Post Hosp Day Seventeen Summary: Keeping My Mouth Shut

I've been told many times that I talk too much, today is yet more evidence of this. My forced homestay has reduced me to reading the local newspaper. It's considered complete trash, and usually takes about a minute to read. I read a story last week that particularly irked me, something about the government wasting $150,000 on a stupid project, and before I knew it I had written a letter in to the editor about it.

I've been checking the newspaper daily just in case it got published, and today it was. This is kinda cool, but while reading over the letter I think I may have been a little bit harsh - my letter ends with something like "the government should be ashamed at this clear case of financial mismanagement". While I've probably gotten a bit carried away, I'm not too worried, I can't imagine many people reading my letter, it is the local crappy newspaper after all!

WRONG! Got a call from the local news station, they want to interview me about my letter. Oh dear....... I really need to learn to keep my mouth shut!

Post Hosp Day Sixteen Summary: Heart Remodelling

Met with my cardiologist for the first time since my surgery. We do the routine "how are you feeling?" health test, followed by the more scientifically grounded stethescope to listen to my heart. He's extremely happy with the results of the surgery, and is confident that I will recover to better than normal, although it might take some time (I keep hearing this!).

He does recommend that I stop taking the blood pressure tablets and diuretics (hooray!). He also asks me to go back onto the ACE (acetylcholinesterase) inhibitor that I was taking prior to surgery. His reasoning is that the ACE inhibitor has been used successfully to help the heart remodel and heal itself following stroke or heart attack, and so it should also help my heart to remodel following my surgery. This is the first time anyone has mentioned heart remodelling, I'm gonna have to do some more research on this. Suffice to say, anything that helps my heart heal itself sounds good to me!

Post Hosp Day Fifteen Summary: Health Update

It's now three weeks since my heart surgery, so it seems like a good time for a health check. Out of 10, I would give myself a 7. I feel really good, which surprises me a lot. I expected that I would feel awful, and be quite limited in my movements and mobility. In actual fact, it's the exact opposite. I am very mobile, and can pretty much move as I please. I still have to bear in mind the no lifting, pushing, weight through chest rules and this places some limitations on what I can do. For example, it's kinda funny watching the role reversal with Yvette being the gentleman and opening and shutting the car door for me all the time!

There is no pain per se, although my chest still hurts when I cough or sneeze. What has developed is some muscle aches and pains, but these are bearable. They are most noticeable in the middle of my back, and across my shoulders. This is probably not surprising since the surgeon cut through my chest muscles and stretched my chest open for a number of hours. The neck and shoulder exercises that I am doing daily are probably adding to this too.

On exercises, upon leaving the hospital the physio gave me a sheet of rehabilitation exercises to perform several times a day. These were pretty easy, and subsequently I am doing twice as many exercises twice as often as recommended. I now have a new sheet of upgraded rehabilitation exercises. It consists of 10 warm up exercises, and then 30 exercises that are to be performed for a minute each. I'm supposed to start with the first 10 exercises in one session, and then work my way up to doing all 30 in the one session. The warm up exercises and the first 10 exercises are a breeze, and I am able to do them quite easily. This rehab stuff is no problem at all! But I spoke too early! Today I tried the second set of 10 exercises, and I am seriously hurting. Not sharp pain, but that really good pain that you feel after a session in the gym. That pain that says "yeah, this is good". I've now found another challenge, i'm gonna defeat these exercises!

The other component to my health at the moment is medication. I'm having blood tests every three or four days to monitor the effect of the warfarin (anti-coagulant). My level has been bouncing up and down a little since hospital, and for the last week has been slowly climbing. Today is another blood test day, and the nurse is struggling to find a vein without a scar from previous blood lettings! The doctor calls in the early evening, and my level is twice what it should be! It seems I am very sensitive to the warfarin, so I'm told not to take warfarin for four days. This is no problem to me, but Mom is in a panic. Hopefully she'll calm down soon!

So overall, health is good. Not getting tired so much. As Yvette would say, it's just a matter of developing some patience and not overdoing things........ My answer to her is "easier said than done!" :o)

Post Hosp Day Fourteen Summary: Small Victories

Having loving parents and Yvette to support me is without doubt one of the major reasons for my good recovery from heart surgery. Unfortunately, this support sometimes goes a bit far ie: restrictive diets, wrapping me in cotton wool, keeping watch over me 24/7. However, today represents a breakthrough. Well, sort of anyway.

I have moved back home after spending the last two weeks at mom and dad's. It's so nice to be home, although mom and dad are concerned about how I am going to feed myself properly, so to appease them I am having lunch and dinner at their house. So a small victory, of sorts.

Despite Yvette's protestations, I have started doing some things around the house. Gardening, clothes washing, hanging out the clothes (have to carry only a few clothes to the line at a time, no basket lifting!), and tidying up my stuff scattered around the house. We have an argument because I might have, maybe, kind of did a little bit of vacuuming. But it was a really small amount, and I pushed the vacuum with both hands and didn't lift it. Honest. Gradually I wear her down, and win approval to do "light" jobs around the house. Another victory!

Mom and dad's house is about a 10 minute walk down a rather steep hill from my house. When I raise the idea of walking from my house down to mom's, it is met by a resounding "NO" from all parties. My relentless nagging is unsuccessful. In the late afternoon while Yvette is napping, I walk down to mom's for dinner. As the saying goes, "the proof is in the pudding". I'll now be walking to mom's for lunch every day while Yvette is working. Chalk up another victory!

As funny as it sounds, a game has developed around me trying to push everyone to allow me to do what I want. I am continually scheming of ways to get what I want, and it's becoming quite fun! I'm looking forward to more victories! Oh and yes, there have been some losses, some rather big ones at that too! But I'll save those for another day. :o)