Well this Dr visit didn't go as expected

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Anyone have access to knowing how Hank is coming along? I know it's to early but we are all concerned.
He'll probably be back online before he leaves the hospital! 🙂
 
Hank if it's open surgery get a teddy bear to hug for recovery afterwards - I kid you not ! If you sneeze or cough it pulls on chest muscles and that hurts. Hugging a teddy bear stops you over exerting and gives you a friendly momento 😉

Wishing you. rapid recovery and you won't believe the difference it makes ! I have friends and relatives who benefitted from similar surgery. Glad they caught it BEFORE it did damage and you found out the hard way.

Heres to a great 2024 for you and yours
 
Hank,
Last year was a low energy year for me... Doctor said I had an 80 or 90 percent closure in the Aortic valve.. he kept asking if I had chest pains or got out of breath .... I told him no chest pains ever, and yes I did get short of breath if I walked up the hill behind the house or did things that was an exertion for me... I was 82 years old.....

I had a valve job (TAVR) on my birthday last year, Sept 19, and today feel fine... if I do exertion, I will still get short of breath, but no so bad as last year... I do have more energy, just not as much motivation.... my wife collapsed and died on the second day I was home from the hospital, so I'm still dealing with that... otherwise I feel great. hopefully, you won't have any problems with the stints... they went up my groin to put in the new valve... it was a cow valve, so MOOOO!
 
Well 30 hours after and it hurts like xxxx. My health before the surgery has played a part in the recovery plan. Everyone is amazed that although it hurts, I can stand and walk so quickly - there has been discussions of leaving a couple of days earlier than originally planned.

Will report more as it comes about.
 
Glad to see you posting Hank, and that You are at least up and moving.

Now, the big question--will you be able to play the piano after the surgery?? Could you before???
earl
 
Hank good to hear everything is going as well as could be. Take your time and listen to Dr's . My sister had triple bypass 3 years ago and the same thing with her they had her up and around within a few days after surgery. I was surprised also to see the equipment today that monitor you is so small as compared to when my Dad had his some 28 years ago. The incisions are smaller and healing is alot faster. keep us up to date.
 
leehljp said:
Well 30 hours after and it hurts like xxxx. My health before the surgery has played a part in the recovery plan. Everyone is amazed that although it hurts, I can stand and walk so quickly - there has been discussions of leaving a couple of days earlier than originally planned.

Will report more as it comes about.
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I didn't have any pain from my "valve job", but the doctors wouldn't let get out of bed for almost 48 hours because of the fear of bleeding at the insertion site... I did have some bleeding where they punched a hole in my aortic vein in the upper leg... but I'm also on blood thinners that slows the coagulation some... by the end of the second day I had stopped bleeding and now only have a little dark spot where they went in.
 
howsitwork said:
Hank if it's open surgery get a teddy bear to hug for recovery afterwards - I kid you not ! If you sneeze or cough it pulls on chest muscles and that hurts. Hugging a teddy bear stops you over exerting and gives you a friendly momento 😉

Wishing you. rapid recovery and you won't believe the difference it makes ! I have friends and relatives who benefitted from similar surgery. Glad they caught it BEFORE it did damage and you found out the hard way.

Heres to a great 2024 for you and yours
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At this hospital, They give each person a big stuffed (valentine) heart shaped pillow to hug. I had to use it this morning big time.!
 
TellicoTurning said:
I didn't have any pain from my "valve job", but the doctors wouldn't let get out of bed for almost 48 hours because of the fear of bleeding at the insertion site... I did have some bleeding where they punched a hole in my aortic vein in the upper leg... but I'm also on blood thinners that slows the coagulation some... by the end of the second day I had stopped bleeding and now only have a little dark spot where they went in.
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My tubes had some blood, but the nurses said mine was very little.
 
jttheclockman said:
Hank good to hear everything is going as well as could be. Take your time and listen to Dr's . My sister had triple bypass 3 years ago and the same thing with her they had her up and around within a few days after surgery. I was surprised also to see the equipment today that monitor you is so small as compared to when my Dad had his some 28 years ago. The incisions are smaller and healing is alot faster. keep us up to date.
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I don't have any references as to sizes from that far back, but these tubes sure seem large to me. But I am taking it one day at a time. I was told "no driving" for several weeks. 😭
 
It's great to see you posting so soon. As a community of members that have some experience with your issues, are realizing the possibility of experiencing your issues, or can learn from what you are going through - this points to an intangible strength of IAP: common interests have brought us together for a 'community' that is more than woodturning.
 
SteveJ said:
So you can't drive, but can you get back in the shop and turn pens for the BASH?
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Wish I could. LOML won't let me. She said if I could turn a pen I could do some of her small "honey do's". I'll stay inside an write some, and do a puzzle or two or three with her - and drink my coffee or hot chocolate.

With a blood vessel ripped out in two places for the bypass - leg and mammelry gland, I'm not in a hurry to get active. I was surprised that they use a blood vessel from the chest. I didn't know that. They didn't sew up the places where they take out blood vessels, they CA them (super glue). Nurse was surprised when I said "CA". "You know that?" Me: Yes, we use that term when finishing pens. Then I had to explain that process to her.
 
Hank,

It's great to hear from you so soon! Hope healing is quick. It's too early to realize it yet but you will be stronger and healthier in the near future.
We are all continuing to pray for your quick return to penturning.
I don't know if it would work here, but when in high school the girls had an exercise to strengthen their chest. It went something like "We must we must we must increase our bust, the bigger the better the tighter the sweater the boys depend on us". I always felt this was a sound practice.
Keep active, stay positive, it will take time, but you'll realize the pain was worth the gain.
Get well soon Hank. Remember you gotta play this one on your wife, about how you can not do a honey do list for at least a year. But turning will increase your strength! 😉
 
Lee, glad to hear things are going well.
My SIL's brother had open heart surgery and valve replacement. Told: 12 days in the hospital. Wrong! Up and walking the next day and was only in the hospital for three days. There are still miracles!
 
My doctor came by and said "the widow maker was totally occluded" (stopped up). Could not get a line through it. God was with you!" Dr. Garrott is turning in the orders for a step-down. If they have a room tonight, I will go then, if not then tomorrow or when they get a room.

I never was short of breath when I was helping build churches or helping other people with their work. Doc said "not everyone gets that warning. You didn't."

BTW, now have 4+ inches of Yankee snow 😁 (I love it) down here and I can't look at it till in the morning.
 
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Again, glad everything is going well. We have had maybe 1-1/2 inches of snow here. Odd but places further west got more snow. Memphis, TN was hit hard. Our truck is covered in ice.
 
Hank, Great to hear that your surgery went well and glad it was discovered when it was. You mentioned the heart pillow they gave you, last year I had an aortic dissection and they also gave me a heart pillow to use when coughing.
If they offer cardiac rehab I would suggest doing it. When the cardiologist first mentioned it to me I passed on it because I wasn't sure if I wanted to. On the next office visit it was mentioned again and I decided to go ahead and try it. What I'm doing is 3 days a week for 3 months, I'll be finished at the end of this month, glad I did it.
 
Woodchipper said:
Again, glad everything is going well. We have had maybe 1-1/2 inches of snow here. Odd but places further west got more snow. Memphis, TN was hit hard. Our truck is covered in ice.
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I am in Memphis Baptist Memorial (formerly Baptist East). I was just today able to look out the window to see the snow!


LouCee said:
LouCee (Chad): Hank, Great to hear that your surgery went well and glad it was discovered when it was. You mentioned the heart pillow they gave you, last year I had an aortic dissection and they also gave me a heart pillow to use when coughing.
If they offer cardiac rehab I would suggest doing it. When the cardiologist first mentioned it to me I passed on it because I wasn't sure if I wanted to. On the next office visit it was mentioned again and I decided to go ahead and try it. What I'm doing is 3 days a week for 3 months, I'll be finished at the end of this month, glad I did it.
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I Started Cardiac Rehab today. Tomorrow, it will be three times a day for about 20 minutes each time, then the same for Thursday. Then, Next week or two I will start three times a week. Currently, the rehab site for Baptist Memorial has a 3 to 4 week backup to get started. There is a closer site to my home (by about 20 miles) but I am not sure of the delay there.
 
The guy that takes all of the electrical data from all of those stickers came by to read my blood sugar level. He said: "I watched you on your first walk with the PT. You did better than most do on their last walk before being released. Except for some doctor requirements, your PT is going to be short.

I still am going to take it easy and not jump back into all the heavy physical work that I had been doing helping others. Except for the little old ladies, I am going to try more "teaching" others "how" to do the work. But I don't know how to teach light switch/outlet changing out. That is something that takes a "mindset", which many do not have!
 
leehljp said:
I said to my wife last summer that this year (2023) has been the hardest on me physically as I just did not have the energy I used to have. And I take my vitamins and Boost drinks regularly. My heart doctor gave me 40mg of atorvastatin last November (2022). My wife was taking 10mg. Her cholesterol was higher than mine. I didn't know we were taking different levels til last summer. My physical in Sept revealed I had a cholesterol average level of 120, down from 190-200 for the last 15 years.

Did some research and said Atorvastatin in high doses could cause low energy. WENT to heart doctor to lower my prescription. He did - to 20 mg, but he wanted to check on my low energy levels as having another cause. I had a CT scan (heart) in Nov. that revealed one artery that had a 70% blockage.

SCHEDULED a heart cath for Jan 10 with possibility of a stint. I fell asleep during the cath even though everyone said no one hardly goes to sleep during a cath.

When I woke up - It didn't go as planned. I have 4 vessels with 99% blockage, and another spot with similar blockage. Will have heart bypass tomorrow afternoon - Friday 12th.

I told the doctor that I didn't feel THAT bad for having that much blockage. He said: "Occasionally some vessels route more blood through other vessels and keep the heart going." I'm not sure how true that is as sometimes we get told what we want to hear.

I came to the hospital expecting go to home the same night. Now it will be a good 8 to 10 days. I am not worried about it or anxious either - except for the 4 to 5 weeks of not being active the way I like. I had three trips planned that I had to cancel - Atlanta, Jackson, MS and Springfield, MO. I did tell the doctor that I wanted to inspect his saw blades to see how sharp they were. I offered to sharpen them to a razor sharpness. He laughed and declined!
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Wow! At least they found the cause of your low energy! I'm sure you'll be fine 🙂. Speedy recovery! Hopefully, when you are recovered you can show me how to sharpen the carbite blade and my kitchen knives. Take care.
 
Glad to know you're on the mend Hank, although if you try the " can't do those jobs honey til I built up my strength by turning "line ! Your survival maybe in doubt 😉
 
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