Day after Thanksgiving - Black Friday!

The heart is hanging in there. Made it through Thanksgiving diner! Seems to be holding at the same level & the tightness in the chest(no actual pain) seems to come after walking about 100 yards or carrying something that may be around 10 - 20 pounds for a little distance. I am doing a good job of keeping the Nitrostat pills in my pocket. The pills are .4 MG & you need to take them for chest pain. Take twice every 5 minutes & if it continues - GET TO HOSPITAL! So far I have not taken any pills!

So, continue to relax & do nothing! I'm beginning to study my new diet plan with a focus on NO Cholestrol! And research more cholesterol Meds. For the past 7 years I have been on 10 mg of lipitor a day & the past 3 years 10 mg of zetia. When I started lipitor I was watching my diet, but after a few years I started to eat more red meat & was not strictly reading labels. THIS WILL NEED TO CHANGE! I had fun the first 57 years, but the next 57 years need to be as cholesterol free as possible!

This is one to check out & ask questions:

About NIASPAN

Sometimes a low-fat diet and exercise alone are not enough. For people who have high cholesterol, their doctors may prescribe NIASPAN^®. Along with diet, NIASPAN is FDA-approved to:

• Slow the buildup or even help clear away some plaque that builds on artery walls – when used in combination with diet and a bile acid binding resin (another cholesterol medication) in patients who have a history of coronary artery disease and high cholesterol
• Reduce the chance of having another heart attack in patients with a prior history of heart attack and high cholesterol
• Help raise HDL (good) cholesterol and lower bad cholesterol and triglyceride levels in your blood

The website is NIASPAN.

Today is traditionally Thanksgiving Diner for the Albright side of the family - another turkey & more family fun. This is also the day we usually celebrate my sister's birthday & even though my heart is weak, I plan to annoy her anyway! My special gift for her today is an awesome Sponge Bob Birthday cake! Happy Birthday Ginny!

Happy Thankgiving!

Well, a Thanksgiving to remember! It is truly a time to be Thankful!

My list:
Family - a great family to be together and share the day!
Friends - as an educator & coach our family has hundreds of friends
Faith - an awesome church & people who are keeping our family in prayer

Today, I'm forgetting the "Heart Stuff" & focusing on Thanksgiving!
A Thanksgiving Poem!

All in a Word

By Aileen Fisher

T for time to be together, turkey, talk, and tangy weather.
H for harvest stored away, home, and hearth, and holiday.
A for autumn's frosty art, and abundance in the heart.
N for neighbors, and November, nice things, new things to remember.
K for kitchen, kettles' croon, kith and kin expected soon.
S for sizzles, sights, and sounds, and something special that abounds.
That spells ~~~THANKS---for joy in living and a jolly good Thanksgiving.

A Little Bypass Surgery History

OK, how about some bypass history.

First,

The first coronary artery bypass surgery was performed on May 2, 1960, at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine-Bronx Municipal Hospital Center by a team led by Dr. Robert Goetz and the thoracic surgeon, Dr. Michael Rohman with the assistance of Dr. Jordan Haller and Dr. Ronald Dee.

So, 5o years later it is my turn!

Second,

Terminology - There are many variations on terminology, in which one or more of "artery", "bypass" or "graft" is left out. The most frequently used acronym for this type of surgery is CABG(Coronary Artery Bypass Graft) (pronounced 'cabbage'), pluralized as CABGs (pronounced 'cabbages').

OK, I'm having a cabbage!

Third,

Number of bypasses

The terms single bypass, double bypass, triple bypass, quadruple bypass and quintuple bypass refer to the number of coronary arteries bypassed in the procedure. In other words, a double bypass means two coronary arteries are bypassed (e.g. the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery and right coronary artery (RCA)); a triple bypass means three vessels are bypassed (e.g. LAD, RCA, left circumflex artery (LCX)); a quadruple bypass means four vessels are bypassed (e.g. LAD, RCA, LCX, first diagonal artery of the LAD) while quintuple means five. Bypass of more than four coronary arteries is uncommon.

So far, I could be having a TRIPLE - I'd rather be playing baseball!

So, here I am 50 years later, a CABG, that could be a TRIPLE. One week till my consult with the surgeons.

Thanksgiving Eve 2010

This Thanksgiving will definitely be different! Food, football & Heart Surgery! Will enjoy time with family, enjoy the turkey, and plenty of great football games!

Family First:

Jared, our oldest son will be home this year. For the past 8 years, he has been in Iraq 4 times! So every other year he is home for the holidays! Josh, who is still in Lancaster, will also be able to enjoy the family fun! The big difference this year for the boys is they both have awesome girl friends to share time with the family(although Jared's is in Australia & that is an entire story in itself!) That will be great! Thursday will will be with Sue's family at her sister Nancy's house & Friday at our house with my sister's family.

For me it will be no catching football & watching what I eat!!!

As far as football games, here are the games to watch!

Thursday
NFL
12:30 New England at Detroit - more indigestion for Lions fans - Patriots by two touchdowns!
4:15 New Orleans at Dallas - the Cowboys come back to earth - Saints by 4 points

College
8:00 Texas A&M at Texas - LONG day for the Longhorns A&M by 10

Friday
12:00 West Virginia at Pittsburgh - Panthers claw the Mountaineers by 6 points
2:30 Auburn at Alabama - The Crimson Tide upsets the Tigers from Auburn 24-17
7:00 Arizona at Oregon - The Ducks show off another ugly uniform & beat Arizona 30-14
10:15 Boise State at Nevada - Nevada scares the Broncos 34-27

Great Football - Great Food - Great Family Time!

Thanks for all the thoughts & prayers from all! We are a lucky family to have
the 3 F's at this time in our lives! FAITH-FAMILY & FRIENDS!!!

November 23, 2010 - Visit to Family Doctor

Today had an appointment with our family doctor. We discussed the following:

* Checked incision were "Heart Cath" entered into the leg
* Talked about the choice of Heart Surgeons & the politics of our two hospitals
Lancaster General vs. Lancaster Regional
* My choice for Heart Surgeons is Cardiothoracic Surgeons of Lancaster - Dr. Burlingame
* Discussed paperwork for medical leave from work - will try to get Surgeons to complete
* Discussed Meds & what I should be taking
* Discussed new ideas for a Cardiologist - the one I had was attached to Lancaster Regional

Still waiting to see if I can get in earlier than December 2. Called the heart surgeons office and no openings due to someone canceling. I will need to behave for 9 more days.

Called the athletic department at school & told the athletic director I will not be coaching winter track & score keeping for the girls basketball team. Still have plans for Spring Track!

Also, called a set up a tee time for my comeback for Easter Monday, April 25th @ Fairview. They thought I was crazy!

Surgery still set for sometime the first week in December.

Last Friday I had my first "Heart Cath" test! Had to be there at 5:30 AM! Go into the hospital half asleep - this is good - save on anesthesia! Did the paper work, put on one of those lovely hospital gowns & away we go! Nurses were great, doctor did a great job, and here are the results:

Right Coronary Artery - 99% blocked!
Circumflex Artery - 70% blocked
Left Anterior (descending) 50-60% blocked

Heart "Cath" was not bad & did not take long - seemed like about 20 minutes. Of course, got a little light headed when they removed the device used to fish through my leg artery! They needed to put pressure on it for 15 minutes & with every thing else my head started spinning! Nurses reacted well, and brough me back from La-La Land!

Recovery - 4 hours resting on back & two hours on chair & home to rest for next exciting chapter!

Found thus great site explaining "Heart Cath" At the Cleveland Clinic.

Why This Heart Blog!

It's everywhere!

Musician's sing about it - Billy Ray Cyrus "Achy Breaky Heart"

Coaches say it - "You gotta have heart!"

Boss's stress it - "Let's get to the heart of the matter"

And your can't live without! Well, I'm there! After denying it for about three weeks, I finally went to the doctor! (Typical male!) I thought I could fix it myself! Little rest, eat right for a week, (some duct tape) and a lot of prayers, I could heal myself!

Nope! Ain't gonna happen! So this week from family doctor, to cardiologist, to the hospital for a heart catheterization and guess what? Three blockages! Now it's on to a surgeon & what the plan will be to fix it! Stay tune - more to come!

We love HEARTS!

My Heart Under Repair

Well, here we go! Something I can do will sitting at home and waiting for my next doctors visit! This blog is to inform, share, question, and stop me from GOING CRAZY AT HOME!

Hope this will share my experience and help others that are going through heart issues of their own!