Countdown Continues!

Yes, the countdown continues! Two more days to "My Heart Under Repair" is repaired! My goal now is to be ready to tackle the first week in the hospital. I received this chart to give me an idea what to expect. Click on chart to see my Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday schedule and the Thursday & Friday Schedule.

Home from Pre-Op!

The morning went well. Started at 8AM and finished around 12 Noon! Here is what happened:

8 AM - Ultrasound on my left arm to see if the doctors could use a vein from my left arm for one of the by-passes. The young lady, Melissa, is married to one of my younger son's friends from Hempfield. Josh & her brother-in- law Mike Porreca were friends. Ten years ago, Josh was throwing TD's to Mike on the football field. Melissa is married to one of Mike's twin brothers. Melissa did a great job and the entire procedure took 30-45 minutes.

9:30 AM - Next to nurse, Diane. Diane's job is to take care of all the testing & blood work! First, blood work! Of course, I warned her I get light headed around needles! First needle was in my right hand around my wrist & lucky I was laying down, because I did get lighted headed! Here is a great page for needle phobia & I have never researched this - well let the research begin!

Needle Phobia

I did not realize that 10% of the population has this! You would think that doctors & hospitals would do a better job helping & informing patients! Well I'm working on it & the webite had some great ideas!

After the first blood sample was drawn, I had an EKG, another blood sample from my elbow area(this went better!), a urine sample, covered my medical history, and signed a bunch of papers for the procedure!

Last, I was given a prescription for Bactroban, which is a nasal medicine that I will discuss later.

Diane covered the Monday schedule, need to be there by 5:15 AM and surgery starts at 8AM!

Well, that was my Friday! 4 hours of poking, signing, and all the testing before surgery!

Day Starts with Trip to Lancaster General Downtown Pavilion

This is just a quick post to start the day. I will try to post this afternoon and review the procedures of today. To make this experience even more exciting, I see a winter storm brewing Sunday into Monday! Right now it looks like mostly rain! Stay tuned for more details!

On Friday it will be Heart School

The time is approaching for Monday Surgery! Friday, I will go to the Lancaster General Downtown Pavilion and go through my preoperative testing & teaching. Yes, it is back to school, for all my Hempfield buddies I wonder if I can get AIS credit! Here is what happens Friday:

* 9:30 AM - Report to Information desk and ask for a specific nurse
* Need to bring a list of the meds: I take - 10 mg of lipitor, 10 mg of zetia, 10 mg of Singulair, & 20 mg of Aciphex
* Following this preparation & testing I report to the Cardiothoracic Surgeons Office
* I will have my surgical site marked and my history & physical updated
* I will receive a prescription for Bactriban - needs to be purchased in LGH Pharmacy
* Stop taking certain meds - Coumadin, Plavix, Aspirin, vitamins, etc.(Aspirin is my only one)
* Ask any questions that I may have

This entire visit should take 3 - 4 hours

I will receive a time to report Monday for surgery.

So, that is the game plan is for Friday. Yesterday I received my first letter from the insurance company Heath America. The initial paragraph stated:

"Based on the information from your physician, the following service(s) has/have been authorized, for the above named member"
THIS IS GOOD NEWS!
Of course then it adds in the letter, any additional services require separate authorization, this is subject to all the terms & conditions of your benefit pan, if the heath care plan denies coverage, you will be notified, and you may appeal. And more insurance speak........

I will keep all informed to how the insurance plan handles this process. So far so good. It is really the furthest thing from my mind right now, but I'm sure many people have added pressure when it comes to their medical coverage. This is a major concern in this country - but at this time I will not get into "Obamacare"!

Red Wine & Your Heart

I'm sure many of you have enjoyed a glass of red wine. Well, will this be part of my new diet? If so, how much should I have? What are some good red wines? Let the research begin!

Here is an article that I just finished: Red Wine - Heart Health Benefits

The article says, one glass for woman, two glasses for men? (That's one for the guys) The article goes on and says some research shows the red wine may raise HDL(good cholesterol) and prevent LDL(bad cholesterol from forming.
Also, red wine is rich in antioxidants, resveratrol, found in grape skin & seeds, increases HDL and prevents blood clotting. Flavonoids, exhibit antioxidant properties helping prevent blood clots and plaques formation in arteries.

Now the bad news! Alcohol may increase triglycerides, and result in weight gain! Also, use of alcohol may be a cancer risk! Well, looks like I need more research!

What do you think? To Wine or Not to Wine? That is the question.

Yesterday I had a look at the DVD given to me by the Heart Center of Lancaster General. The first chapter - Activity Guidelines. Here are some of the highlights:

* When arriving home you will be weaker, tired & suffer some discomfort - Keep Heart Pillow Close
* When sitting keep legs up
* Lift no more than 5-10 pounds
* Do not lift arms overhead
* Take showers only
* First few days limit visitors
* Avoid catching a cold!!!
* Start walking - avoid severe cold & heat!
* Do your breathing exercises
* When in the car, ride in the back seat - take your Heart Pillow
* Computer work is OK - THAT IS GOOD!
* When walking 1/2 walk = 1/2 hour rest

The next Chapter will be - Special Concerns. Today I also will stop taking my aspirin, but all other meds are OK. Again, trying to stay on a schedule that I discussed yesterday.

As a reminder, we cannot forget the battle against cancer. Today we lost another great neighbor, Maryanne Leauby. Maryanne was a great wife, mother and friend! She gave so much to her family & community and will be missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with her husband Gary, and children Gary Jr., Brian, Jennifer, and Kimberly and all their families.

Heart Surgery Game Plan

Yesterday I looked at the DVD given to me by the Heart Group. I also discussed the three categories of approaching the surgery - the physical, the mental & the spiritual focus! Today, I am adding to that the time-line to surgery:

1 - Pre Surgery Time
2 - Surgery
3 - Post Surgery Time

So, until Monday, December 13th, my main focus is on the Pre Surgery, which is now down to 6 days. The second time phase, the actual surgery is not in my hands! I will be out of it! At the time, I will be in God's hands and the surgeons hands! The third phase, Post Surgery, I will need to spend at least some time on it for two reasons. First, I need to understand what to expect when I wake up from surgery and second, the hospital stay & my recovery in the hospital i need to know what to expect.

The Pre Surgery time I am spending on what I can do around the house. Remember, I must behave myself, walking the dogs is not good, carrying anything heavy, or stressful mental things are out! Some things I can do(and Sue is happy with this!) is wash dishes, cooking supper(that is dangerous for Sue!) and doing Christmas cards! All this is good for me to keep me busy & Sue, to take away things she needs to do. Your spouse is under a LOT of pressure! And remember it is Christmas time!

I am trying to stay on a schedule:

Wake 6 AM
7 AM - devotions, breakfast(HEART HEALTHY), read newspaper
8 AM - see Sue off to work, shower & weigh myself(this is for my sister Nurse Rached)
9 AM - open blogs & add to the blogs
10 AM - watch TV & work on my retirement projects(this is an early start that I thought would start in June!)
11 :30 AM - Lunch - HEART HEALTHY
12:30 - let dogs out - one at a time
1 PM - 4 PM - a mixture of reading, projects, light housework, etc,
5 PM - call Sue & start Supper
7 - 9 PM TV with Sue(Wheel of Fortune, etc) One tradition we have is to watch a different Christmas movie until Christmas - It's a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th street, Christmas Vacation(I still laugh!). etc.

So, in the pre surgery phase, I am trying to stay mentally production, do the physical things I can do, and continue my devotions & let it in God's hands!

For comments today - What is your favorite Christmas movie?

One Week to Go!

One week to surgery! Yesterday I looked at the DVD - "Your Home Guide to Recovering from Heart Surgery" from the Heart Center at Lancaster General. Here are the categories:
1- Activity Guidelines
2 - Special Concerns
3 - Developing a Basic Routine
4 - Skills Section
5 - Completing Your Recovery
6 - Beyond Your Immediate Recovery

The video was well done and gave an honest & clear look at the next few weeks. I will go into more detail in later posts.

To me there are three main facets to this type of event in ones live:

1 - The Physical Side
2 - The Mental Side
3 - The Spiritual Side

I will try to continue to focus on all three and honestly discuss. Please feel free to comment on my assertions over the next few weeks. And once again thanks for all the positive thoughts & prayers! I really can FEEL the support and this entire process is easier to tackle with the help of friends & family!

Still Waiting!

Nine more days till surgery! If you are counting, that is 16 days since I was diagnosed with the three blockages. The difficult part now is the waiting game and making sure I do nothing stupid! Here is where I am at physically:

1 - sitting and reading, watching movies or TV, eating, and sleeping I feel nothing.
2 - walking around the house & up and down a few stairs is OK
3 - walking the dogs I may start to feel a little tightness in the chest
4 - nighttime I am definitely feel tired & my activity is more limited

I am definitely ready! I cannot work around the house, work at school, go to church, lift anything more then 10-20 pounds without feeling that tightness in my chest! Come on surgery!

The mental side of me is positive, but anxious about the surgery. I am not a hospital person. I also have a needle phobia. I always warn the nurses when giving blood I could pass out. Once I get beyond the first needle prick I usually am OK. My gall bladder surgery two years ago went well. The surgery was "day surgery" and I only was light headed one time.

So, I'm feeling ready, but anxious. The wait of over 25 days of knowing I will need open heart surgery does work on you. The term "Open" Heart Surgery should just be "Heart Surgery" forget the "Open" part!