I had a follow-up appointment with my cardiologist, yesterday. Dr. P is the one who decided I needed the transplant, but not the one who actually did it. This visit was just to check my vitals and gauge my overall wellbeing. I will see Dr. H, my surgeon, at the end of the month to check on my recovery from[…]
On My Heart (A Series)… Starting Recovery
It is my third full day home. It has been a good day. Nights are still hard. I still have nightmares. The dreams are vivid and violent and full of every awful thing. They are like a data dump of horror. I hope they go away soon. The pain medicine wears off like clockwork at 2:30 a.m., about a half[…]
On My Heart (A Series)… Back Home
I was released to go home yesterday, October 5. Unlike my usual experiences with hospital discharges (both my own and those of loved ones), once the announcement was made, I was out in a just a few hours. Charles drove by the pharmacy to pick up the sack load of medicines I would be taking and I was home by[…]
On My Heart (A Series) … Meltdowns
I had what my surgeon said was the first of many meltdowns on Monday. He was correct, of course. I had many more on Tuesday. I have been in the hospital, post surgery, for nine days. The days are all very similar filled with people whose job it is to help me heal and leave. There are people on the[…]
On My Heart (A Series)… Post Surgery
Spoiler Alert! I survived my surgery. Eight days ago, I had what was supposed to be a double heart valve replacement surgery. The good news is that once the aortic valve was repaired, the mitral started behaving as it should in a last ditch effort to be compliant and save itself. It worked; my original mitral valve beats obediently inside[…]
On My Heart (A Series)… Blast Off
Out of all the pictures of “blast off” I could find, I chose this one of Apollo 7. I chose it partly because it was the first manned space ship NASA put into space, but it is also the first one I can remember. I remember watching it on television in 1968. Today is the day. In one hour, I[…]
On My Heart (A Series)… Exactly What I Needed
Saturday morning, 48 hours before my heart surgery, Charles and I had breakfast with my dear old friend, V and her husband J. They are wonderful, salt of the earth people, and breakfast was casual and unhurried. Our conversation was easy and positive. It was exactly what I needed. After breakfast, though, I was in a little bit of a[…]
On My Heart (A Series)… 72 Hours to Go.
In about 72 hours, I will be kissing the love of my life goodbye for now, and the surgical team will start prepping me for surgery. I will have checked-in at the registration desk at 6:00 a.m., but I will have been awake for hours… possibly all night. No worries, I will be able to catch up on my sleep[…]
On My Heart (A Series) … 6 Days Away
Friday, the surgeon’s nurse called with some details of my upcoming surgery. A double heart valve transplant could take 5-7 hours. Some people stay in the hospital for two days, some stay two weeks. But, the average stay is seven days. I decided to treat that like my car’s GPS and try to beat it by about 20%. She said[…]
On My Heart…. (A Series) August 25
My heart has been broken many times over my 59 years; the majority of which were not from romantic disappointments. Friends and family have broken my heart. My heart has been broken by the loss of pets. It broke when actress Bette Davis died. When I watched the tree outside the poet Robert Frost’s historical home be taken down due[…]