Patricia's Posts

Today was my follow-up visit with my surgeon, Dr. Lewis. So it meant hitting the road bright and early for the drive to B-ham. Had to get a chest X-ray first, then had the surgeon consult. Dr. Lewis is pleased with my progress. He said the X-ray looks perfect. My lungs are fully open and I can ditch the spirometer. Hurrah! He said my insomnia and anorexia are normal, and in fact most heart patients experience these post-surgical kinds of changes. Things will get back to normal over time though it varies by patient. He stressed to me that I did not just have surgery...that I had one of the most major kinds of OHS, a double valve heart replacement, so of course I will be tired and frustrated with my progress at times. I'm back to work next Monday and hoping my energy will last all day. I will need to pace myself for sure. Tomorrow is my last visit from the home RN. Once I go back to work, they don't come anymore. So I will have to drag myself down to the Coumadin Clinic for blood testing, which is a huge pain literally and otherwise, as it's clear across town in the medical district where there's (a) no parking and/or (b) limited expensive parking. I also want to do cardio rehab, but found out their only offered times are weekday mornings and early afternoons. So disappointed. Don't they realize some people work? I can't take time off to again drive clear across town, work out for an hour, then have to find a place to shower and drive many miles back to work. The job I start Monday is new (developmental assignment I competed for) so I think that would be really asking too much of a new employer, too. It's too bad that they don't offer evening or weekend cardio rehab sessions for those of us who work. Not everybody with heart issues is retired.

I took a few days off from blogging to quietly enjoy the holidays. Hard to believe that in 4 days, it will have been a month since my surgery. I wish I was improving faster. Had a bit of a setback with a fever for a few days. Fortunately it didn't send me back to the hospital. My appetite is nil, though. Nothing tastes good, not even old favorites. It's odd, but my stomach doesn't even growl if I go a whole day without food. Of course I know I should eat, but it's hard to force such a thing. My sleep schedule is still messed up too, so I sleep in bits and pieces when I can. I need to get back on track in the next few weeks though as I'm headed back to work. Hope everyone has a happier, healthier New Year!

Tomorrow I'll be getting a cheesecake that I ordered some weeks ago from a co-worker's son who was holding a fundraiser. Great timing as I'll have it for Christmas. DH doesn't like cheesecake so it will last me extra long. Between this treat and my recliner, I have it made now. Saw the cardiologist yesterday who said I look good and my incision is healing nicely. It's not a pretty scar though. I haven't been taking any pain meds and she thinks I should at least to sleep. I just don't like the way they make me feel. I admit the pain is constant at various levels, mostly around the incision. Recliner helps a lot in relieving that pull. I don't know what they did to my poor arms on that operating table, but they hurt something fierce, especially at the shoulder joints as if they were wrenched over my head. Heat packs help some. Everything will just take time and patience. I need to work on both.