And The Beat Goes On

Well the verdict is technically still out – but my prospects look good. Last Monday morning, I went in for my triple bypass surgery. I was taking into the operating room about 7:30 and came out around 1:00 or so. It all went fairly well though I did require three units of blood and two units of platelets. Afterwards, it took a while for them to get my ever dropping blood pressure to stabilize. But, in the end, everything came together and I was transferred out of ICU on Wednesday and sent home last Sunday.

I’m still quite sore and my energy level is very low, but I feel stronger with every day. My usual routine has me taking the first part of the day fairly slow – resting, reading, or watching a movie (or two.) Then, when Noah gets home from school around 2:00 or so, I get more active. This has me up and about when the family is here instead of being exhausted when they’re at home. At the doctor’s suggestion, I’ll start taking short walks every day and increasing my distance gradually.

I still have a small drainage tube in my lower left side that is still putting out a small amount of fluid. The doctor felt it was worth waiting on pulling it and will take it out Monday. Other than that he told me I was doing well. Still can’t drive yet and I won’t be able to lift anything bigger than 10lbs for six weeks (that’s when my breast bone should be fused back together.) The medication regime is slightly more complicated than before surgery, but I’m used to that by now and it’s really just a case of keeping yourself organized (and having a wife who’s real good at reminding you.)

Be Well.
Chris

The Verdict is In

Well the decision has been made. On Monday morning at 5:30am I will be reporting back to the hospital for surgery. At around 7:30 that same morning they'll crack my chest and perform a triple coronary bypass surgery. If all goes well, the surgery should take about 5 hours after which I'll spend a day or two in the ICU. Then a week or so in the hospital and at least a week of no activity at home.

I don't mind telling you that I am a little more than just apprehensive about this surgery. I'm not that old but I'm also not in the best of health. The thought of them opening up my chest bothers me more than the actual heart surgery. It will undoubtedly be a couple of very painful weeks and up to two months of limited activity. Of course the alternative isn't really an option - if we do nothing, I run the risk of a massive heart attack and putting in stints would very likely neither completely solve the blockages nor last for very long before closing up. So surgery it is.

I hope you'll understand, but I'll be out of touch for a while. I'll get an update here as soon as I'm able - hopefully by the end of next week or so.

Be well.
Chris

Good Morning

Yesterday was an interesting day to say the least. It started with a very long wait for my MRI. Mel left work early and came here to spend the day - we watched a lot of mundane television.

Before my MRI I got a visit from the Cardiac Surgeon - a man who is no doubt very good at what he does but has very poor bedside manner. He informed us that surgery was not an option because the condition of my liver was so bad. Up to now the story from both my liver doc and the cardiologists has been that the heart was causing the liver problems and that fixing it (heart) might very well solve a multitude of other symptoms. This was the first that we had heard someone say that the other symptoms would prevent fixing the heart. Now, to be fair, the surgeon (a man who's name escapes me early this morning) didn't say there was nothing to be done, just that he wouldn't preform any by-passes. The surgeons conversation with me lasted all of five minutes and left us both a bit stunned.

Later in the day, I gritted my teeth through a lengthy cardiac MRI without any sedation or anxiety medication - something that is not easy for me, being as clostrophobic as I am. Afterward, we received a visit from Dr. Ruben, my hepitologist (liver doctor.) He was in a bit of a tizzy over what the surgeon had said as he did not believe the surgeon had an accurate understanding of exactly what was going on in my liver and he (Dr. Ruben) felt that by-pass was not only a viable option, but might be the best course of action available. Dr. Ruben spoke with the surgeon (at some undisclosed location) and we were treated to a second, much less declarative visit from the surgeon. He said that in light of new information from Dr. Ruben, he was willing to consider the idea of bypass surgery once again. Just FYI - we're looking at triple bypass in my case - I've got three coronary arteries that are significantly blocked.

As of yesterday afternoon, the plan was for all the doctors to get together this morning and discuss the situation and then come to me with a united front of ideas. We'll see - I'm not holding my breath at this point.

As for today, I have yet to be told whether or not they'll let me eat today (after two days of one meal days, I'm still quite peckish.) The plan is to go in and place the stints today if that's what the we all agree is the best course of action. But of course that means I'll be NPO once again. If we opt for surgery or some other course of action, then it may be fine for me to eat - but that decision will likely not get made until well after breakfast time.

Well, that's about it for now. I hope everyone's day is better than mine.

Be well.
Chris

Greetings from Room 3035

So here I sit in a hospital bed once again. Yesterday's cardiac cath went well, but the docs found some major constrictions in my cardiac arteries (those supplying blood to the heart itself,) and they decided it would be prudent to admit me and run some further tests. I'm presently waiting on a Cardiac MRI to be do sometime this morning or early afternoon. The aim of this is to determine whether there is additional damage to the heart valves and to try and get a clearer idea of the extent to which my constrictive paricarditis has progressed. Then I'll be meeting with the surgeons to discuss options. Right now, there are two options on the table - another cath session to include the placement of stints or cardiac by-pass surgery.

Right now I'm just sitting here bored out of my mind and hungry as hell - I'm very much looking forward to a big slice of pepperoni pizza when this is all over. The cool thing is that hospitals now come equipped with wi-fi and computers built into patient TVs. At least I can keep my sanity by staying in touch.

I hope all are well - I'll keep this updated as best I can over the coming days.

Chris