The Peripatetic Philosopher updates - EIGHT WEEKS AFTER SURGERY:

8 weeks after open heart surgery

“Every day is a triumph.”

For those who have not had, nor anticipate having open heart surgery, as well as for those who have had and survived it, this is one man’s report of his progress after 8 weeks of this surgery.

There is no way of anticipating the violation of your physical and physiological systems over which you have no control once this surgery has been experienced.  All systems abandon you as you return to the status of a newborn child, with the fragility and dependence.

You must learn to walk again and use your limbs with authority.  Rehab becomes a part of the ritual of your life, and continues until you arrive at your previous norm for those bodily functions.

I was told by my cardiologist that rehab from the surgery would take 6 to 8 weeks.  I have completed those 8 weeks and I now continue:

1)      To walk with my walker outside 10 minutes a day and then only with some effort;

2)      To walk twice daily 8 or 9 minutes, and again with some effort, with no walker;

3)      To do physical and occupational therapy now without a therapist present but with BB being my coach and navigator as my arms and legs are weak and my breathing is still not normal;

4)      To do breathing exercises, which are new to me as I find I breathe through my mouth when I should be breathing through my nose which is necessary to expand my lungs, and return them to their previous health;

5)      To squeeze rubber balls and do finger exercises to deal with the weakness of my grip and the ulna nerve damage to my three fingers on my left hand, which are mainly useless since the surgery;

6)      To deal with the lack of appetite, which after 56 days has not left me, while knowing I need to eat properly to regain my stamina and strength.

Others can see how I have progressed, which is hard for me to see, as it is so slow and I am conscious of how much I cannot do.

BB sees that every day is a triumph and she takes solace in what I can do and am willing to do and I know that I would not be as far along as I am without her coaching and motivation.

Now, this is a report of my experience, the progress of a self-confessed slow healer and is not meant to impugn the experience or progress of others with a similar condition.

The body, once violated by this surgery, fights to restore the body’s health with resolution and determination.  Perhaps it does so for a man in his 80’s a little more slowly.  BB keeps reminding me of the virtue of patience.

Be always well,

Jim

P.S. Dictated to my BB who has been there every day with cheerful positive spport.

SIX WEEKS AFTER OPEN HEART SURGERY

SIX WEEKS AFTER OPEN HEART SURGERY

JULY 2 – Open Heart Surgery – AdventHealth Pepin Heart Institute

JULY 2 – JULY 5 – Intensive Care at Pepin

JULY 5 – JULY 10 – ROOM 119 – Hospital Room at Pepin

JULY 10 – JULY 24 – ROOM 26 a – Cardio Rehab – Concordia Village Med Center

JULY 24 – To Present – Home (August 12, 2019)


Each of these designations and transitions are indelible and permanent impressions on my psyche.

Important lessons of life have been learned that have changed me forever. Indeed, I have been jolted awake.

As one nurse put it, “Once a man, twice a baby.” I can relate to that in every sense.

I was aware that all dignity was gone when I had my first unanticipated BM when my nurses were attempting to get me up to weigh me and ended up having to change my diaper.

It struck me that the high and the low are reduced to a common dependent class when they can no longer take care of themselves in the most practical sense.

After 6-hours of surgery with a heart lung machine keeping me alive while the surgeon and his team worked on the heart, the human body kicks into action to counter this radical intrusive invasion.

The body begins to swell, taking on fluid. This resulted in my body weight increasing from 226 to 242.

Diuretics were applied which resulted in my peeing every few minutes including, on occasion, peeing my pants. This was necessary to bring the swelling and my weight down, a process, at some level that continued into my rehabilitation phase.

Today, I weigh 205, which is partly due to the fact that I still have little appetite for food and all that water weight is off of my body. That said, my cardiologist hopes I will maintain this new weight for the health of my heart.

Sleep, once my kindest friend now avoids me like my worst enemy. To illustrate the horrors of time, especially when I should be sleeping, the clock in the hospital drove me to near panic as it seemed to move so slowly. I hated nights then and now I hate them at home.

Were it not for my wife, Beautiful Betty, who often spent 10 to 12 hours with me in hospital, and now at home, 24/7, I don’t believe I would have made it, as it was such a radical departure from anything I had experienced before. Other than a short stay in the hospital for an appendectomy, and essentially never suffering from debilitating sickness in my long life, I was not prepared for this.

In the 33 years of our marriage, I still sometimes wonder where BB musters the stamina and courage to persevere, but she does. She is even reading to me every night, a book she is enjoying, to help put me to sleep at night.

My daughter Laurie often visited me in the hospital and gave BB relief during those periods. In addition, since I’ve been home, she has spelled BB so she could shop and run errands as it was not prudent to leave me unattended at this point as there is always the possibility that I might fall. We are two very close people, BB and I, but this has created a new bond with my daughter that has brought father and daughter closer to together.

With all risks, there are bound to be surprises. Mine is that in this surgery or in the constant sticking of needles in me to draw blood, the ulna nerve was damaged so that I have no sensory feeling to the last three fingers of my left hand.

Typing is impossible! I created this document with my index finger. It may take six months or a year to realize sensation, or perhaps never.

What I have experienced and will continue to experience is common to many. Since many of you have wondered when I would return to writing books and missives, this should provide some explanation of the inactivity on my email and blog. I will still read emails from those interested in staying in touch with me.

Moreover, people may check my blog (www.peripateticphilosopher.blogspot.com) where there are many missives that I have written in the past that may be of interest to the reader.

Be always well,

Dr. Jim