David's Posts

8 Months today! Stamina coming back still, though easily tired. Walking a whole bunch. 5 miles most days. 3 on a bad day. 7+ on a good day. Priorities coming out of surgery still feel like they are coming into focus. Time here is limited. How do we make the most of what we have?

Ok, so 6 weeks ago I was in the ICU! Today, I actually feel pretty close to being a normal human, not a patient, or someone recovering from heart surgery. I still get tired, and as I cut back on tylenol, I'll still get a little sore, but it's not much of anything. I actually went in to work for a couple of meetings to get my head back in the game/start getting up to speed on business planning. Followed this with my first post-op cardiologist meeting here in Portland, today. It was interesting because my previous cardiologist punted. They never met with me, just sent me to a surgeon...so now I have a NEW cardiologist. A lot of today was getting to know each other, getting my history, what meds I'm on, etc. BP was good. Wound looks good. Lungs and heart sounded good. I'll do an echo and EKG in 6 weeks. They won't clear me to drive till week 8 because of air bags, which is kind of a bummer. They gave me a referral for Cardio Rehab if I want it, but due to the fact that I am walking between 5-7 miles a day right now, they aren't sure I will get much out of it. They also said the cardio rehabs here are for people a whole lot older than me. What do you guys think, still worth it to go into rehab? I was imagining it might be good for shoulders and chest exercises and maybe just getting back up to running speed while in a controlled environment? For anyone with a valve repair, have you had any issues with going back to a fully active lifestyle? I am some how psyching myself out about really exerting myself...I know it's silly, but I think the knowledge that active/athletic folks wear out tissue valves makes me wonder about the longevity of repairs and if exercise can cause accelerated wear? Anyone else hyper aware of their heart beat? For what ever reason I can hear my heart beat super clear when I inhale laying in bed, but not exhale...so I was "losing" my 3rd and 4th beat, and completely freaking myself out for an evening...comical what we can convince ourselves of after surgery. Hope everyone in recovery is doing well, and that everyone heading into surgery will have a fantastic weekend. Go have some great food, etc, as your appetite and taste will be off for some time.

I can't believe it's been 4 weeks since my surgery. Time is moving both fast and slow. I've settled into a routine of walking around my neighborhood, lounging in a chair, reading and playing guitar while I wait to heal up. Still have some pretty steep waves of fatigue come through, and I have some annoying sciatica this week, but it's improving. Too much awkward sitting in bed, I think, as I still don't like laying down flat. Regardless, this week I am really starting to feel like myself. I'm starting to get my step counts up to what used to be low step count days for me, but at least there is an overlap. Looking forward to rehab and running/hiking real distances again. My appetite is not entirely back, but I think that may be due to the blood thinners/beta blockers I am on post surgery kinda make everything taste a little weird. Tough to get excited about when flavors seem to be all over the map. Mostly just feeling pretty grateful for the age we live in, and the surgery we are able to undergo. Hoping everyone is having a positive experience with this rather large life event.