Road to Recovery - Small Setback

I was hoping to go home today but there where a couple setbacks today which means I am staying overnight and hopefully getting out tomorrow Friday the 3rd.

I had my pacemaker installed a few days ago and yesterday they put a drain tube into my chest area as there was a bit of fluid they wanted to drain, this is fairly normal for Open Heart Surgery. For both of these reasons they need to thicken my blood up a little bit so I would not bleed too much during both procedures, so they had to ease off on my blood thinner medication. Now they are trying to get my INR back up to around 2-3 (the higher the number the thinner your blood). I am not quite there yet but should be by tomorrow.

The second hiccup is my heart started to beat irregularity again. It was pumping a nice 60-70 beats per minute for almost a week and then on go home day it decided to speed up and beat irregularly. They are tying to deal with this using medications and said this can happen but still I felt like was moving backwards and not forwards in this area. As a cause of the higher and irregular heart beat I don't feel as energetic as before but hopefully this gets sorted out soon.

My plans are not always the plans that I ultimately receive. This was a bit of a mental blow to me but in the big picture it's just a small glitch.

Road to Recovery - Pace Yourself

So it's about 6:30am Tuesday morning and it doesn't look like I'm getting back to sleep so why not write up todays update or at least go over what I know is supposed to happen, I may have to add to this post or update it depending on what happens with everything.

So far the plan is for me to have my Pacemaker/Defibrillator installed this afternoon around 1:30pm so right now I can't eat or drink anything till after the procedure. Not a fan of that but my food and drink later in the day will be awesome :)

I am for the most part ready to leave the hospital in terms of getting around and mobility, but this operation has required that they thicken my blood back up to more normal ranges and then after the operation it takes a day or two to thin the blood again which is what I will need life long now to keep my new valve working at it's best and avoiding future work or replacement on it.

That's all I know as of this morning but I will be adding to this post as the day progresses :)

Update: In the first video clip I take you with me on my walk and show you my route (Not a lot of options) that happens several times per day, somehow I managed to get 5000 steps in yesterday doing mainly this walk. Today I will try for this same but I'm really not sure how I will feel after my operation?

In video clip two I talk post procedure while I finally get to eat and drink after about 18 hours of food and water fasting. I talk about how I am feeling and what I expect to happen now. By the way as of around 8pm I am at 3300 steps and plan to get some more walking this evening so it look like I may get in my 5000 steps even with the operation :)

Road to Recovery - God is Good

I think the title really says it all. Your prays have been heard not by me but by God, "For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them" (Matthew 18:20). I have no words to describe how much God has come through for me. I was given a second chance, not everyone gets that!

Every day I am in a better place both mentally and physically, today my blood work came in looking really good so they took out the big IV feeding tube in my neck and right now there are no fluids going into me other than what drink.

I am in a new ward here at St. Paul's Hospital where I am considered a self sufficient patient and can freely move around whenever I want to so I am longer trapped in my bed :)

Tomorrow the doctors get together and decide if I need a pacemaker/defibrillator now or later on, on Tuesday they hope to install it if I need it. I may be able to go home that evening if all goes well!

Road to Recovery - Was a Good Day!

Today was overall a very good day. I had a procedure done this morning called a Cardioversion which is basically an electric shock to the heart or you could call it a reset of the hearts electrical system and timings. I've already had two of these done in the past with no success, but this time my body was in a much better state to respond more positively as we removed about 15 pounds of water and the docs here at St. Paul's Hospital had adjusted the meds for my heart to work better.

it was a huge relief when I woke up to find out it had worked. Now my heart is beating around 40 beats per minute less! This is going to allow me to move on to the next stages of recovery much more quickly!

Road to Recovery - Taking a Bit of Time

In this Road to Recovery - Taking a Bit of Time video update, I talk a out a recent fall I had and go over where I am at in terms of how my heart is reacting to the surgery.This may not be my best news so far b sometimes you have to take a few steps back before you start making progress again.