Sunday, February 2, 2025

Update!!


I took a long blog break after Christmas as my dear cowboy--my husband-- underwent open heart surgery for a double coronary bypass in early January. Thankfully, he is doing well and has been home three weeks. We feel fortunate that his only symptom pre-operatively was shortness of breath.  Because of that, his cardiologist felt he should have a cardiac stress test and then a coronary angiogram which showed the blockages of two major arteries of his heart. He could have suffered a myocardial infarction -- a heart attack--at any time, so that was avoided with surgery.


 


We had a few weeks to prepare as my husband was otherwise in good health so his surgery was scheduled after the holidays, which was ultimately better for many reasons, as we avoided the "quademic" of three respiratory viruses and the GI norovirus was prevalent during the holidays  Being prepared mentally also helped in his recovery. He came through his 6-hour surgery well and spent five days in a cardiac ICU before going home. I am an RN, so I felt capable to taking care of him at home at that time.




Our local hospital had this uplifting mural by the elevator bank--click on the photo to enlarge it to read the scripture.


The views from his hospital window were gorgeous and also uplifting!



My husband was soon up in a chair and walking with assistance in the hospital within a day, and now that he has been home a few weeks we are beginning to follow post-operative instructions to walk every day until he builds up to a half-hour walk 5 to 7 days a week. Thankfully, the very cold "Arctic Blast" sub-zero weather we had the first few weeks of his time at home has passed and our weather has been much milder. Because his sternum (breastbone) was completely cut open and then reattached during surgery he has to be careful not to use his arms strenuously and not lift anything heavy, etc, for about 6 to 8 weeks. Full healing takes 10 to 12 weeks.  We are confident that he will continue to improve every day, and be better than ever!
Thank you to all for your encouraging comments and messages, etc, on social media! It is good to be back on my blog and I now hope to be able to return to a regular weekly post.

Please take care of your heart and make sure to see a doctor if you have any cardiac symptoms. Modern medicine is a miracle!

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