Sara's Posts

Sorry I haven't updated my journal in while! I've managed to keep myself very busy since surgery, which for the most part, has been a good thing. I'm feeling really good and I went to the cardiologist a few weeks ago - and the good news is that he took me off beta blockers! So now the only thing I have to take is a daily baby aspirin, which is not big deal. Woooohoooo, after being on medication for 13 years, this was very exciting for me. So now for the bad/ugly news, my sternal wires are poking out. Yep, you read that correctly. I first noticed this about 2 months ago when I leaned over my daughter's crib and it rubbed funny and caused a lot of pain. I noticed the first one popping out a bit and now I have quite a few. It's not a pretty sight! So I addressed this with my cardiologist and unfortunately, this means another surgery for me. Much much much less serious than before, but still, back under the knife and he has to open the full incision to pull the wires. This is the second time this has happened to me. From what I have read, they say this is a rare occurrence, but apparently for me it's common :( Friday is my date - I will head back to have these wires removed! If you think of it, please wish me luck/say a little prayer that it's a speedy surgery and a small bump in the road. I will update you all and let you know next week.

It has been a while since my last update! I had meant to post a note sooner, but things have been pretty hectic at our house over the past few weeks. My husband and I had made it our long-term goal to move closer to home so that our daughter could grow up around family. This all happened much faster than we expected and we will be relocating to Kansas City in less than 3 weeks! It's hard to believe. So in my past few weeks, we have been busy buying a house and trying to prepare ourselves for the next big jump. Never a dull moment around here - that's for sure! The good news is that I'm feeling great. I am still a little sore, but nothing that isn't handled by a few Tylenol once or twice a week! The most difficult thing at this point is that I still have to remember not to push it too far. We spent the weekend packing and felt good and pushed/carried some boxes, etc and I would feel a little pain occasionally. The great thing is that it was a little and not a lot, so I'm getting better! At this point, I'm only taking baby aspirin and a beta blocker (for 2 more months), then it will just be baby aspirin for me! It's really nice to be off the cocktail of drugs that I came home on. My scar is healing nicely as well - well, as good as a full zipper can heal :) Let's put it this way, I finally don't look like Dr. McCarthy took me down in a street fight. Feeling better each day! Today I am getting back to work! My doctor suggested that 8 weeks would make more sense, but I feel good enough and will still take the time that I need to go on walks and rest if I need to. It feels good to be contributing to the family again - and getting back to my old self, but this time I'm actually better! Thanks again to all of you for the support. It truly means so much!

It's hard to believe that it has been 3 weeks since surgery! I'm feeling really good. The pain in my back and neck is mostly gone, although I still just feel a little bit stiff all around. I can tell that the muscles in my chest are healing because my chest is sore, sore, sore - but it's nothing that can't be dealt with! I'm walking a mile now on the treadmill and feel great doing it! I'm honestly feeling much better than I thought that I would be, which makes it kind of hard to follow my limitations. A few days ago I picked up my daughter (who weights 21 pounds) and that was a bad idea! I could feel a lot of pressure in my chest, so now I know why they set those rules :) I won't be breaking them again. Right now I still need tons of sleep - I take an hour or two nap every day and am sleeping 9-10 hours at night. I guess my body needs that to heal. I definitely always feel a lot better after resting. My scar is healing up pretty well. I only have a slight hint of a scab left at the very top part, but the rest has all come off, along with the scabs from all of the tubes. I just have some dull bruising left and basically look like I took a little beating. Things are definitely getting better, one day at a time. I'm hoping to head back to work in a few weeks (part-time) and step it up on the treadmill. Before I knew that I needed surgery I organized a charity run in October on behalf of my baby girl, who has a rare and severe form of muscular dystrophy. I was really worried that the surgery was going to hold me back because she requires a lot of care, but I'm starting to feel like it actually might be the opposite. The surgery is what is going to allow me to be strong to take care of my daughter and finish this race in honor of the love of my life!