Today marks 6 weeks since the surgery. Wow! Considering some of the days along the way seemed like the longest of my life, I can't believe how fast the time has gone by. The goal of this week is to check all the final boxes and get the green lights to get back to normal.
I checked the first one this morning with my Cardiologist. He took me off sternal precautions which means I can drive again, lift more than 8 lbs, bend down and lift my arms above my head again. The kids shouldn't jump on me and I'm pretty sure I shouldn't vacuum or do too much housework again just yet, but otherwise, I'm good to go. This is a huge milestone and relief!!
The next 2 boxes should be checked on Thursday when I have a chest x-ray and meet with my surgeon. There is still a risk and some concern there may be a little fluid in my chest cavity that I've been battling. I'm hopeful that if there is, it won't be a big deal, but we'll find out for sure on Thursday.
With that, my plan is to return to work next Monday. I'm supposed to ease back into things for a few weeks so I can monitor my energy levels, especially while going to Rehab 3x/week. But for the most part, I should be good to go.
Overall, I'm happy with each step towards normalcy. I feel like I've been an observer in watching my body heal for so long, and now I'm becoming an actual participant and have more control over things again.
Life is good!
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Monday, March 19, 2012
Week 4 - Off to Rehab
As we round out week 4, I can officially say things are on the up and up! I had 1 more thoracentesis done to remove more fluid from my chest just as I had the week before. The good news is the volume was less this time and we are super hopeful that I won't have to do that again. I also had an Echocardiogram done on my heart and my Cardiologist says my heart looks great! Everyone is really, really pleased with the repair and are fairly confident that it should last forever. Getting the rest of my body back to working order is a slow process, but as long as no one actually touches my heart again, all is good in my book.
This week is all about getting settled in to a Cardiac Rehab program. I'm super excited about this as it is basically a monitored exercise program that allows heart surgery patients to ramp back up in their exercise routines safely. After being sedentary for so long, I am indeed ready to start moving and see how much I both can and should be doing.
I'm doing my Rehab classes at Swedish Hospital in Seattle (as opposed to Harrison Hospital in Bremerton) for more convenience when I go back to work. They have a really nice facility with tons of equipment and heart monitors so they can see how your heart is responding to exercise. Now I need to figure out the best way to fit it into my schedule when I go back to work. And how to go every time without thinking of the Amy Winehouse song on Rehab.... No, no no....
Speaking of work - I will most likely go back in 2 weeks! It's hard to believe it's around the corner when it seemed so far away at the beginning. I miss all my Starbucks partners and am looking forward to going back. Especially when I see all the exciting announcements today on the awesome work for Evolution Fresh. And I also got the best food delivery from the great group of people I work with to make things easier on us for the next few weeks. I'm so grateful to be surrounded by so many kind and amazing people.
Life is good.
This week is all about getting settled in to a Cardiac Rehab program. I'm super excited about this as it is basically a monitored exercise program that allows heart surgery patients to ramp back up in their exercise routines safely. After being sedentary for so long, I am indeed ready to start moving and see how much I both can and should be doing.
I'm doing my Rehab classes at Swedish Hospital in Seattle (as opposed to Harrison Hospital in Bremerton) for more convenience when I go back to work. They have a really nice facility with tons of equipment and heart monitors so they can see how your heart is responding to exercise. Now I need to figure out the best way to fit it into my schedule when I go back to work. And how to go every time without thinking of the Amy Winehouse song on Rehab.... No, no no....
Speaking of work - I will most likely go back in 2 weeks! It's hard to believe it's around the corner when it seemed so far away at the beginning. I miss all my Starbucks partners and am looking forward to going back. Especially when I see all the exciting announcements today on the awesome work for Evolution Fresh. And I also got the best food delivery from the great group of people I work with to make things easier on us for the next few weeks. I'm so grateful to be surrounded by so many kind and amazing people.
Life is good.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Week 3 - Very Humbling
After feeling pretty good in the 2nd week, I was ready to take Week 3 by storm. Bring it on! Let's keep this recovering moving along! So many people had told me that I looked great and I was doing so well and since I'm young, I must be on the fast track to recovery. I have to admit, I had a little ego started that I was indeed kicking butt on this and felt like a heart surgery rock star.
Next thing I knew, I had a week filled with scary names like a Thoracentesis, Pneumothorax and Dressler's Syndrome as well as a trip to the ER at 3:30am and new pains and shortness of breath. Doh!
Now don't get me wrong - I'm really trying not to complain. I realized that the most when I was talking about my frustrations with my surgeon yesterday and he asked how long ago my surgery was. I told him 3 weeks and 2 days. His very sarcastic response was, "And you haven't fully recovered from heart surgery yet?! Come on!" Yep, sarcasm works on me.
Everything I have experienced is fairly common. And I do think my complications and complications of the complications are settling down now and I have a good plan to get past them.
Going forward, I probably need to work on keeping my attitude in check. I'm still very positive and confident that I'm well on my way to recovering, but I'm also accepting the fact that my body needs more time than my mind would like to get everything back in balance. I've known that from the beginning, but this week was a good reminder of that reality.
Happy Friday all! And Happy SXSW to all my friends in Austin which is where I was planning on being this week before this little adventure. I'm with y'all in spirit while I go back to my recliner to finish another book.
Next thing I knew, I had a week filled with scary names like a Thoracentesis, Pneumothorax and Dressler's Syndrome as well as a trip to the ER at 3:30am and new pains and shortness of breath. Doh!
Now don't get me wrong - I'm really trying not to complain. I realized that the most when I was talking about my frustrations with my surgeon yesterday and he asked how long ago my surgery was. I told him 3 weeks and 2 days. His very sarcastic response was, "And you haven't fully recovered from heart surgery yet?! Come on!" Yep, sarcasm works on me.
Everything I have experienced is fairly common. And I do think my complications and complications of the complications are settling down now and I have a good plan to get past them.
Going forward, I probably need to work on keeping my attitude in check. I'm still very positive and confident that I'm well on my way to recovering, but I'm also accepting the fact that my body needs more time than my mind would like to get everything back in balance. I've known that from the beginning, but this week was a good reminder of that reality.
Happy Friday all! And Happy SXSW to all my friends in Austin which is where I was planning on being this week before this little adventure. I'm with y'all in spirit while I go back to my recliner to finish another book.
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