checking for something else with a CT scan. Apparently, it caught the bottom of my lung and showed that I had an Empyema on my left lung. I got the phone call right after I had gotten home and was sent back to be admitted to the hospital…Showed up all showered and in clean PJs.🤗 They tried to drain my lungs again with that dreaded thorenthesis, but it didn’t work. He barely drew off enough fluid to send to the lab. My lungs were loculated, like honeycomb. Too many pockets! Radiation has damaged my lungs (fibrosis) where they can’t penetrate them to draw off the fluid. I was then scheduled for surgery. I remember the hospitalist telling me that he had given my records to the one who did my unsuccessful OHS, and that I would soon be on my way to the operating room. I laughingly told him that Dr. Steinberg would see my name and walk back out the door. I didn’t even get to see him! He said there’s no way they can operate on me because of the radiation damage. They can’t get in there. Can’t get a needle in much less a draining tube. I guess this should have petrified me, but I took it as calmly as I could….and I’m still claiming the victory. Why worry over something you have no control over? They sent me home with more medicine and told me if I get sick with anything to head to the ER…not to wait for a doctor’s visit. I have a few more tests coming up. The same thing is going on with my digestive system. Too much radiation damage. My valve seems to be working fairly well. I’m still struggling with passing out, but I’m up and walking. I’m doing in-home cardiac~pulmonary rehab. It’s almost laughable, but I’m proud of my 6 minute walks. 💪 On another note, my oldest brother just spent his 101 day in the hospital recovering from Covid. Keep being brave! Try with all your might! You CAN do the hard thing that is set before you! Once again, thank you to all who have cheered me on! ~❤️

64 and counting!! I had a birthday while I was gone. I woke up to the cutest table setting ever, treated like a Queen all day and then ….the dessert of my dreams!! Homemade chocolate and butterscotch trifle with fresh whipped cream.

There’s a chill in the air this morning, and the sun is spreading her rays across the earth to give us a few more days of warmth before the bitter cold sets in. I am thankful. I love reading everyone’s stories. It truly amazes me what others have been through and have survived. I looked in the mirror this morning and I noticed that once again, I have a ‘skunk stripe’ very speedily showing its silver ray. Everyone is always asking questions on how to prepare for their upcoming surgeries. I just wanted to tell everyone what I did the night before my surgery. I dyed my hair at about 10 pm knowing full well that I was going to have to get up at 3 am to be able to arrive at the hospital in time for my 5:30 check in! In my mind, I was getting ready for a long, winter’s nap the next day anyway.🤷🏻‍♀️I could have stayed up all night! Since covid hit, I hadn’t been to the beauty shop in over a year, and I couldn’t bring myself to being laid up and not feeling pretty. You do what you gotta’ do sometimes to keep yourself sane. I didn’t say a word to my husband or son, and they didn’t come check to see what I was doing. I look back on that little maneuver, and I’m thankful that I took the time to take care of myself. To all of those in the waiting process before surgery, take time to do something for yourself that makes you feel special. Just don’t wait for the midnight hour. ~❤️

I had an appointment with my cardiologist September 3. Everything seems to be coming back together. He said that I’m physically looking better since my surgeries. Who knew that he noticed how rough I was looking? I thought that by curling my hair, I had that all covered up. I had gained a pound and you would have thought that I had won the race. I’ve thought on that several times. Instead of telling me how much I needed to gain (like they have for literally months), he praised me for that 1 pound gain. That did something in my brain which has caused me to feel relief instead of me constantly monitoring everything I eat and praying that it sticks to my bones. I’ll get there eventually. I’m still having a lot of blood pressure issues. He took me off of spironolactone. I have been keeping a record of my bp readings morning, noon and night. This seems to have stabilized my blood pressure. I’ll turn in my readings next week, and hopefully, I won’t have to add another medication to the handful that I’m taking now. I also saw my GP the same day, and they both urged me to get the covid vaccine booster. I got it before I came home. ….and boy, did I ever put on a show! I went into the bathroom after I received the shot. I got so weak, was jerking all over and I barely got the door open to get help. They instantly saw that I was in trouble and wheeled a chair over for me to sit in. They cooled me down with cool cloths and gave me water to drink. I shook and jerked for about 20 minutes while the world looked on. My greatest fear was that those coming in to get their first vaccine would turn and run back out the door. They didn’t, even though I was in the station where they one-by-one came in and bravely took their shots. 30 minutes passed, I came back around and all is well. Andrew and I have laughed about my performance. 🙂🙃 I go tomorrow for an ultrasound of my carotid artery. I’m still having a lot of trouble with my eyes. Hopefully, we’ll get this all under control. Also…. I marked something off of my bucket list that I didn’t even know was on my list. I played a little basketball with my son on Sunday morning. It was the first time I’ve ever attempted to shoot a basketball and I made 5 hoops! I looked a lot like one of those aired-up, balloon men flapping in the wind, but I could have cared less. Check. ✔️ We also bought a couple of lottery tickets. My ticket was a ‘win all.’ I got an old wrinkled $10 bill, and Andrew sped out of there. My brother text me back with a ‘sinning on Sunday!’ congratulations, since we’ve been brought up that you don’t gamble. Sorry, mom! All-in-all, I had a good week. Hopefully, I’ll get good news tomorrow as well. Keep the faith. Do what your doctor tells you to do. Keep doing your exercises. Drink your water. Stay in tune with what’s going on in your body. Be kind. Encourage others along the way. We can do this!! ~❤️

Thought I'd post an update on what's happening with me. I went to see my cardiologist last week. First words out of his mouth when he came through the door was, 'No difibrillator needed right now.' Yay!! I had a bit of a scare when they took me back down to have my echo redone. The doctor couldn't see what he needed to. Apparently when you're too thin, it's harder to see your heart. The technician explained that it was like looking through a picket fence and trying to take a picture of something behind the fence. Cute visual that he acted out! The second echo, with a senior technician, didn't show anymore information than the first. They used the enhancer IV with both. My ejection refraction has improved a bit. He said I'm still not 'to the top of the hill', but to keep trying. I'm really struggling with walking. I'm breathless and I have a hard time not passing out. Some days are easier than others. I still have fluid on my lungs, and he said I might have to have another thoracentisis.....of which I might RUN.... well.... I might have to devise another plan because running is out of the picture. 😉I still have heart failure and a few more things going on with my heart, but my valve is doing great. I came out of there with a lot of hope. I go back in 3 months. My son and I go walking every morning. My husband joins us on the weekends. I have 6 more sessions at rehab. I can do this!

I’ve been experiencing some high blood pressure readings at rehab that have kind of come as a surprise to me. I have always had low blood pressure. At home, my systolic pressure is usually in the 90s and the diastolic pressure range is in the upper 40s to the mid 50s. When I’m at rehab, it’s always higher. I’ve even taken my cuff in to make sure it is giving me correct readings. A couple of weeks ago, I was on the stationary bike, and I had what I refer to as a bike wreck. I got on and right away I saw that I couldn’t do it. I got off and made my way to the nearest chair. They struggled for a bit to get my readings. My blood pressure was 190/70. My heart rate had also shot up. I have afib, so they thought I could have went in and came right back out of it. If so, I sure didn’t experience what I normally do...no trying to pass out and I didn’t exactly feel my heart out of rhythm. They had me to sit there until my pressure got back within normal range, benched me for the day and sent me home. Last week, I thought I was doing better, but they told me on Friday that my blood pressure is trending upward and that I need to call my doctor. I can’t for the life of me recall what they told me they think is happening. I was kind of stumped. I’m also experiencing some body jerking when I have over exerted myself. When I sit down, it’s almost like a rocket taking off. My upper body literally jerks me from side to side like a rag doll. It doesn’t last long, but it’s terrifying for me and my family when they see it happening. Has anyone else experienced this? I’ll call my doctor tomorrow because this morning I had Moe’s surgery on the side of my face. They had prepped me before I even thought about mentioning my new heart valve. No problem! I guess there are others who forget to mention it because it wasn’t long until they returned with antibiotics for me to swallow. This is my fourth go around with Moe’s surgery, so it’s like, ‘Hello, old friend!’ They got it all, so I’m good to go again until my next round. No rehab for me this week. My job is to rest and keep my head above my heart. Also...I’ve had a couple of messages that don’t show up on my page. Is this normal? I hate it that I don’t know how to find them or what to respond to.