6 weeks post-surgery - doing great

Today is Wednesday, October 8th, exactly 6 weeks (and a day) after surgery. I have come a long way in the past month. For starters, my chest incision pain is largely gone (I haven't taken any pain medication in a few weeks) and my energy level, while not quite back to normal, is getting much better. No real setbacks to mention, though I did try a glass of wine last week and still don't quite have the taste buds back yet (though I've been enjoying a non-alcoholic beer or two or three from time to time). Pretty minor in the grand scheme of things.

In addition, I started cardiac rehabilitation three weeks ago and have made significant strides. At the beginning, I was able to do only 3.5 to 4 METs (a fun numeric ratio of the calories being burned during exercise to the calories being burned while resting - for example, walking at a slow pace or playing the guitar is about 2 METs, climbing stairs is about 4 METs, and running 6 miles per hours is 8-10 METs). Now I am up to 6.5 to 7 METs per workout and hope to hit 9 METs by the last day of my rehab, in just over 2 weeks.

Finally, I met with my surgeon, Dr. Balkhy, on Tuesday to discuss my progress and determine next steps. He thought the scar looked great and saw no red flags, so I am cleared to go back to work on October 21st, as scheduled. However, he wants me to avoid any activities that involve twisting, turning, or lifting of the upper body for at least 3-4 more months - the sternum needs more time to heal and the sutures around the valve and aorta need time to fully integrate into my body as well. So no softball, volleyball, basketball, rugby, etc. Basically I'm stuck with running, walking, biking, and very light weights (less than 20 pounds). Overall, a very positive discussion, and a reminder that my recovery, while going quite well, still has many months to go. However, it feels good to be close to normal again. Going back to work will be the last piece of the puzzle.

An Exercise In Patience

Today is Monday, September 8th, almost 2 weeks since my surgery. Things are going pretty well, I suppose. I've been sleeping from 10:30pm to 7:30pm consistently for the past week or so, I'm generally not in a lot of pain, my energy level has picked up a bit, and my appetite is starting to increase (by the way, thanks to everyone that has brought over food in the past week - it has been thoroughly enjoyed by the Smith family).

There have been a few minor setbacks. I still get pretty tired mid-day (probably still feeling the effects of 7 hours under anesthesia), I'm still quite sore when I wake up in the morning, and the one time I tried going out (to a football party on Thursday night hosted by a good friend from Mercer), my incision started bleeding about 30 minutes after I arrived and I had to leave. Tricia thinks that these are signs that I need to slow down a bit. Though I'm sure she's probably right, I'm still going to search for that balance between doing too little and doing too much. Sitting around the house all day is probably not good for my physical recovery and is DEFINITELY not good for my mental recovery.

One thing that should help my recovery is cardiac rehabilitation, which involves medically supervised exercises designed to strengthen the cardiovascular function. I'll be able to start this as soon as I am cleared to drive (which won't be earlier than Thursday) and look forward to seeing some progress through this program. It will be nice to have something tangible to measure progress (for example, how many minutes I can walk on a treadmill). Right now, my measure of progress is based on my gut feeling ("I think I feel better than yesterday") as well as comments from others ("You look a lot better than you did a few days ago"). Don't get me wrong, I love getting everyone's feedback and I appreciate it very much. However, it will also be nice to have numeric evidence of my improved health. Guess that's the actuary in me talking. Good to know he's still in there...

A Love Affair

Today is Wednesday, September 3rd, and I am 8 days post-surgery. In general, things are going well - small improvements every day, no major setbacks. Sleep has been good for a few days, and I'm getting used to the slow pace of healing.

Tomorrow marks an important day in my life. It's the anniversary of a love affair that has spanned many years and accompanied many of the most memorable times of my life. It is a love that is of the purest form. It lets me know that I'm alive.

Yes, the NFL season is finally upon us.

This season promises to be an unpredicable ride, especially since this is the first time Brett Favre has not been my team's quarterback since I was in college (now THAT'S a long time ago!). Unlike some others that have been conflicted by the Favre drama, I've always been a Packer fan first and a Favre fan second. With that being said, I'm glad that a resolution was reached before the start of the season, I'm glad that Favre found a place to play football, and I'm glad that Favre found a place to play football that doesn't include a game against the Packers for a few years. I can root for the Packers (first) and Favre (second) with a clear conscience.

For the record, here's my prediction for the season: 10-6 record, division title, loss to Dallas in the playoffs. Furthermore, the Jets (with Brett Favre) will have basically the same season - 9-7 record, wild card berth, loss to Pittsburgh in the playoffs. Hopefully I'm underestimating the talent level that the Packers have, but count me among those that are not certain that Aaron Rodgers (Favre's replacement) will play in every game this year.

Time for a haiku about football:

Glorious football;
What joy you bring to my life!
Never leave my side

And that's all that I got to say about that. Let the season begin!

The Waiting Is The Hardest Part

Today is Tuesday, September 2nd. One week ago at this time, I was just getting out of surgery. I've made a ton of progress in a very short time. I'm finally sleeping (thank you Benadryl!) and my walks are getting longer every day. Still don't have much of an appetite (weight is down to about 154 lbs.) and my energy comes and goes. More ups than downs at this point.

I remember when I was in college (or shortly thereafter), I would have KILLED for a few months in which I could lay around and do nothing. Amazing how things change. It's only seven days after surgery, and I'm already getting a little "cabin fever". I'm not healthy enough to do many physical things, the medications have made me a bit "mentally fuzzy" so crossword and Sudoku puzzles are out of the question, and to make things even worse, Sarah McLachlan is on the radio and I can't find the remote. She must be an acquired taste...

I have been told by numerous people that I would just have to learn to let the healing process take its course. I know they are right, but I can tell that this will take some getting used to...

Have a great day everyone.

Jason

ANXIETY

Can you say anxiety! It is 4:30 a.m. and Jason still has not slept, but has gotten some exercise through pacing.

Please continue to pray that he sleeps.

Love,
Tricia

Recovery

Yesterday was full of every emotion. But mostly thankfulness that Jason is doing so incredibly well. My biggest job in the next coming weeks is to make sure he gets the rest that he needs. I have instruction from Sue, Dr. Balkhy's personal nurse, that he should have no phone, no computer and limited visitation in the next one to two weeks. This has already been a challenge as I see he made his own blog entry yesterday when Lauren and I ran to the pharmacy and grocery store for 30 minutes. Nurse Lauren and I asked him to sit in his chair and not move while we were gone, but when we got home he was on the computer and nurse Lauren (she is taking her roll very seriously) said, "but Daddy promised he would stay in his chair Mom". Jason will be at home recovering for a long time, so we would love to have visitors in a few weeks when he is totally bored. I hate to be the party pooper, but he does have a low grade fever that needs to be watched closely, his blood counts are low and his heart rate is high and we are still managing his pain. It is 2:30 a.m. as I write this and he has not slept yet.

Fantasy Football is of course on Jason's mind and I am sure nurse Sue would not approve.

Dr. Oesterling, Hematologist, continues to monitor his von willabrands factor closely as we need to go to TWHH, ER everyday and have his blood checked to see if he needs to receive treatments.

Like Jason said, thank you to everyone who has been so great to us and a big thank you to our neighbors too. Jason and I sometimes talk about what we would do if we won the lottery (always fun to imagine) and would we move and buy a bigger house? The answer is 'no', because you can buy your house, but you can't buy your neighbors and we love all of you so much and you make living in Kelly Pointe Subdivision a wonderful place to live and raise a happy family.

Our prayers were answered for the best possible outcome with his surgery, now please pray that he sleeps.

Love,
Tricia

One Big Sigh of Relief - and An Even Bigger Thank You

Greetings:

Today is Friday, August 29th, and I have come home. It's been an overwhelming three days since my surgery, and I'm looking forward to my recovery time.

On behalf of my wife and daughter, I want to extend my sincerest gratitude to everyone that has reach out to us over the past weeks. The amount of support we have received has been simply staggering. We will reach out to everyone individually in the coming weeks. However, for now, a nap feels like the right thing to do first.

Sleep well everyone, and thank you for your wonderful support. I will never, ever forget it.

Jason (and the entire Smith family)