Thomas's Journal

Almost like a Mastercard commercial: 6 hour round trip drive to visit Dr. Slosky at Vanderbilt 1 day off work 1 tank of gas Hearing your doctor say, \"Everything sounds perfect and see you in one year\" - PRICELESS!!!!! I am still ticking and feel great! Here\'s to year #4!

I am so happy to report that one year has passed since my AVR surgery and I am doing GREAT! I cannot begin to thank everyone that touched us in some way, but please know that Kim and I are truly thankful for everything. I thank God for watching over us and putting many special people in our lives. I give thanks to Dr. Boruff (Jeff), Dr. Marietta, Dr. Briggs, the medical team at Vanderbilt; Dr. Petracek (surgeon), Dr. Slosky (Cardiologist), Dr. Eagle (Anesthesiologist), nurses, staff and Dr. Wes Thayer (my good friend from college). Vanderbilt is top notch in my books and I trust and recommend their heart team. One year has gone by and many key words and phrases represent the year: Prayers, Kim, my family, oh no, tired, fear, tears, anxiety, insomnia, heart flutter, Dr. appts, Echo, research, Adam Pick, The Patient\'s Guide to Heart Valve Surgery, phone calls, face to face meetings, insurance, HR, short term disability, understanding boss and co-workers, surgeons, types of valves, measurements, Google, Youtube, Facebook, my friends, logistics, Thanksgiving, dinners with friends, pre-op, writing letters to my children just in case, saying goodbye to my children and in-laws, TEE, Cardiac Cath, needles, \"the shave\", bactroban, the holding room and briefing, praying with Stephen, saying my goodbye to Kim, friends in the waiting room with Kim, hearing Kim\'s voice, thumbs up, “I made it”, \"the vent\", seeing Kim for the first time, PAIN, crazy dreams, \"hit by a train\", \"breathing on his own\", “no more dilaudid or morphine = hallucinations”, “no more percocet = itching!”, ice chips, moving to step-down floor, seeing my mom, pain killer that works with no side effects = Tramadol, chest tubes out, \"what\'s that ticking sound?\", first walk, sitting in chair, Jell-o, needles again, one pint of blood, insulin, coumadin, visits from friends, guestbook entries, phone calls, Libby\'s cookies, \"4 laps and we are gone!\", discharged, Kim driving me home, back seat, pillows, snowing, home safe, seeing kids for first time!, hugs from my kids, 3 little nurses and one little doctor, Jeff checking in on me, my first breakfast, chocolate milk, recliner, pillows, cold, television, I-phone, laptop, Blue hands, ambulance ride, Parkwest ER, alcohol swabs, embarrassed, feeling better, first INR check, Christmas Day! New Year, bowl games, first trip outside the house with my buddies for BCS game, awesome kids, loving wife, no sleep, Ambien, sleep, not more than 6 pounds, feeling better, Pericarditis, feeling better, walk to the mailbox and back, visits from my buddies, more energy, first sled ride down the hill, low sodium, INR checks, Cardiac rehab, \"you\'re too young to be here\", 1st visit back to Vandy to see Dr. Petracek, \"doing great\", first time to drive, plane ride, back to work, DISNEYLAND with the family, turkey hunting, gaining some weight, fast pitch softball with Kaci & Molly, football with Conner, swim team, Lainey at the City Meet Finals, re-elected to the school board, back to school, Kim and I in NYC alone!, 3rd visit back to Vandy to see Dr. Slosky, test results – GREAT!, No more Beta Blockers!!!!!, Halloween, deer hunting, Thanksgiving, pheasant hunt in South Dakota, December 15th – my new birthday, the joke my friends played on me - my twin in my front yard with blue hands & blue gloves all over my car, and my family & friends joining me on my one year anniversary! What a year it has been and so thankful that I am back to 100%! My goal for the start of year 2 is to finish the Knoxville half marathon on April 3, 2011. Thanks again for your prayers, encouragement and support! Here\'s to year #2! Thomas

The title is very fitting to this journal entry. Seems I cannot get a good length of time going and I hit another hill on the recovery ride. Kim and I made the soggy and wet journey over to Nashville to see Dr. Petracek on February 5th. My visit went great and he was very happy with where I was at 6 weeks post-op. He took me off some medications and gave me the green light to go back to work as well. I celebrated my 39th birthday on February 6th and took 2 of my daughters to the father / daughter Valentine dance. Everything was going great until Thursday, February 11, when I started feeling bad. By the weekend, I had severe pain in my left shoulder and back, fever of 100+, and some discomfort in my side. This Monday, I called Vandy and spoke to the nurse there and told her what was going on. I was instructed to go to see my doctor here ASAP for tests. My PCP (Jeff) took charge of the situation and by 1:00, I had an echo, a lot of blood work and some other tests. The concern was that I had Endocarditis in my new valve or Pericarditis. If you need to choose an \"itis\" you would go for Pericarditis. Jeff discussed my test results and echo with my cardiologist here in Knoxville and my surgeon at Vandy. They all agreed on Pericarditis and the treatment started. I am on an anti-inflammatory medication as well as an antibiotic until we know for sure a bacterial infection is not present (30+ hours so far and no positive)! I already feel better as the pain is on its way out and the fever is gone. I should be good to go by the weekend. I am so ready to get all of this behind me and soar over the hill back to cardiac rehab. I use the roller coaster analogy because it really seems like you hit so many ups and downs in this road to recovery. I can tell you that I am looking forward to no more hills until we ride the real roller coasters during our spring break trip to California - DISNEYLAND! Thanks again to everyone for the support! Thomas

It is hard to believe that this will be my 6th week home from Vanderbilt! Kim and I will go to Vanderbilt this Friday to see Dr. Petracek for my follow up visit. As I have mentioned before, Dr. Petracek does not encourage driving after 6 weeks. He thinks I should not drive until week 12. I am going to try and negotiate something between 6 and 12 :-). Last week, M-R, was not a good week for me. I caught a virus that made me feel awful. I ran a 102F fever for several days and my neck, shoulders and back really hurt. I went to see Jeff at his office and he verified that I did not have a bacterial infection or issue with my heart. I think I just caught some random virus since my immune system is so worn down. Last week really set me back on my rehab and I am not sure I am ready to go back to work on February 8th. I will discuss this with my doctors and see what they think. I felt much better on Friday and just in time for the upcoming snow storm. The snow came on Friday night and Saturday, but we did not receive as much as everyone thought we would. I enjoyed watching the kids play in the snow and we had a great time! I look forward to getting back into cardiac rehab this week and my visit on Friday with Dr. Petracek. I think I just need to hear him say that my sternum is healing and my valve / heart are doing great. I just need a confidence boost! I am hopeful my next post will be a good report from my visit with Dr. Petracek. If you get a chance, look up Duane Hunt\'s journal. Duane was reading our posts since he was scheduled for heart surgery 6 weeks out from the date of my surgery. Duane is a great guy and serves as a pastor at a church in Florida. We corresponded several times and talked on the phone about my surgery and his upcoming surgery. Duane\'s last 48 hours have been truly amazing and GOD is in control...just read the last 6-8 posts from his wife, Peggy. Thomas

It is hard to believe that it has been 36 days since my surgery! I cannot even begin to tell you how much difference one week makes during recovery. I really think it was weeks at first and now I see it every day. I started cardiac rehab and feel good about it! I am on a M,W,F schedule and trying to walk on my days off as well. The weather needs to cooperate! I am at least 30 years younger than most of the patients and I get lots of questions :-) My favorite comments / questions, \"why are you here and you are too young to be here\". Once I explain that my AV was replaced and I had some repair work on my Aorta, I get the shocked look. Seems most people assume I had a heart attack or bypass. I am very happy to report that my cardiac cath showed I am clean and clear! On Monday I took my first big walk. Conner and I walked around our entire neighborhood and his pace is perfect for me right now. We visited with neighbors and had some dad / son time! My \"zipper\" is healing and looking great. I have had no issues with the incision and followed the Dr\'s instructions. I still have some soreness on my right side, but happy to report that I slept on my side last night. This is huge because I sleep better on my side. Just imagine your sleeping position and not being able to sleep that way for 36 days. I am sure you get the picture now :-) My chauffer, Kim, is doing a great job shuttling me around. I really feel like a burden at times because I cannot just jump in the car and drive. As I said before, Kim wins the award for best supporting role! I have to note that a friend of mine fell off a ladder and broke both wrists and an ankle. I sent him a note on Facebook telling him if he needed anything to call Kim because I can\'t drive :) My humor is coming back and I wish my friend a very quick recovery! Here\'s to tomorrow! Thomas

I know it has been a while since I created a journal entry and some of you have been asking, how I am? I am improving every day and can feel it. I am sleeping in the bed without the help of Ambien, no pain meds during the day and only one pill at night, (about to say adios to that), eating dinner at the table with the family, appetite is back and able to navigate steps easily! We are on day 26 since surgery and day 21 at home, and things are so much better. My Coumadin level - INR were okay until today's check. I am back to checks 2 X week until we can get it "dialed in". My weight is fluctuating around 154-157 and I am down 12 pounds since surgery. I look forward to starting Cardiac Rehab this Wednesday and gaining back some muscle mass. I have no problems eating, but finding foods not loaded in Sodium is harder than you think. Kim tries so hard to make sure that I eat low sodium foods and she even made a chicken soup with a vegetable based stock. Go to your pantry, fridge and freezer and check your labels for Sodium, it will shock you. I did get out of the house for the National Championship game and spent some time with Jeff, Mike and Randy. Mike & Randy braved the snow and ice to get me out of the house! Kim and I ran errands today and had lunch out. This was the first time I have been out most of the day and had lunch outside the house. Today was tiring and I did take a big nap! I am still off work for a couple more weeks and not exactly sure when I will go back. My surgeon has advised me not to drive for 12 weeks from date of surgery and no travel. I cannot imagine what would happen if I get in an accident again, (back in October, the taxi I was riding in was in a crash). I am still ticking like a watch and the kids love to listen to my tick, tick, tick. I just wonder what will happen when I take my first airline trip of the year and the person next to me asks, what is that ticking? :-) Thanks again to everyone for the cards, calls, e-mail, guestbook entries and txt messages. Your support has helped me through this so much! Here's to tomorrow! Thomas

Three nights in a row of sleep in the bed, thanks to Ambien! My energy level has increased and I am able to get up and move around a lot more. The cold weather has limited my walks and I look forward to starting cardiac rehab (next week I think). I am still very sore in my chest and ribs, but I am able to cough without feeling great pain. My incision looks great and continues to heal each day. I am managing my pain with one Tramadol at night and 1-2 Tylenol during the day. Things are improving every day, but the process is slow (that is why they tell you 6-12 weeks and you have to be patient). Here's to tomorrow! Thomas

Still not sleeping through the night and giving Ambien one more shot tonight. I am moving from the recliner to the bed tonight and hopeful that will make the difference! My INR count today was 3.4 and too thin. I am backing down to 5mg of Coumadin and will get checked again on Monday. We had a small scare the other night and I think it was a combo of low BP and my probable allergic reaction to Sage. I started questioning, what next? Thanks to my friends, Diane and Jim, for the down comforter used to line my recliner. I am hopeful I will not need that if the bed works. One of my very good friends from SS class and our road trip crew, Randy, stopped by to see me today. Randy last saw me in the ICU at Vandy so I looked a little different :-) Things around the house are great and Kim and the kids are taking great care of me. I am not sure how Kim does what she does and I really think she is Superwoman in disguise! As we prepare to ring in 2010, I will never forget 2009. I originally was bummed with 2009 and the need for surgery, but realized I need to be thankful. December 15, 2009, will be a day I will never forget. This is the day I got a second chance on life! Enough said! Happy New Year to all of you and all the best in 2010! Here's to tomorrow! Thomas

Sorry for no updates the last couple of days, but not much to tell. I am still not sleeping through the night, but got the green light from Dr. Petracek to try Ambien. I hope to have better news tomorrow! As of yesterday, my INR count is great @ 2.8 and I will have it checked again on Thursday. I am taking 7.5mg of Coumadin and my blood is thin (the cold weather hits me hard). I still find it funny that I have one child old enough and tall enough to ride in the front of our Suburban, and I am confined to the back seat. I am looking forward to starting cardiac rehab and wish it started next week. I am BORED out of my mind and the lack of energy just frustrates me even more. I know this is a process and I have to keep reminding myself of that. One can only walk to the mailbox, read and surf the internet so much! I do have more energy and plan to help Conner with his legos and take up his challenge on our Wii. Here's to tomorrow! Thomas

Still not sleeping through the night due to back pain and lack of getting comfortable. I wish I had a bed of feathers to put in the recliner and see if it works. I can tell you that Xanax did not work and actually made things worse. I was wide awake from 2100-0300. I finally got some sleep around 0300 after the Tramadol kicked in. I had visits from our good friends, Christy & Bill and Jeff & his brother Brian. I actually stayed down stairs most of the day and watched football and movies with the kids. I got my daily mailbox walk in as well. The sunshine and cool air really felt good today. All in all, not a bad day. I just wish I could get a full night's sleep. I may try the Ambien route soon. Here's to tomorrow! Thomas

Merry Christmas to all my family & friends! I did not sleep well last night and really wished I could have helped Kim last night. Kaci announced at 0600 that it was time to see what Santa brought. We made sure my mom was awake, called Gigi & Papa so they could come over and Kim got the video camera ready for me. The kids came down the steps and found the loot Santa left them. The screaming and jumping up and down let me know they loved their presents! My present is the tick, tick, tick I hear coming from my new Aortic valve. I don't want to get all sappy and emotional, but I think about the second chance I have with my new valve. This Christmas is extra special and I am so thankful to be here! The lack of sleep and excitement of the morning wore me out. I took a little nap and rebounded for lunch and presents with my mom, Granny D. Mom left for Pikeville and I headed back for another nap. Seems opening presents and naps go together for me :-) Kim took the kids over to her Mom's for presents and I slept. Once Kim and the kids got home, we had dinner and opened our presents from each other. Conner and I got matching Peyton Manning jerseys for Christmas! I have always wanted one and what could be better than have matching jerseys with your son! The kids were very happy with their gifts and Kim got the GPS she declared moved from a "want" to a "need" :-). As we wound down the night, we all talked about the day and gave thanks for the birth of Jesus! I am just amazed the things my children say and they way they show love for their Savior! I hope everyone reading this journal had a wonderful day and took some time to reflect on the real meaning of the day. I can tell you that I am thankful and will always remember this Christmas! Here's to tomorrow! Thomas

I have had a great day today. The morning started off with a visit from one of my best friends, Mike, visiting this morning. I was able to get outside and visit with my neighbor during my daily mailbox walk. I also got to see Miriam while she delivered our Christmas dinner. My mom arrived around 1:00 and she is staying with us through tomorrow afternoon. I am so glad she came up to be with us tonight and watch the kids in the morning! This afternoon, I received a visit from our friends Dave and Kelly. The big surprise visit came from my brother and his family. They did not call or tell me they were coming and just showed up. It was so good to see Mike, Sherri, Meghan and Ryan. The last time my brother saw me I was in the ICU at Vanderbilt. He could not believe the difference 10 days makes! Kim and the kids just got back from Christmas Eve Service at Cokesbury. I really wish I could have attended, but I am not sure I have that energy or strength yet. It has been a great day and looking forward to Santa's arrival tonight! The house is buzzing with excitement from the kids and I cannot wait until tomorrow morning. Merry CHRISTmas to everyone following my journal. I hope you have a wonderful holiday and spend it with the people you love! Here's to tomorrow! Thomas

I had a very good day yesterday. Kim and the kids took me to Jeff's office for my INR check. It is funny that I have to ride in the back of the car and I have one old enough to ride in the front now. I had a couple of visitors yesterday and that helps boost the spirits. I was able to walk to the mailbox and spend a little bit of time outside. Seems I am building my strength and feeling better. Here's to tomorrow! Thomas

No emergencies today! :-) I am able to laugh about yesterday and glad to see all the guestbook entries relating to that. Karen, my butt is not blue :0) I slept in the recliner last night as I just cannot get comfortable in bed. I woke up to a nice breakfast of oatmeal, banana and chocolate milk. For some odd reason I crave chocolate milk right now? My buddy Dave came by and brought me lunch. It was so good to see and visit with him. I felt tired after lunch and took a small nap. After my nap, I did my big walk of the day! I managed to go to our neighbor's mailbox and had a visit with our other neighbor as well. I never thought walking to the mailbox would make me so happy! It was so good to get out in the fresh air. The downside of all of this is the Coumadin. I am freezing now and have to bundle up. I would rather be cold than have a blood clot! A great day for me with visits, walks and no emergencies! Here's to tomorrow! Thomas

We had a small scare today and I had to go to the ER. I woke up not feeling well due to low BP and blue hands. Kim called Vandy and they told me to go to the ER. The ER doc assessed me and could not figure out why I had blue hands when my feet were not blue? My oxygen levels were above 90 but I had blue hands and low BP... The scare was averted once they figured out the blue was from something else and not my circulation. Seems the 10+ year old recliner we have is blue and somehow my hands absorbed some of the blue....Yes, I know this is something to laugh at now! Note to everyone that might use a recliner with color.... I think the low BP, lack of sleep last night and waking up with blue hands did me in. My INR level is still low so I am taking more coumadin tonight and tomorrow night. We hope that will get it to where it needs to be by Wednesday morning. Other than the blue hands incident - I had a decent day. Here's to tomorrow!

I slept okay last night and did better once I moved to the recliner. I was able to eat breakfast and had visits with the kids. They are such great helpers and checked on me all day. I took my first shower by myself and I know everyone appreciated that :-) My BP and blood levels are low, so getting up and down can be a chore! I walked some laps in the house and used the Spirometer hourly. My appetite is back! I ate lunch and dinner as well as two cookies (made by our friend Libby). Jeff checked in on me to listen to my chest and say hello. Tomorrow is my first Coumadin clinic and the first day of many dosage changes. My goal tomorrow is to walk to the mailbox and back a couple of times. Thanks again to everyone for the support, messages and prayers! Here's to tomorrow! TD

We arrived home last night safe and sound. Kim did a great job driving me home through the snow and avoiding potholes :) We were met by our 4 excited children, grandparents and one of my best friends, (Jeff) who also happens to be my PCP. The kids were wearing masks because they did not want to give me germs :) They were very excited to see me and 3 of them asked to see the scar. I made it up the steps to the bedroom without issue and got to visit with each child. They had made me signs, cards, etc. Seeing the kids was GREAT and just a reminder why I had to make it through this! Jeff checked all my vital signs, read all of my info from Vanderbilt and talked to me about my experience. I owe Jeff so much because he was the one that got the ball rolling on my echo and discussed all options with me. I met Jeff in 2001 through our ss class at Cokesbury..GOD is GREAT! I got to see the grandparents (Gigi & Papa) just for a second to tell them thank you for taking care of the kids and running the house while we were gone. We finally got to bed and I know Kim was just wiped out from the long week and drive. Marriage is about supporting each other and Kim wins the trophy and title for supporting role! I will update more on Post-op Day 1 later.

My Bp stabilized once they gave me fluids and I did 4 laps around the unit!! We were discharged and heading home now! I will update more later or tomorrow. Kim is driving me home and doing a great job!

Hey, It's Kim. Thomas blood pressure just dropped really low again. He is resting. He almost passed out. So, it is possible that our trip home may be delayed. As dissappointed as we will be, our main goal is to get Thomas better. If that takes an extra day or two we will do it. We had not told the children that we might be coming home so at least we won't have to tell them. It seems as if there was some miscommunication with the medical staff and that Thomas possibly got some medicine he should not have. Nothing dangerous, but it could be the reason for the decreased blood pressure. We will keep you posted.

Hello Everyone, As you all know thanks to my lovely wife's updates, I MADE IT! This has been a roller coaster ride and I have been so emotional. I am completely overwhelmed by the things that have been done for us. I am so thankful for the people that came down to be with Kim during the surgery, the support back home with our kids, the meals that were delivered, the messages sent to me and so many other things. I am now just getting all of the stories from the week and each one makes me emotional. I give thanks to GOD becuase I have a second chance on life. I also give thanks to a wonderful surgery team at Vanderbilt! Vanderbilt Cardiac team is top notch and all of the people that cared for me have been A+. I am hopeful we will come home tomorrow and need the weather to cooperate. I will post more soon. I just say thank you to everyone that followed my journal. I loaded a new profile picture of me on the step down floor. This is day 3 of recovery!