Hi all!

Mr. S. is back home after successful open heart surgery: he got a mitral valve repair (instead of a replacement). His surgery got moved up to last Friday (3/14) instead of yesterday (3/17). What a scramble! (On Thursday, he had his 5-hour presurgical meetings, followed by his 4-hour pre-internship for school (all at the same hospital!), followed by his last final in the evening (which was moved up two weeks to let him have time off for surgery). Good in a way, though...not much time to get anxious!

I am so amazed at how quickly they turn you around (especially remembering kids in the hospital for 2 weeks for tonsilectomies when I was a kid!). He walked outdoors (spring here) for 20 minutes this afternoon, and this morning went in (I drove) to get a blood draw. He even shaved this afternoon (too bad; he was starting to look like a version of Aragorn, except his hair is lighter!).

I'm doing fine (now that I can catnap while he's dozing). He can't drive for a few weeks, but I'm taking at least two weeks off to cook and chauffeur. Lots to do.

Just wanted to share (some) good news with y'all, especially since the world situation looks so grave. On our little household level, though, there is much joy.

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.

Love and best to all of you. Pray for peace.

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2003

Answers

So glad for you all. Hugs from me!!!

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2003

Great news, Sheepish! Lots of Hugs to you both!

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2003

Glad to hear procedure was a success. Hey, you got ice cream for tonsilectomies . . . what's the treat for heart surgery? :^)

Take care.

-- Anonymous, March 19, 2003

hmm. Good question. I think world peace would be good, for a start!

Otherwise, maybe just TLC, with emphasis on the L!

-- Anonymous, March 19, 2003

Glad to hear things are going well. Wish I could say the same for our house. Nobody is sick, just a lot of fighting going on.

-- Anonymous, March 19, 2003

What wonderful news, sheepish! Sounds like everyone's prayers helped a bit! Big hugs to you two!

-- Anonymous, March 19, 2003

Good news! A valve repair is definitely better than a replacement. Still, many people do very well with valve replacement (I used to be a secretary in the heart surgery program at UW). He has my sympathy for the pain and having to take the pain meds!

As for the weeds in your garden, we don't even have weeds sprouting yet!

-- Anonymous, March 19, 2003

That is such good news, Sheepish!!!!! Especially in a world that's now filled with great despair. I guess all we can hope for is to try to be happy in our own little corner of the world!!!

What are Mr. S's limitations? Will he be able to tackle stuff as before?

-- Anonymous, March 19, 2003

Marcia,

Well, he still can't tango. But there's always hope (!).

Actually, he's doing well. He is taking 20-minute walks 2 times a day. He has to stay on Coumadin (a blood thinner) for about 30 days, plus he's on about a dozen other meds, most of which are for a limited amount of time. He has blood drawn a couple times a week to monitor his Coumadin levels. Presently, he can't use his arms much because he can't lift anything over 5 pounds, has to do arm movements bilaterally, and he can't do stuff like use his arms to push himself out of a chair, put a shirt on the "normal" way, open doors that have bars on them, open car doors, etc. This is because they split his sternum to get to his heart, and the breastbone takes a long time to heal. Right now, he has wires holding his breastbone together, so he has to be careful in moving to get that all to heal.

His surgeon told him they were going to hike a certain mountain together around here this summer (they both hike/climb in the same areas). Whether that really happens or not seems to indicate that his doc thinks his prognosis is good. We'll know more at follow-up appointments. The hospital that he had surgery at is Providence (Colby Campus) in Everett, WA. It's rated very high nationally for cardiac care and it's the #1 heart hospital in WA. They have a website, if anyone is interested.

btw (off topic), I bought the Lord of the Rings to read when I was at the hospital all the time. I made great progress through Book One. Now I can hardly read for more than 10 minutes. I'm just busy all the time taking care of this guy. But as he gets better, I'll have a little more time. I'm LOVING the poetry (and I didn't like it so much 30 years ago).

Y'all take care. Thank you SO MUCH for your prayers! I'll stay in touch.

PEACE.

-- Anonymous, March 21, 2003

Sheepish...gosh, "split the breastbone"??? That sounds soooo bad!! All I can think of is when I butcher chickens for the freezer!!!! Sorry 'bout that :-)! But that's great that he's doing so good after such major surgery. Can I send ya anything from waaaay over here in Maine...for recuperative purposes??

-- Anonymous, March 21, 2003

Marcia,

Hmmm...Plane tickets to Maine? Nah, no traveling from here for a while. Maybe some day we'll come back thataway. Your good wishes are plenty for right now. Thank thee for thy offer!

-- Anonymous, March 22, 2003

Sheepish...you're more than welcome!!

-- Anonymous, March 23, 2003

My uncle had a pig valve put in years and years ago. Twenty or so. He's still active in Karate but has to wear a special vest (which he doesn't always wear) so he doesn't get hurt if he's hit in the chest. Isn't modern science great? Glad Mr S is doing so well.

-- Anonymous, March 23, 2003