Summer's Posts

I thought for sure I could convince my husband to write in my journal while I was in the hospital but that didn't happened. So no its 9 days post op and I am just getting to it. Sorry.....I only have internet on my phone and it hurt to hold it for to long. My surgery went very well-I definitely had my age on my side. They were able to do a repair but had to stabilize it with a ring. So I will be on Cumadin for a while. My surgery was on the 6th and I was released on the 10th. I struggled with pain meds as almost everything made me sick. I was their lab rat for finding the right cocktail. But man it helped when they did! I got to walking right away....slowly but surely.....I started to eat a little and move around more. I slept like crap but I think that it expected while in the hospital. I enjoyed all my company even though they got to leave and have dinner and drinks and I was stuck eating ice chips and Popsicles. I was very excited for the first morning when I was able to eat a real breakfast. Some Highlights** Seeing my families faces for the first time after surgery Being told I could have a Popsicle instead of just ice my first shower post op.....AMAZING! having my husband there the whole time and not having to worry about him having to go to work. Things I wasn't prepared for*** Walking-absolutely exhausting Being so excessively thirsty right after surgery How hard the sternal precautions were to follow Now that we are home its been a transition to rely on my husband for everything and I mean EVERYTHING! He helps me pull up my pants, monitors my meds, baths me, cooks for me, takes care of the house and animals and children. And much much more!!! I am so very thankful that he is able to be here to take care of me and we don't have to worry about him rushing back to work. Thanks for all of the support from everybody in The Washington State Patrol/FOP and FOP Auxillary for all your help I t really means so much! Each day it gets a little better but I can't wait to sleep in my own bed again!! Our daughter who is 3able has been gone since we have been home and we get her back tomorrow ....so let's hope that transition goes well. A big THANK YOU to Johnson WSP Families FOP FOP Auxiliary Freeman Pittmans Schafers Jaderlunds His Place MOPS Coffells Aamots And many more! We appreciate everything you all have done for us!!!

We are on our way home from a long trip down to Portland to visit my Father-in-Law at the VA Hospital. He has had many medical issues since the mid 90's from being exposed to so much in Vietnam War (Seizures, Brain Tumors, Radition Posioning). We found out mid week that his brain tumor came back with full force. We rushed down on Friday after he had a Grand Map Seizure and lost tons of memory, use of right arm, and his oxygen dropped. All of the siblings were able to be there by his side and you could tell the sparkle in his eyes when the Grandkids would cuddle with him in bed. It was hard to see him in so much pain and all I could do is pray for him. As the weekend went on he started to feel better and by today he was able to leave the room and visit with us in the cafeteria for quite some time. I am really thankful that my Mother-in-Law is so strong in this unfortunate situation. She is so brave....she is a survivor of 2 bouts of Breast Cancer leading to a double masectomy-she is a true inspiration, especially when I am down. It was hard to leave today especially since alot of questions we have are still unanswered. We are hoping to hear more tomorrow. As we were driving home I am looking up open heart surgery scars on women, good bra choices (any advice here would be great**keep in mind I am very busty), reading other journal entries, and thinking to myself how I am going to handle coming home after surgery....that's honestly what scares me the most. Let me explain why.....I have 3 kids 9-6-3 and I love them to pieces, but they are alot of work. I stay at home with them and have for 3 1/2 years and I feel very blessed that I am able to do so. I do have the luxury to have my husband take care of me after I get home, but not only does he have to take care of me has housework, cooking, bills, and taking care of the kids. He is a super Dad and i know he can do it, but I am having anxiety about it. Hopefully it will all work out and it goes smoothly. Anyways....it getting closer and I am trying to get my to list done. I am slowly getting things checked off and hopefully things will calm down before pre op day.

So first of all thanks for stopping by and reading my journey through my Mitral Valve Repair. I started this because I love to journal though I haven't done it in many years (kids kind of do that to you)....and I figured this would be a great way to document my feelings, progress, vent and maybe if I am lucky I can make a different in someone else journey through this disease. It all started 6 weeks ago while in my annual exam. My Doctor found a murmur and recommended me get an echo. I came in the room with a weird feeling that something wasn't right. Well the feeling continued to get worse when the procedure took twice as long as he initially said and I got my results twice as fast. I remember the phone call from the PA so very well. We were in line at the coffee stand and the phone rings "hi is this Summer" I said "yes" and she proceeds "Dr. Robertson wanted to set up an appointment with you to go over your echo results". My heart sank and I felt like I was going to puke. When do they go over the results with you at an appointment???? Only when they are bad...right? I hung up the phone and freaked out on my husband saying I knew something wasn't right. And as always he insisted it was nothing and don't worry it was just procedure. I called my mom and see too insisted it was just procedure. I suggested my husband take the kids to the park while I went to see my doctor since I had such a strong feeling something was up. All I have to say is thank goodness for print outs and pictures because I don't think I heard one word that she said. I fought back the tears....not well but. I did. Well...only for a bit. I called my mom since my husband wasn't there yet and told her and she was just as shocked as me. I remember her saying " well I wasn't expecting THAT?!?" Yeah me either! She made me feel at ease even though I could hear the fear in her voice. I choked down the tears and masked my emotion with humor. That all changed very quickly when my husband picked me up. I immediately told him and then bursted in tears. He too tried to calm me down.....at that point it wasn't going to happen. As the weeks went by it became easier to talk about and it didn't seem to be as scary. I had quite a long period of not knowing what was going to happen next and that probably the worst part. I have finally met my surgeon and have a date October 6th 2011 at 7:30 in the morning......two weeks away. I am thankful it was found right away and that it seems to be repairable. I am so greatful to my family and friends for all of there support and help through this process. But most of all I am thankful to God to allow it to be fixable and I will be able to enjoy many more years with my precious family.