I can totally empathize with Chip's situation, life gets in our way of living and if we are fortunate and still "vertical", although we've suffered some loss, we gain some wisdom in return. I've been on chemo for the past year and have had problems for a couple of years leading up to that and I find that the worst part is being forced to rest, either because we've been told or our body has made us, but that the mind is still very active. So it's that itching at the bit so to speak, having all these ideas running around in your head but lacking the energy, concentration, or opportunity to do something, and doing something is what we are very much used to doing.
All I can say Chip is write down all those good ideas, especially those epiphanies, and convince the doctors that not having your phone is worse than having it. It's not like you are in high-pressure sales and business, the phone is your pen, paper, and "newspaper" and it would be cruel to deprive you of it. I think the only time I didn't have a phone on me was when I was actually in the operating theater.
So rest well Chip, sorry to hear you and your family have suffered so but you will be back in the driver's seat soon enough armed both with hindsight and foresight at your ready.
Knowing Chip, he'll start reinventing the high-tech medical equipment he's seen and experienced, thinking how much better it could be mechanically and with Propellers inside.
\
Agreed, problem solving often thrives in adversity...
During the French Revolution, three professionals were arrested and convicted of having bourgeois values. They were a doctor, a lawyer, and an engineer.
They were to be led to the guillotine one by one. The crowd was roaring with anticipated pleasure.
First up was the doctor. How dare he enrich himself through other people's illnesses? Access to basic health care is a right, right?
The doctor was placed in the guillotine, and the lanyard was yanked. The blade started on its massive, implacable way down. And lurched to a stop.
The official in charge declared that it would be inhumane to make the doctor suffer this way more than once, so he was setting the doctor free. The crowd howled.
The executioner checked his equipment. All was in order. He put a small tree branch in, and successfully lopped it in half. He re-sharpened the blade.
Next up was the lawyer. Who needs an excuse to wish such a lying, cheating scoundrel dead? The crowd was thunderous in its applause.
The lawyer was placed in the guillotine, and the lanyard was yanked. Again, the blade stopped part-way down! The presiding official once again said that he would set this prisoner free because of the unusual circumstances. The crowd screamed in frustration.
Now came the engineer, a man whose innovations and devices were costing jobs. The crowd fell silent. The executioner checked and re-checked his equipment.
As the engineer was marched up to the guillotine, he looked carefully at it, and said, "Wait. I see your problem."
I can safely say we'll be the wrong company for relaxation.
Au contraire! I think it's safe to say that nearly all of us place Chip's welfare above that of the P2 and that we'll do our best to help keep his focus on recovery.
When I felt my stamina declining with age, I got a treadmill and used it regularly for a few years up until a stray dog adopted me. Then my treadmill usage fell off because I spent lots of enjoyable time walking my dog multiple times per day. I suspect that without the treadmill and my dog, my health would have declined much more over the last several years. The best thing about caring for a pet is being able to give him or her love and receive love and to experience your pet's happiness. That's got to be healthy! (And even if not, it's fulfilling) Those benefits likely overlaps with those of having kids, but there's something special about taking care of a creature of a different species (perhaps like the special relationship between God and humans). So I highly recommend caring for a pet for those that can make the time (or have other family members that can share the responsibility and joy).
Exercise and pets are just a couple of the things that can help us stay fit. Medical technology and insurance are great for those that have them (so many of us in the world don't), but they are no substitutes for doing what we can to stay healthy and safe. Due to my family history of colon cancer, I take aspirin fairly regularly, as it supposedly helps reduce inflammation, which can reduce the incidence of colon cancer. Reportedly, aspirin usage is also beneficial for the circulatory system. Of course, one has to be mindful of potential side-effects, like stomach bleeding (consult your physician). But it would be ironic if one of the world's cheapest and most available drugs was one of the most beneficial. Of course, everyone's situation is different, so what potentially works for me isn't going to be for everyone. But there are things that all of us can do to be better balanced.
I am glad to hear your procedure was successful and the nurses probably have you up and walking already! Cardiovascular surgery inpatient care was my bread, butter, and passion for a good many years and I would be happy to be a resource in this recovery period if you guys have any questions that I can help answer. Best things for now as his tastebuds and back recover from surgery: orange sherbert (which will cut through the metallic taste) and good back rubs between his shoulder blades. Please by all means let us know if I can be of any help or resource, I am more than happy to explain what I've seen in my years of helping those post-cardiovascular surgery.
Whoa Chip! Speaking from experience these things can sneak up on you. I had a triple about 10 years ago.
Welcome to the "CABG" club Chip. You may experience some post-depression after you get home, I did. I also had mine around Thanksgiving and there were far too many people around to suit me!
Don't worry about anything but getting well. Your Brother and family will take care of business!
Lean on Tymkrs a little .... I wish I had someone to talk to on occasion.
Take care and best wishes to a speedy recovery!
~Steve
Wow! All these kind thoughts make me feel great! You guys have been through all sorts of things, yourselves. All part of life, it seems.
I came home two days ago from the hospital and feel rather fragile. As you pointed out, half the healing takes place during rehab and that entails a lot of permanent lifestyle changes.
I was just nuts, stuffing my face with salami, working through the nights, not exercising, and sleeping only 4-5 hours a day. I must have crossed a line some time back. I had noticed my blood pressure go from 120/80 to a relentless 140/90 about 3 weeks ago. My mom brought us a blood pressure cuff a little while back, so I would use it, mainly to see what everyone else's blood pressure was.
I had some wierd dreams before I knew I had a problem. In one, my mom was really sad and said, "Chipper's heart is broken!" I got this really depressing sense that I was going to become a prisoner to a very weak body.
On Thanksgiving night, my wife and I went for a walk at my parents' house and I had some strange pain in my upper arms' arteries. I made it a point to walk two miles each subsequent night, hoping I'd overcome the pain, but it didn't relent. I figured something was really wrong, then. Actually, my neighbor Bud, who lives nearby and is happy to go walking at 1:30am told me that maybe I had had a heart attack and that some damage was done, or still underway.
I went to see a doctor the next (Wednesday) morning at the local urgent-care clinic and she kind of took me under her wing and called me later that evening and told me that a room was waiting for me at the local hospital. The tests I had undergone earlier in the day indicated that there was some heart damage whose reversal was becoming less likely with time. They did a few more tests there that seemed inconclusive and I thought that they were going to release me. Instead, they said I needed to be sent to a hospital with a cardiac unit.
So, they took me down to Chico in an ambulance. When I got there, I was seen by a heart surgeon. The staff warned me that this doctor was on his way, but he was in kind of a bad mood. Another staff member told me that this man was the best and I was in good hands. I realized later that he is just fine. His bedside manner is just very direct, which they try to prepare people for. I was fascinated by him. He was maybe 75 years old and was quite tall and sort of hunched over. He came in, told me his name, asked me a few questions, and if my answers weren't absolutely direct, he would immediately reask them with emphasis. After maybe 15 seconds of that, he started moving all over, feeling my ankles, my wrists, listening to my lungs, and then abruptly said, "You have the symptoms. You have the disease. We can fix you."
Within a few minutes, I was on a gurney, being shaved neck to toe by four nurses with electric trimmers, sopping me with wet towels to flush the hair away. They were SO kind and happy, it seemed as if I was at some otherworldy place where old Vikings get sent off to Valhalla, or something. Maybe that show Game of Thrones dictates fashion. I don't know why else it should seem that way.
Next, they rolled me into this industrial-looking room where they had this big ceiling-mounted gantry that attached to large flat screens and some aparati. It was a live x-ray microscope. The heart doctor was in there, on a stool next to me. He injected the inner top of my leg with something to deaden the feeling, and then cut into my leg artery, so that he could insert a heart catheter. I couldn't feel any of that, but he seemed to be leaning on my leg the whole time he manipulated the probe. They went from point to point, very quickly, inside my heart, releasing this die that showed up as a blackish mist on the x-ray video. If the die was being trapped by a blockage, it wouldn't blow around, but with less blockage, it was like dumping a can of coke out a speeding car window. It felt hot when they injected that fluid. The resolution and frame rate were very good. Oh, and that gantry moved around in coordination with their probing. It must have been to move the x-ray source and detector in unison. There was an assistant further down the table that had a steady and terse dialogue with the doctor. I noticed that everyone is very careful not to say anything that could alarm or depress a patient.
After just a couple minutes of that, it was over. The heart doctor turned and said something like, "You don't need a patch. You need a plumber." They could have inserted some stents if the problems were not so severe, but the first three of my arteries (that supplied the heart, I believe) were 100%, 90%, and 80% blocked. Imagine that.
For now, my lower heart is a little damaged, due to that 100% blockage. It idles at 84 now, instead of the old 70 bpm. That may heal, in time. The problem is that the ejector section now works slowly, having been starved of oxygenated blood for some time. I don't have that full-body blood impulse feeling that you have when your heart is working right. Instead, it's kind of a swishy feeling. I hope it returns to normal function. I've got blood going to my whole heart, now, which is most critical.
What this means is that I'm not in shape to do anything too physical. Otherwise, you may not know that anything happened to me. A friend stopped by last night and we talked for maybe five minutes before I told him what all had transpired. He had no idea.
Mainly what I deal with is the feeling of having been in a car accident, with my sternum being opened up.
I'm just taking it slowly, going to bed on time, eating right, getting walking in. I've been following my wife around, going with her on all her errands. She kind of likes that, and I do, too. It will probably wear off, but I feel now like spending time visiting people, instead of the relentless pursuit of getting the job done.
The heart doctor told me it would be six to eight weeks before I'd feel sufficiently restored, and able to do a workday. I assured him, there were many simple things I could work on to push things forward. "That's your personality", he said.
I'm on a no-salt/no-saturated-fat/nothing-too-tasty diet now. I'm dropping 3 pounds a day on it. I had gotten kind of chubby.
Another thing that had been going on before was that my wife started making breakfast foods for dinner, now and then. I mean bacon, sausage, and eggs. I remember coming into the house at around 7:15am, right before my wife takes the kids off to school, and pulling a bag of leftover bacon out of the fridge and eating a big glob of it, all stuck together by white fat, and chewing on that before going to sleep.
I am interested in the story, as I am sure so are the others. The miracles of medicine these days is amazing, and is improving at a quick pace, even tho' we would like it to go much faster
While you obviously needed to go earlier, at least you got help before you ended 6 foot under! Three weeks ago a close friend of ours missed the symptoms and was not so fortunate.
Do take it easy, especially over the Christmas season. I'm sure family will watch over you!
BTW Did they open you up or did they do the op via microscopy?
It's great to hear you are up and about. That sounds like a horrible trauma for you and a terrible worry for the family.
Put the computer off. Go bask in the love of family and friends. Paint some rocks with the kids.
Say hello to Bud for me. He's a great chap and sounds like a life saver in this case.
As bad as this all may sound, to live through it is not so hard. I was starkly shown that there are many kind and loving people in the world. All those that took care of me in the hospital, plus my friends, coworkers, family, and you guys here, all demonstrate that. And there is perpective in realizing afresh that this life's not going to last forever. Even my kids will die someday, after going though their own experiences.
Above all that, I'm aware that God has purpose in all these things. Whether or not I fully recover, I'm being tutored to live with one foot in the grave, so to speak, and have joy in seeing a wider picture. All the inspiration to make Propeller chips comes from God, some of it welling within me and a lot of it from you guys, within whom the inspiration manifests. He has purposes in diverse things and they all lead in good directions. His economy is huge and can't be tracked by worldly metrics and reasoning.
I will say hi to Bud from you. Would you believe that he and this elementary teacher in our church are in love and may get married by the end of the month?
I had a similar story.
Back in 1999, I was on Sardinia for work for a couple of weeks. The walk from my hotel to the work site was about 2 miles up and down some pretty steep hills. The first few days it was a struggle (I was only 52 but really out of shape). After about a week of walking to and from work and sightseeing after work, I was feeling pretty good making the walk (not intermediate stops, no huffing or puffing).
I had a physical scheduled for when I got back home. During the exam I told the doc my experience and asked if he could recommend an exercise plan. He said let's wait until he finishes the exam. One test was an ECG. He compared it with one I had taken in my 30's when I was in good shape.
It showed an "insignificant change", but he felt I should see a cardiologist. A week or 2 later I saw the heart doc. He looked at the ECG traces and said it didn't look like anything, but he had me do a stress test anyway. During the max of the stress test, he looked uncomfortable, stopped the test early, and he definitely didn't like the readings during the cool down.
Still didn't think it was serious but recommended that I get an angiogram and stated they would probably put me on meds after the test.
I went through the same sort of test that Chip did, but in DC they aren't as concerned with feelings.
The doc told me on the table that I had an old silent heart attack, there was damage to the left ventricle, and that 5 other arteries needed to be grafted (95 to 80% blocked). He also said that my ejection fraction was only 25%. I would be staying the night and have early morning bypass surgery.
Long enough story, but Chip described the recovery part well. (hit by a truck) I couldn't sit up or get up from sitting without squeezing a pillow against my chest. After recovery and rehab, I had lost 50 lbs, walked 3 miles a day (quickly), walked quickly up & down stairs. Still have a very low ejection fraction, take a statin every day, 2 BP meds (one is an ace inhibitor which I was on before any of this happened and which probably saved my life whenever I had the heart attack), and daily 325mg aspirin.
Unfortunately, in the past few years as arthritis kicked in I don't walk as much and have put the 50 lbs back on.
One recommendation watch your diet. As in most things, I went extreme, almost zero salt diet (low salt foods, none added in cooking, none added at the table). After I recovered I noticed that some times I felt dizzy on sitting up or standing. One day I almost fell when I got out of bed. Checked my blood pressure, it was 60/30. Doc adjusted my BP meds and suggested a little salt (still not added at the table). Got my BP to 100/70.
My luck was in having ECG results from my healthy days as a reference point. If that 95% artery had clogged, I wouldn't be around. I started annoying my younger co-workers to get a baseline ECG done.
One other thing to be on the lookout for. I had doctors constantly telling me about my weak heart for such a young person. I also had nurses and survivors telling me how severely I was going to have to change my lifestyle, I started getting very depressed. Seriously depressed.
Quite frankly when I made the changes to diet and exercise, I wasn't so hard or depressing. So don't get down just thinking about what you will have to do or how you feel during the recovery. My biggest loss was that I had to scratch astronaut and deep sea diver off my bucket list.
One other thing - I found that I had some issues talking. Nothing severe, but where my mouth usually went faster than my brain, after the operation, and for a while after recovery, sometimes I would want to say something, knew what I wanted to say, but would have trouble getting a word out. I've read that it happens sometimes after open heart surgery. After a while (approx a year) it went away. When it was happening, I had asked my wife about it, but she said that she didn't notice any difference.
It seems if people could just keep their arteries from clogging, they'd be safe. It's very hard to take something like diet so seriously, from when you're young, though.
I went to Costco yesterday with my wife and it was different to walk around and see all that food that I like and not even want to indulge. I had stop and check out this full standing-rib roast. It was 21 pounds - the best part of the cow. I can't really imagine eating that again, but I'm fine with that. I really got carried away with prime rib once, cooking three of them over the holidays. Prime rib will really coat your arteries fast. That time I cooked three, I had a solid sense of that effect.
Welcome back to the land of the living! I was shocked by your brother's announcement about your health and you have been in my thoughts and prayers since that time.
I am well aware of the advancements in medical technology as my wife is a 10 year Colo-rectal cancer survivor. We have been blown away by some of the tech that has been used along the way. Like the time the Drs. at Mayo Clinic had to install an emergency pic line after her Port clogged and she heard her Oncologist talking in the background. She asked where he was ad he was 15 miles away watching the whole procedure on his desktop. Please do continue your saga WHEN you are healthy enough to write some more.
The closeness with your wife is probably one of best things that can happen to you emotionally and physically during your recovery.
@ Cluso99, I am sure they opened him up because of this quote:
Mainly what I deal with is the feeling of having been in a car accident, with my sternum being opened up.
Continue your recovery and we look forward to hearing from you, but only on a limited basis as your health permits.
Jim
Michael (Heater), here's a picture of Bud and Alesha:
The rest of you don't know this guy, but he's a friend and neighbor of mine who went walking with me at 1:30 a.m. and thought I might have had a heart attack sometime before. I went to see a doctor the next morning and was gone for a week.
I was devastated to hear about your situation. Glad for you and your family that things worked out in a positive direction.
Since you talked about the need for changing your diet, something's been really nagging me. How many cans/bottles of soda or glasses of fruit juice did you normally drink per day? Artificially sweetened or normal HFCS/Cane Sugar?
During the long overnight sessions (if you don't mind talking about it) what, if anything, kept you awake? (coffee, loud music, candy, corn chips, etc)?
Comments
All I can say Chip is write down all those good ideas, especially those epiphanies, and convince the doctors that not having your phone is worse than having it. It's not like you are in high-pressure sales and business, the phone is your pen, paper, and "newspaper" and it would be cruel to deprive you of it. I think the only time I didn't have a phone on me was when I was actually in the operating theater.
So rest well Chip, sorry to hear you and your family have suffered so but you will be back in the driver's seat soon enough armed both with hindsight and foresight at your ready.
Agreed, problem solving often thrives in adversity...
During the French Revolution, three professionals were arrested and convicted of having bourgeois values. They were a doctor, a lawyer, and an engineer.
They were to be led to the guillotine one by one. The crowd was roaring with anticipated pleasure.
First up was the doctor. How dare he enrich himself through other people's illnesses? Access to basic health care is a right, right?
The doctor was placed in the guillotine, and the lanyard was yanked. The blade started on its massive, implacable way down. And lurched to a stop.
The official in charge declared that it would be inhumane to make the doctor suffer this way more than once, so he was setting the doctor free. The crowd howled.
The executioner checked his equipment. All was in order. He put a small tree branch in, and successfully lopped it in half. He re-sharpened the blade.
Next up was the lawyer. Who needs an excuse to wish such a lying, cheating scoundrel dead? The crowd was thunderous in its applause.
The lawyer was placed in the guillotine, and the lanyard was yanked. Again, the blade stopped part-way down! The presiding official once again said that he would set this prisoner free because of the unusual circumstances. The crowd screamed in frustration.
Now came the engineer, a man whose innovations and devices were costing jobs. The crowd fell silent. The executioner checked and re-checked his equipment.
As the engineer was marched up to the guillotine, he looked carefully at it, and said, "Wait. I see your problem."
I can safely say we'll be the wrong company for relaxation. When Chip starts tinkering again he shouldn't be reading the forums as well.
-Phil
When I felt my stamina declining with age, I got a treadmill and used it regularly for a few years up until a stray dog adopted me. Then my treadmill usage fell off because I spent lots of enjoyable time walking my dog multiple times per day. I suspect that without the treadmill and my dog, my health would have declined much more over the last several years. The best thing about caring for a pet is being able to give him or her love and receive love and to experience your pet's happiness. That's got to be healthy! (And even if not, it's fulfilling) Those benefits likely overlaps with those of having kids, but there's something special about taking care of a creature of a different species (perhaps like the special relationship between God and humans). So I highly recommend caring for a pet for those that can make the time (or have other family members that can share the responsibility and joy).
Exercise and pets are just a couple of the things that can help us stay fit. Medical technology and insurance are great for those that have them (so many of us in the world don't), but they are no substitutes for doing what we can to stay healthy and safe. Due to my family history of colon cancer, I take aspirin fairly regularly, as it supposedly helps reduce inflammation, which can reduce the incidence of colon cancer. Reportedly, aspirin usage is also beneficial for the circulatory system. Of course, one has to be mindful of potential side-effects, like stomach bleeding (consult your physician). But it would be ironic if one of the world's cheapest and most available drugs was one of the most beneficial. Of course, everyone's situation is different, so what potentially works for me isn't going to be for everyone. But there are things that all of us can do to be better balanced.
I am glad to hear your procedure was successful and the nurses probably have you up and walking already! Cardiovascular surgery inpatient care was my bread, butter, and passion for a good many years and I would be happy to be a resource in this recovery period if you guys have any questions that I can help answer. Best things for now as his tastebuds and back recover from surgery: orange sherbert (which will cut through the metallic taste) and good back rubs between his shoulder blades. Please by all means let us know if I can be of any help or resource, I am more than happy to explain what I've seen in my years of helping those post-cardiovascular surgery.
~Addie
Chip may break the Internet at this rate. Kim failed, but that's a story for another day.
Welcome to the "CABG" club Chip. You may experience some post-depression after you get home, I did. I also had mine around Thanksgiving and there were far too many people around to suit me!
Don't worry about anything but getting well. Your Brother and family will take care of business!
Lean on Tymkrs a little .... I wish I had someone to talk to on occasion.
Take care and best wishes to a speedy recovery!
~Steve
I came home two days ago from the hospital and feel rather fragile. As you pointed out, half the healing takes place during rehab and that entails a lot of permanent lifestyle changes.
I was just nuts, stuffing my face with salami, working through the nights, not exercising, and sleeping only 4-5 hours a day. I must have crossed a line some time back. I had noticed my blood pressure go from 120/80 to a relentless 140/90 about 3 weeks ago. My mom brought us a blood pressure cuff a little while back, so I would use it, mainly to see what everyone else's blood pressure was.
I had some wierd dreams before I knew I had a problem. In one, my mom was really sad and said, "Chipper's heart is broken!" I got this really depressing sense that I was going to become a prisoner to a very weak body.
On Thanksgiving night, my wife and I went for a walk at my parents' house and I had some strange pain in my upper arms' arteries. I made it a point to walk two miles each subsequent night, hoping I'd overcome the pain, but it didn't relent. I figured something was really wrong, then. Actually, my neighbor Bud, who lives nearby and is happy to go walking at 1:30am told me that maybe I had had a heart attack and that some damage was done, or still underway.
I went to see a doctor the next (Wednesday) morning at the local urgent-care clinic and she kind of took me under her wing and called me later that evening and told me that a room was waiting for me at the local hospital. The tests I had undergone earlier in the day indicated that there was some heart damage whose reversal was becoming less likely with time. They did a few more tests there that seemed inconclusive and I thought that they were going to release me. Instead, they said I needed to be sent to a hospital with a cardiac unit.
So, they took me down to Chico in an ambulance. When I got there, I was seen by a heart surgeon. The staff warned me that this doctor was on his way, but he was in kind of a bad mood. Another staff member told me that this man was the best and I was in good hands. I realized later that he is just fine. His bedside manner is just very direct, which they try to prepare people for. I was fascinated by him. He was maybe 75 years old and was quite tall and sort of hunched over. He came in, told me his name, asked me a few questions, and if my answers weren't absolutely direct, he would immediately reask them with emphasis. After maybe 15 seconds of that, he started moving all over, feeling my ankles, my wrists, listening to my lungs, and then abruptly said, "You have the symptoms. You have the disease. We can fix you."
Within a few minutes, I was on a gurney, being shaved neck to toe by four nurses with electric trimmers, sopping me with wet towels to flush the hair away. They were SO kind and happy, it seemed as if I was at some otherworldy place where old Vikings get sent off to Valhalla, or something. Maybe that show Game of Thrones dictates fashion. I don't know why else it should seem that way.
Next, they rolled me into this industrial-looking room where they had this big ceiling-mounted gantry that attached to large flat screens and some aparati. It was a live x-ray microscope. The heart doctor was in there, on a stool next to me. He injected the inner top of my leg with something to deaden the feeling, and then cut into my leg artery, so that he could insert a heart catheter. I couldn't feel any of that, but he seemed to be leaning on my leg the whole time he manipulated the probe. They went from point to point, very quickly, inside my heart, releasing this die that showed up as a blackish mist on the x-ray video. If the die was being trapped by a blockage, it wouldn't blow around, but with less blockage, it was like dumping a can of coke out a speeding car window. It felt hot when they injected that fluid. The resolution and frame rate were very good. Oh, and that gantry moved around in coordination with their probing. It must have been to move the x-ray source and detector in unison. There was an assistant further down the table that had a steady and terse dialogue with the doctor. I noticed that everyone is very careful not to say anything that could alarm or depress a patient.
After just a couple minutes of that, it was over. The heart doctor turned and said something like, "You don't need a patch. You need a plumber." They could have inserted some stents if the problems were not so severe, but the first three of my arteries (that supplied the heart, I believe) were 100%, 90%, and 80% blocked. Imagine that.
---- I'll pick this up tomorrow.
I'll tell the rest of what happened later.
For now, my lower heart is a little damaged, due to that 100% blockage. It idles at 84 now, instead of the old 70 bpm. That may heal, in time. The problem is that the ejector section now works slowly, having been starved of oxygenated blood for some time. I don't have that full-body blood impulse feeling that you have when your heart is working right. Instead, it's kind of a swishy feeling. I hope it returns to normal function. I've got blood going to my whole heart, now, which is most critical.
What this means is that I'm not in shape to do anything too physical. Otherwise, you may not know that anything happened to me. A friend stopped by last night and we talked for maybe five minutes before I told him what all had transpired. He had no idea.
Mainly what I deal with is the feeling of having been in a car accident, with my sternum being opened up.
I'm just taking it slowly, going to bed on time, eating right, getting walking in. I've been following my wife around, going with her on all her errands. She kind of likes that, and I do, too. It will probably wear off, but I feel now like spending time visiting people, instead of the relentless pursuit of getting the job done.
The heart doctor told me it would be six to eight weeks before I'd feel sufficiently restored, and able to do a workday. I assured him, there were many simple things I could work on to push things forward. "That's your personality", he said.
I'm on a no-salt/no-saturated-fat/nothing-too-tasty diet now. I'm dropping 3 pounds a day on it. I had gotten kind of chubby.
Another thing that had been going on before was that my wife started making breakfast foods for dinner, now and then. I mean bacon, sausage, and eggs. I remember coming into the house at around 7:15am, right before my wife takes the kids off to school, and pulling a bag of leftover bacon out of the fridge and eating a big glob of it, all stuck together by white fat, and chewing on that before going to sleep.
I am interested in the story, as I am sure so are the others. The miracles of medicine these days is amazing, and is improving at a quick pace, even tho' we would like it to go much faster
While you obviously needed to go earlier, at least you got help before you ended 6 foot under! Three weeks ago a close friend of ours missed the symptoms and was not so fortunate.
Do take it easy, especially over the Christmas season. I'm sure family will watch over you!
BTW Did they open you up or did they do the op via microscopy?
:cool:
Best wishes and good recovery.
From Munich,Germany.
It's great to hear you are up and about. That sounds like a horrible trauma for you and a terrible worry for the family.
Put the computer off. Go bask in the love of family and friends. Paint some rocks with the kids.
Say hello to Bud for me. He's a great chap and sounds like a life saver in this case.
I am getting scared now as Chip is the same age as me!
Best wishes and good luck in your recovery.
Vasbyt.
As bad as this all may sound, to live through it is not so hard. I was starkly shown that there are many kind and loving people in the world. All those that took care of me in the hospital, plus my friends, coworkers, family, and you guys here, all demonstrate that. And there is perpective in realizing afresh that this life's not going to last forever. Even my kids will die someday, after going though their own experiences.
Above all that, I'm aware that God has purpose in all these things. Whether or not I fully recover, I'm being tutored to live with one foot in the grave, so to speak, and have joy in seeing a wider picture. All the inspiration to make Propeller chips comes from God, some of it welling within me and a lot of it from you guys, within whom the inspiration manifests. He has purposes in diverse things and they all lead in good directions. His economy is huge and can't be tracked by worldly metrics and reasoning.
I will say hi to Bud from you. Would you believe that he and this elementary teacher in our church are in love and may get married by the end of the month?
Have you gotten onto a heart-healthy diet? It's like an early death, of sorts, but might help.
Meanwhile, I'll do what everybody did for me. I'll pray for you. My kids will, too, happily. William Chan.
Best wishes for a quick and full recovery.
I had a similar story.
Back in 1999, I was on Sardinia for work for a couple of weeks. The walk from my hotel to the work site was about 2 miles up and down some pretty steep hills. The first few days it was a struggle (I was only 52 but really out of shape). After about a week of walking to and from work and sightseeing after work, I was feeling pretty good making the walk (not intermediate stops, no huffing or puffing).
I had a physical scheduled for when I got back home. During the exam I told the doc my experience and asked if he could recommend an exercise plan. He said let's wait until he finishes the exam. One test was an ECG. He compared it with one I had taken in my 30's when I was in good shape.
It showed an "insignificant change", but he felt I should see a cardiologist. A week or 2 later I saw the heart doc. He looked at the ECG traces and said it didn't look like anything, but he had me do a stress test anyway. During the max of the stress test, he looked uncomfortable, stopped the test early, and he definitely didn't like the readings during the cool down.
Still didn't think it was serious but recommended that I get an angiogram and stated they would probably put me on meds after the test.
I went through the same sort of test that Chip did, but in DC they aren't as concerned with feelings.
The doc told me on the table that I had an old silent heart attack, there was damage to the left ventricle, and that 5 other arteries needed to be grafted (95 to 80% blocked). He also said that my ejection fraction was only 25%. I would be staying the night and have early morning bypass surgery.
Long enough story, but Chip described the recovery part well. (hit by a truck) I couldn't sit up or get up from sitting without squeezing a pillow against my chest. After recovery and rehab, I had lost 50 lbs, walked 3 miles a day (quickly), walked quickly up & down stairs. Still have a very low ejection fraction, take a statin every day, 2 BP meds (one is an ace inhibitor which I was on before any of this happened and which probably saved my life whenever I had the heart attack), and daily 325mg aspirin.
Unfortunately, in the past few years as arthritis kicked in I don't walk as much and have put the 50 lbs back on.
One recommendation watch your diet. As in most things, I went extreme, almost zero salt diet (low salt foods, none added in cooking, none added at the table). After I recovered I noticed that some times I felt dizzy on sitting up or standing. One day I almost fell when I got out of bed. Checked my blood pressure, it was 60/30. Doc adjusted my BP meds and suggested a little salt (still not added at the table). Got my BP to 100/70.
My luck was in having ECG results from my healthy days as a reference point. If that 95% artery had clogged, I wouldn't be around. I started annoying my younger co-workers to get a baseline ECG done.
Tom
Quite frankly when I made the changes to diet and exercise, I wasn't so hard or depressing. So don't get down just thinking about what you will have to do or how you feel during the recovery. My biggest loss was that I had to scratch astronaut and deep sea diver off my bucket list.
Tom
I had no problem writing or typing.
Tom
It seems if people could just keep their arteries from clogging, they'd be safe. It's very hard to take something like diet so seriously, from when you're young, though.
I went to Costco yesterday with my wife and it was different to walk around and see all that food that I like and not even want to indulge. I had stop and check out this full standing-rib roast. It was 21 pounds - the best part of the cow. I can't really imagine eating that again, but I'm fine with that. I really got carried away with prime rib once, cooking three of them over the holidays. Prime rib will really coat your arteries fast. That time I cooked three, I had a solid sense of that effect.
Welcome back to the land of the living! I was shocked by your brother's announcement about your health and you have been in my thoughts and prayers since that time.
I am well aware of the advancements in medical technology as my wife is a 10 year Colo-rectal cancer survivor. We have been blown away by some of the tech that has been used along the way. Like the time the Drs. at Mayo Clinic had to install an emergency pic line after her Port clogged and she heard her Oncologist talking in the background. She asked where he was ad he was 15 miles away watching the whole procedure on his desktop. Please do continue your saga WHEN you are healthy enough to write some more.
The closeness with your wife is probably one of best things that can happen to you emotionally and physically during your recovery.
@ Cluso99, I am sure they opened him up because of this quote:
Continue your recovery and we look forward to hearing from you, but only on a limited basis as your health permits.
Jim
The rest of you don't know this guy, but he's a friend and neighbor of mine who went walking with me at 1:30 a.m. and thought I might have had a heart attack sometime before. I went to see a doctor the next morning and was gone for a week.
May there be many little buds...if I can put it that way
I was devastated to hear about your situation. Glad for you and your family that things worked out in a positive direction.
Since you talked about the need for changing your diet, something's been really nagging me. How many cans/bottles of soda or glasses of fruit juice did you normally drink per day? Artificially sweetened or normal HFCS/Cane Sugar?
During the long overnight sessions (if you don't mind talking about it) what, if anything, kept you awake? (coffee, loud music, candy, corn chips, etc)?