One month update

[RTZdad]

Yesterday was my one month anniversary for my surgery. It turned out that my bicuspid aortic valve was actually a unicuspid. It was in pretty bad shape according to Dr. Sabik, so I feel quite fortunate that I had the surgery when I did. I got a Dacron graft put in and a St. Jude mechanical valve. I traveled from Denver to the Cleveland Clinic via Amtrak for the big day. The plan was to do the same on the way back, but I found that train travel pretty much sucks. I was scheduled to be released from the hospital on the Monday after my surgery but didn't because I had trouble getting my INR up to an acceptable number. They kept upping my dosage and added a heparin drip until I finally hit 1.9. They gave me the good news of my release on Thursday April 12th (my birthday). It turned out to be a great birthday surprise. Upon my afternoon release, my family and I drove to Indiana (6 hrs), where my sister lives, and spent the night. After breakfast the next morning with her family, we then drove from Valparaiso, IN to Lincoln, NE (8 hrs) and spent the night before finishing our trip the next day by driving to Denver (7 hrs). During the trip we made several stops to ensure that I moved around enough. It was a long trip for sure, but I was so thankful to be with my family and on the other side of the surgery that it ended up being just fine. I am feeling pretty good. My INR has been up and down and i am currently taking 15mg of Coumadin. My wife had to give me shots in my stomach while they attempted to get my INR back up after I got home. I had dropped back down to 1.4 for my first blood draw. I'm up to 2.9 as of the last test and have an appointment to get another test done today. My recovery is going well. The only real problem that I have encountered was stiffness in my upper back. I stopped all pain medication last week and was only taking two Tylenol when the stiffness got to be too much. I consider myself to be very fortunate that I haven't had too many issues holding me back. I dont see my cardiologist again until 5/31, so i will have to wait a bit longer to see if I can drive and see where I'm at. Until then I will enjoy spending the rest of the time hanging out with my 4 year old son and keep pushing myself harder every day to increase my exercise. Feels good to not have my heart issues hanging over my head any longer. I look forward to getting back on the golf course this summer.

Tom

 

[Lynlw]

Tnks for the update. Glad things ae going so well. I was always curious if you decided to take the train back or not. Glad you didnt mind the pretty long car trip is there a reason you chose not to fly back? I was asking incase theirs were trying to decide their travel plans.
I'm glad you were able to stop the lovenox shots.A for the back pain, have you had your wife massage the sore muscles? sometimes that was what helped justin the most with the bck/neck issues

 

[escargome]

Hi RTZdad, good to hear that you are in recovery mode and that all seems to be going well. I commend you on your long hours in a car. But as long as you were comfortable it is good. Please keep us updated on your progress. Best Wishes

 

[sarahsunshine]

Hi RTZ dad
Glad recovery seem to be going smoothly! I'm also glad that the trip back worked out alright and wasn't too terrible. Keep us posted on your recovery and doctor's appointment, and make sure that 4yo stays occupied helping you out!

 

[Lionheart]

A month? No way! It seems like you were at CC only a few days ago. Time flies. Are you doing cardiac rehab?- it's the best to get you back in shape and teach you how to monitor your exercise to the appropriate level. Glad things are going well- keep up the good work and get out there and walk walk walk.
Best,
John

 

[TheGymGuy]

Let's put that recovery into gear now. Let's hear about some exercising and recovery.

 

[Mom2izzy]

Other than the really long car ride, your recovery sounds a lot like mine. Minimal pain meds needed, stiff back, 4yo (well mine is 3)...all the same. Walking helped the most with the stiffness; it was sometimes tough to get started, but felt Sooo much better after. My 3 yo loved helping me...sometimes I had to remember not to get too lazy. I probably could have sat in a chair all day with her bringing me things, so I recruited her as my "nurse". She would say "mommy, I think you need to walk again." or "mommy, blow in this." (spirometer...I know it's not blowing but she didn't.) or "time for your exercises." it helped me out because she was just Sooo cute I couldn't say no.

 

[RTZdad]

Tnks for the update. Glad things ae going so well. I was always curious if you decided to take the train back or not. Glad you didnt mind the pretty long car trip is there a reason you chose not to fly back? I was asking incase theirs were trying to decide their travel plans.
I'm glad you were able to stop the lovenox shots.A for the back pain, have you had your wife massage the sore muscles? sometimes that was what helped justin the most with the bck/neck issues

My wife is terribly afraid to fly. After all of the stress that she had endured leading up to and including the surgery, it would have been too much I think. As it turned out, driving back wasnt all that bad. Especially considering the amount of extra stuff we manged to accumulate during the trip. No extra baggage fees!

Tom

 

[RTZdad]

Let's put that recovery into gear now. Let's hear about some exercising and recovery.

My cardiologist has told me keep the exercise tempered for now. As a result, I have resigned myself to continue walking until I can start the rehab. I push myself to do more every other day. I'm in the clear to start driving next week so I hope to get the ok for rehab too. I walked for an hour today plus ran around with the family too. I feel really good and have tons of energy. Can't wait for the doc to take my training wheels off so I can really ramp it up!

Tom

 

[RTZdad]

A month? No way! It seems like you were at CC only a few days ago. Time flies. Are you doing cardiac rehab?- it's the best to get you back in shape and teach you how to monitor your exercise to the appropriate level. Glad things are going well- keep up the good work and get out there and walk walk walk.
Best,
John

I hope to get the ok for rehab next week when I start driving again. I can't believe that it's been this long either. Seems like an eternity since we talked prior to surgery. Walking has become a mandatory event every day. I walk more now than I did prior to the surgery. Crazy!

Tom

 

[RTZdad]

Hi RTZ dad
Glad recovery seem to be going smoothly! I'm also glad that the trip back worked out alright and wasn't too terrible. Keep us posted on your recovery and doctor's appointment, and make sure that 4yo stays occupied helping you out!

Thanks Sarah! My son definitely keeps me busy every day. Mommy goes back to work tomorrow, so I imagine it will get even busier. I'll keep you posted as I continu my journey.

Tom

 

[RTZdad]

Other than the really long car ride, your recovery sounds a lot like mine. Minimal pain meds needed, stiff back, 4yo (well mine is 3)...all the same. Walking helped the most with the stiffness; it was sometimes tough to get started, but felt Sooo much better after. My 3 yo loved helping me...sometimes I had to remember not to get too lazy. I probably could have sat in a chair all day with her bringing me things, so I recruited her as my "nurse". She would say "mommy, I think you need to walk again." or "mommy, blow in this." (spirometer...I know it's not blowing but she didn't.) or "time for your exercises." it helped me out because she was just Sooo cute I couldn't say no.

My son is hilarious. He's always telling me that I have to get better so that I can carry him again when he gets tired. I told him the other day that it would only be a few more weeks and then I will be able to. Yesterday we were playing outside in the driveway and he fell down while he was running. Instinctively, I ran over to him and picked him up to make sure that he was ok. He immediately started yelling at me to put him down because I just had surgery. He weighs 40 lbs. and it didn't hurt to pick him up thankfully. He got mad at me and so did his mother when I confessed when I went inside. My son told me that if I pick him up again that I will have to go to Cleveland again for surgery and that Cleveland "sucks". Ahhh these wonderful kids...they don't sugarcoat anything.

Tom

 

[Mom2izzy]

My son is hilarious. He's always telling me that I have to get better so that I can carry him again when he gets tired. I told him the other day that it would only be a few more weeks and then I will be able to. Yesterday we were playing outside in the driveway and he fell down while he was running. Instinctively, I ran over to him and picked him up to make sure that he was ok. He immediately started yelling at me to put him down because I just had surgery. He weighs 40 lbs. and it didn't hurt to pick him up thankfully. He got mad at me and so did his mother when I confessed when I went inside. My son told me that if I pick him up again that I will have to go to Cleveland again for surgery and that Cleveland "sucks". Ahhh these wonderful kids...they don't sugarcoat anything.

Tom

So cute! They make everything we go through worthwhile, don't they? Mine puts her hands on her little hips, wrinkles up her forehead, and sends me to "Time Out" when I'm "naughty". I wonder if anyone has ever looked into whether people with little ones experience less of the post-surgical psychological symptoms (e.g. depression). I'm thinking having her around to keep me smiling was the best medicine of all.

Lisa