Full Circle

…as I was saying, retirement was going swimmingly as of late May. Then, my family and I all contracted a nasty upper respiratory infection. This was no ordinary cold, but one that lasts a full two weeks. Somehow my son got through his finals week with it but took two full weeks to recover. I then got it and managed to move him home from college on Day 1 with the help of my brother. Then, the following weekend I had to get my son to his big concert performance about an hour away. I was on Day 9 of the URI by now so figured I’d be ok. And, for those wondering…no it wasn’t COVID or flu or RSV. Swabs were all negative.

My son’s concert was amazing. He’s a percussionist with the Golden Gate Symphony Orchestra and a composer. They played his newest piece, Desolate Wonder, and it was awesome.

The following day, despite feeling a bit tired, I went to a lunch with some dear retired nurse friends, one of whom flew in from Texas. Just as I sat down to lunch I knew I was having a mito energy crash. I started vomiting and was short of breath at rest. This continued so I asked a friend to take me to the nearest ER (party was 45 min from home). I received IV fluids and IV anti nausea meds and was sent home.

The following day it hit again as I became nauseated and very weak after a shower. My husband took me to my PCP follow up visit but by this point I felt terrible. My doctor took one look at me and had his staff wheel me to ER immediately.

In the ER they found my lactate was elevated and I again received 2 more liters of IV fluid plus IV antibiotics since I still had significant sinus symptoms. I’ll spare you the ER details, but suffice to say it was not fun.

The following day I rested all day but did not feel great. The day after that (Thursday, May 28, 2026), my husband took me to pick up my car from Monday’s party as it was still there. This proved to be a critical error in judgment on my part.

I somehow drove the 45 minutes home but was really not feeling well at all. As soon as I got home I walked up to my bathroom and started vomiting. I was also extremely weak as the climb up the two flights of stairs sucked every last bit of energy from me. Mitochondrial myopathy is a disease of energy production and apparently my “low battery” alarm is vomiting and weakness.

After about 45 min of almost nonstop vomiting my husband and son and I agreed to have them just call 911 as I could barely walk, was vomiting nonstop, and had some new chest pain and shortness of breath. We live in a fairly urban area just down the street from a fire station so they were here very quickly. By this point I couldn’t even walk so they got me down the stairs in a safety chair. The movement from that exacerbated the vomiting but I willed myself to stay conscious as I thought I was going to pass out. By this time the ambulance was waiting and I was taken to my local Kaiser hospital for the 3rd ER visit of the week and 2nd one at this hospital in 3 days.

Because I arrived by ambulance I was quickly assessed, IVs were placed and fluids given rapidly along with multiple IV anti-nausea meds. It took 3 different meds to stop the vomiting. I was taken for CT to rule out a bowel issue or infection and x-ray to rule out pneumonia. My labs were mostly normal but lactic acid was likely high as it wasn’t drawn until after a liter of fluid and was high normal then. My cardiac enzymes bumped slightly from the demand as well.

I will spare the other ER details, but suffice to say it’s always a good idea to ensure you have decent undergarments on as you never know who will see them. lol!

This time the hospital team agreed to admit me to continue IV fluids and keep an eye on labs. I finally received a room at close to midnight and was able to get some broken sleep between nurse check.

The following morning I still felt terrible so they agreed I would stay one more night. Two close nurse friends visit and one brought me a Stan’s donut (IYKYK) that I was too sick to even eat!

I continued receiving anti-nausea meds and was able to eat a regular dinner so things were improving. I woke up on Saturday 5/30, still feeling nauseous do they gave me another bolus of IV fluid and more nausea medication plus IV calcium as my levels were low.

I was able to walk around and eat lunch so they released me later that afternoon.

I am now home and trying to recover. I have periods where I start to feel ok, and others of severe nausea and profound weakness. I’m learning to pace and using a shower chair to conserve energy. My husband has taken over the cooking duties in addition to all the house chores, despite now also being sick with the same URI.

This week I’m going in for IV fluids M-W-F as an outpatient and somehow managed to vote in person on Monday.

I’m not sure what a full recovery will look like or if it’s even possible as many with this disease experience a rapid deterioration just like I did and don’t always recover. At a minimum it’ll take weeks to months. I’m not being dramatic, just real. If you are able to stay active-do it! You never know where things will lead. Three weeks ago I was working up to one hour hikes. Now taking a shower is a huge accomplishment.

Sports definitely taught me the importance of grit and determination but there’s no pushing through a body that cannot make enough ATP (go review the Kreb’s cycle) to sustain things. It’s more about pacing and once recovered about slowly building back up. I’ve done hard things but this is definitely the hardest thing I’ve ever dealt with.

The symptoms I deal with are mostly muscle pain/stiffness/cramping, fatigue, GI, and some endocrine/metabolic. With this new flare I’ve also had some brain fog and that is scary. Those that know me know I have a memory like an elephant!

Hugs to all my friends and family! I couldn’t get through this without your help and support.

Hello everyone-

I can’t believe it’s been 10 years since my last open heart surgery. A lot has happened in that time and I’m thankful for every minute of good health.

I am now retired for medical reasons (more on that) and am blessed to have a loving family and circle of friends. In late 2020, after several consults based upon a suspicion by my then incredible PCP, I received a diagnosis of mitochondrial myopathy after a muscle biopsy and several specialized labs. In short, this is a progressive disease of energy metabolism that impacts multiple body systems.

In true fashion I tackled this head on with the goal of enjoying good health and exercise capacity as long as possible. However, year by year, that capacity has been whittled away. The muscle soreness I’ve experienced after exercise despite being fit in my late teens progressed to 24/7 pain and stiffness. I gradually have had to adjust things I enjoy doing such as golf, paddle boarding, hiking, etc. I still continued to work full time as an RN but gradually work became all I could do without serious penalty on my time off.

I proudly served as the assistant coach for my son’s high school volleyball team from 2020-2023, an experience I wouldn’t trade for anything. I’m still not sure how I managed the 15 hour days but I dug deep.

On Easter Sunday, 2025, my son and I decided to go paddle boarding as my husband had to sleep to get ready for his next shift at work (he’s a nurse as well). It was a hot day and it had been years since we were on the water. We packed up but I clearly underestimated the energy too on that plus getting our inflatable boards on the water. We finally got on our local reservoir after 11:30 am and set out. My son, now 19, was clearly much stronger at it than before. I paddled across the lake, without falling, but was exhausted. I rested a bit and despite feeling shaky I paddled back to the dock. I quickly retrieved a snack from the car but soon after started vomiting and couldn’t stand or open my eyes. We called 911 and I was taken to Stanford hospital where they confirmed I was in a mito crash with elevated lactic acid levels. I was admitted and received multiple liters of IV fluid. I was able to go home approximately 9 hours later. I recovered quickly and only missed a day of work.

For the rest of 2025 I continued working full time, but as the year wound down, I was in a nasty car accident in November. I was rear ended shortly after leaving work while stopped in traffic and hit so hard that my car was totaled and air bags deployed. I believe this cascaded into a worsening of postural muscle symptoms that made sitting/standing/driving extremely painful. There were days I would drive home in tears from the pain.

Then, in mid-February 2026, I had two more smaller mito crashes with nausea/vomiting/weakness after just doing everyday things like a Target trip followed by laundry. It was at this time that my wonderful husband told me to stop killing myself for work and to just retire.

I went out on disability immediately and retired in late March after a 30 year career as an RN. I was devastated to leave my wonderful job and team but knew it was the best thing for my health and wellness.

I spent the next couple of months enjoying lunches with friends, family outings, and my son’s concerts. Until last week…

Hello everyone! It’s been over 2 years since I’ve updated this blog but I’m happy to say I’m still here and still going strong! I’m coming up on my 5-year CABG-versary on March 25, 2015 and I’m feeling great! What I’ve learned in these past years is that family and friends you can trust and cherish are the most important things in life. I try to live every day to the fullest and although my fitness isn’t quite where I want it (more due to some chronic old volleyball injuries flaring up), I still make it a point to at least walk a few times a week. My goals this year including completing a 5K in August and possibly a metric century bike ride as a fundraiser for the American Heart Association. My family and I are also going to Kona in June, my first time to the Big Island! I’m looking forward to sun, sand, and spending some quality family time with my husband and son. All in all, 2015 is shaping up to be a pretty good year! What are your goals and dreams?

Hi everyone!
Well, first of all I can’t believe Halloween has passed and the Christmas decorations are already out in Target! I came through my tonsillectomy relatively unscathed…it wasn’t a pleasant experience and I’d have thought it was even worse if I hadn’t had open heart surgery…compared to that it was a piece of cake! Three weeks after surgery, and one week after being released to exercise my hubby and I completed the 1st San Jose Firefly Run. It was a super event run at night with lots of runners in crazy glowing costumes and a DJ. All in all it made for a great, party-like atmosphere and we’ll definitely do it again! The rest of October was spent visiting a couple of pumpkin patches and a corn maze.
On my heart front everything seems fairly stable…I still get tons of PVCs but as long as I stay away from caffeine and too much chocolate they are ok. My MD has lengthened my leash and I now only have to see him every 6 months instead of every 3. Woo hoo! I’ll still be getting yearly echocardiogram’s just to track my cardiac function with all the PVCs.
I have a couple of websites I’d like to share as they have been very helpful in my recovery and return to an active life:

About Cardiac Athletes

http://www.ironheartracing.com

Don’t you all forget to take care of your hearts either!

Hello everyone! I don’t know about you but I can’t believe Christmas is almost here! I’m ready though, house decorated, presents purchased and wrapped (well, most of them),and just 2 more days of work and then my first real vacation from my unplanned 3 month surgery recovery last spring!
All is going well, I can’t believe that I’ll be 9 months post-op on Christmas Day! I’ve been working on my fitness and am planning on doing a sprint triathlon next spring/summer. It’s been 6 years since I last did a tri and I don’t have a good memory of the last one I did…I had a REALLY hard time and in hindsight I think my heart issues had something to do with it. The problem with that theory is now I don’t have any excuses if I do crummy! Ha! My training starts Jan. 15th and I’ll be using beginnertriathlete.com’s 16 week beginner sprint training program.
Wishing everyone who has helped support me this year a very Merry Christmas, it’s certainly been a roller coaster of a ride and I’m hoping 2011 is less eventful!

Wow, the season’s are changing and I can’t believe it’s almost Thanksgiving! It’s been a long and winding road this past 9 months but I can say I’m hanging in there. The past month has brought many ups and downs…one month ago I finished my 5K in 42 minutes and I was ecstatic! I ran most of the first two miles but had to do the walk/jog thing during the last mile, all in all not bad considering I was 7 1/2 months out from open heart surgery. A couple of weeks after that I had a scare however…I was at work and developed a pretty bad episode of chest pain when walking down the hall, I was very nauseated, sweating, and having palpitations. I was with two other nurses and decided to go to the ER where again I was given the usual nitroglycerin, 12 lead EKG, and lab tests to rule out a heart attack. The VA shipped me off to Kaiser via ambulance once I was stable and I continued the rule out process there for another 6+ hours. This was by far the worst episode I’ve had since surgery.
After that and consulting with the various physicians involved in my care we decided to try changing me to a calcium channel blocker and long acting nitrate. They also added a birth control pill to prevent the hormone fluctuations that seem to influence my chest pain. We stopped my beta blocker the next day and startdd on my new regimen…the next 10 days seemed like an eternity of misery. I felt horrible every day with fatigue, nausea, chest pain here and there, and progressive shortness of breath. It all culminated in another ER visit 10 days later for severe shortness of breath, I could barely walk without gasping for air. After numerous tests the physician in the ER started me back on my beta blocker and admitted me overnight for observation. Wow, what a difference once I had that medication back on board! Within 2 hours I could breathe again and was more relaxed, it seems like I went into beta blocker withdrawal by stopping the medication cold turkey (the docs all thought I was on a low enough dose but apparently I wasn’t). I’m now back on my original medication regimen from back in March and feel like a million bucks again.

We were able to take our planned trip to Palm Springs last week and had a fabulous time. I was able to hike for 40 minutes straight up a mountain, a drastic difference from 4 days prior when I could barely get up to go to the bathroom!

Again, the moral of the story is always make sure you have clean underwear on because you never know when you are going to end up in the hospital!

Hello everyone,
Thank you to all who have read my story…my hope is I am able to make at least one person appreciate all they have in life! It’s now been over 6 1/2 months since my surgery and for the most part I’d say I’m 100%…I’m back to doing boot camp at De Anza with coach Schafer in the mornings and it actually feels good to push myself to the limit as far as workouts go. I still have a ways to go to get in the shape I was 20 years ago, but baby steps!

I underwent a repeat stress echo about 2 weeks ago and was told my heart respond perfectly to exercise and that I was doing “excellent”…they let my max HR get up to 181 (100% max for my age is 180) and I did 12 METS, a drastic improvement from the pathetic 5.2 METS I did back in late May.

My next challenge is that Larry and I have signed up for a 5K in mid-October…I haven’t really been running as much as I should but I have been working out regularly and think I can wing it!

They still don’t have answers for my angina but my docs are now contacting a gynecologic endocrinologist for advice. We’ll see!

While everything is looking up I did get a bit of frustrating news this week…I’m on my 2nd case of tonsillitis in the past month and my 6th or 7th episode in the past year so I’ve been told that the tonsils MUST come out next year. They won’t touch me till I’m 12 months post-CABG but it looks like I’ll be spending yet another year’s vacation recovery from surgery next year. It sucks but I can’t keep getting sick like this every time my 5 year old comes home with a cold!

I hope all of you are doing well and enjoy every moment of life, you never know when you’ll be thrown a curveball!

I returned to stay at my house after a week at my mom’s and it’s great to be home! My mother in law stayed a few more days with us to make sure I was settled. I’m getting into a routine each day and it’s fun to be able to go with Riley (our son) to school and check him in each day. It would be better if I could drive, but baby steps for that. Last week a friend and coworker, Melissa, drove me to the VA to visit with my staff and drop off treats to staff in the IICU, MSICU, cath lab, cardiac surgery, and nuclear medicine…basically all of the departments that were involved in the coordination of my care. It was awesome seeing everyone and showing off that I was doing pretty good…but, also exhausting to even walk from the car to the unit…it’s clear I still have a ways to go! I spend my days either helping get my son to school or going out to lunch with friends. I’m determined to enjoy life to the fullest!

At almost the 3rd week post-op, I noticed that the top scap of my sternal incision fell off in the shower…the problem is the incision isn’t closed underneath! Eeek! My husband looks at it and there is a hole in my chest, small, but still there. We call my surgeon and he asks me to come in to have it checked the next day. Back to the VA we go! The appointment goes well and he has to remove a suture as he thinks it’s an allergic reaction and not an infection, thank goodness. I’m put on antibiotics and told to keep it dry.

That afternoon I start feeling like the low grade fevers are coming on again, but this time more severe. I check my temp and it shot up to 100.2 in a short period of time. My husband has to call in sick and off to Kaiser we go. The fact that my incision was manipulated and now I have a fever is not a good sign. I spend an entire evening in the ER at Kaiser enduring multiple IV sticks, lab draws, blood cultures, and a CT scan with contrast. The Kaiser heart surgeon (who, ironically, used to work with my surgeons at the VA) even stops by the ER to check on me. Talk about wonderful care! I’m released with good news, there are no signs of a sternal infection but it does look like I have a bad sore throat, thus the source of the fever.

It seems that I never go through anything without some challenges and this is no different. It can get depressing at times but I’m determined to make the most of my second chance and try not to dwell on things. I’m following my medication regimen carefully and making it a priority to walk daily and improve my diet. Baby steps!

Well, it’s now been about 5 weeks since my surgery and I’m feeling pretty good. I’ve had a check up with my primary care doctor and am walking up to 20+ minutes/day. One of my best friends, Jill, spent the weekend with me to help out while my husband went down to clean our condo in Palm Springs (we had recent guests stay there). We figured it’s probably a good idea to still have someone around since I haven’t been released to drive yet. Jill has twins that get along famously with my son and we have a great time. We walked to dinner and on the way home I noticed I had a weird pain between my shoulder blades. I blew it off but it was similar to the chest pain and mid-scapular pain I initially had so I make a mental note of it.

The day that Jill leaves, my mom picks me up and Riley and I stay with her. I go for another walk and noticed the pain again. It starts about 8-10 minutes into my walk and continues until I stop and rest. I’m a bit concerned now as this could be an indicator of angina. I feel ok otherwise though.

Monday, April 26th I leave my mom’s house for a walk. I have a routine of carrying my nitroglycerin and cell phone with me. At about 10 minutes into the walk the mid-scapular pain returns and now I’m worried. My heart rate is in the 130s so I stop and rest and take a nitroglycerin. Low and behold, the pain goes away. What is going on? I can’t figure out if it’s posture-related or angina. It doesn’t feel like it’s musculoskeletal so I’m concerned. I start walking again, as I’m several minutes from home, and the pain returns. I have a raging headache from the nitroglycerin and now the mid-scapular pain is back. Luckily, there is a fire station down the street from my mom’s so I call her and tell her I’m going to stop there to get an EKG. I certainly shocked the firefighters by walking in and asking for a 12-lead EKG! They were awesome though and I explained my history and symptoms. They are required to call an ambulance so they did and then they took my vital signs. My EKG wasn’t really changed but I was having more PVCs and they were pretty concerned so they talked me into going to Kaiser via ambulance.

I have to admit that I was pretty frightened, but, as an ICU nurse I knew that that was the right thing to do. I’d never been in an ambulance but I made it to the hospital without getting car sick! Luckily it was a short trip! Once in the ER at Kaiser I’m treated like every other rule out MI (myocardial infarction). An IV is started, labs are sent, 12 lead EKGs are done. I was all alone and my mom was watching my son and my husband was 450 miles away in Palm Springs. I called him to let him know and I also called my old manager and good friend who is the Director of QM at Kaiser and left her a message.

After a couple of hours in the ER my friend came over to see me as soon as she heard the message. My cardiologist came in to talk with me and let me know that I would be admitted and a repeat angiogram would be done the next day. They were concerned given my history and that was really the only test that would show what was going on. By now I’m frightened and I call my husband to tell him, he lets me know that he is packing up and driving home. I’ve also phoned my manager and friend and she comes to sit with me as well. It was pretty surreal laying in the ER wondering if something was wrong with my graft! This was probably almost scarier than when I was told I initially needed a CABG!

After almost 8 hours in the ER I am admitted to the cardiac unit and spend the night wide awake as I’m too ramped up to sleep. I’m on the schedule for a cath the next day but they don’t know what time. I’m NPO after midnight (no food or water by mouth). My husband got in at about 3 am and went to sleep for a few hours before coming in to visit. My manager also comes to visit again and stays with me most of the day until my husband comes in with our son early in the afternoon.

As I lay in the bed worrying about what’s going on I am visited by several friends that work at Kaiser. This helps take my mind off things but I also feel like a dork as I’m back in the hospital just 4 1/2 weeks after surgery. I finally get the call for my cath at about 4 pm and off I go.

My cath went pretty quickly and I definitely have a medication tolerance as I chewed through the sedation and still remember parts of the procedure. The good news is my graft looks perfect and there are no problems…the bad news is, no one knows if the pain is related to my heart working harder during exercise (and still not getting quite enough blood flow), or if it’s truly musculoskeletal. I’m hoping it’s musculoskeletal of course!

I’m discharged the following day. I developed a groin hematoma that is pressing on my femoral nerve so I’m in a lot of pain, but am told this will subside in time. It took about 5-6 days for me to be able to walk normally, but this can happen after groin punctures. I’m at higher risk due to the aspirin and Plavix I’m on so I realize that this was a risk. As soon as I can I get back to my walking…I continue to have the mid-scapular pain while exercising for another week or so after I start exercising, but eventually it goes away.

“Wake up Sandy! Wake up!”

Why are these people trying to wake me up, can’t they see I’m trying to sleep?!

“Take a deep breath and cough”

Boom, the endotracheal tube is out, phew, that wasn’t bad at all…in fact, I don’t even remember feeling it in!

Being intubated is every ICU nurse’s worst nightmare, but, luckily, I don’t really remember it and it certainly wasn’t painful. Thank goodness they extubated me while I was still drowsy! These were my first thoughts when I was extubated about 4 hours after surgery. I first remember thinking, wow, I’m not in too much pain…boy, that would change in a few hours! I wasn’t quite sure what time of day it was, but I did remember that I had had open heart surgery today. Mmm…it must be in the evening because I recognize my nurse and she works nights. Ok, now I can take a real nap…

That first night was pretty much a haze of vomiting, taking deep breaths, and sleeping. It may have lasted 12 hours, but in my mind it’s only a few minutes. This is probably due to the anesthetic, pain meds, and a coping mechanism.

Post-op Day 1: Friday, March 26, 2010

Fast forward to early morning, bed bath time…I’m too sick to care that my co-workers are washing me down and I admit it does feel good to get cleaned up a bit and get a new gown on. When x-ray arrives that’s not so fun, they lay me flat, pull me up and put the hard plate under. Oh my God that hurts my sternum! Holy cow! I remember one of my surgeons coming to check on me at 0500 on his way to the airport (he had been scheduled to go out of town). Wow, I had the wherewithall to understand how nice this was!

Once my morning labs are drawn, my bath is done, my nurse brings “The Chair” in. What? She wants me to get up in a chair now? Hell no! Yet, the nurse side of me knows this is exactly what I’m supposed to do. I’m so nauseated there is no way I can even move without vomiting, much less get up to the chair. Yet, I know I need to make an effort so I agree to dangle on the side of the bed. Wow, that was really tough and I could barely sit up. I certainly have a new respect for what we ask our patients to do! I used to joke with one nurse that her patients had boot camp because she always had them up within an hour of extubation. Here I am 12 hours later and can barely dangle on the bed.

It’s change of shift now and I recognize my day nurse and am viewing the early morning bustle from a different perspective. I’m in room 9 in the MSICU, facing the nurses’s station, where I’m usually seated. This is odd, and, why is everyone walking around trying not to look at me? Do I look that bad? Apparently I did!

During change of shift, the cardiothoracic team rounds and checks on me. I look and feel absolutely miserable. I’m in pain and extremely nauseated. But, I’m alive, and that’s what matters. I’m doing well taking deep breaths and I know how crucial that is to prevent pneumonia. A short time later our ICU Attending comes by to discontinue my pulmonary artery catheter. I didn’t even realize it was in, along with the large IV in my neck. Mmm…those always looked so uncomfortable, but it isn’t that bad.

That first day after surgery was again a haze of pain, vomiting, and sleeping. My husband arrived in the morning to visit and stayed with me much of the day. Every now and then my coworkers would peek in on me, but I was pretty out of it.

Evening rolls around and I have a different nurse from last night. It is nice when you personally know all the nurses and trust everyone. This is a dynamic that our patients don’t usually have so I am very lucky. I’m still in room 9 and can see what’s going on but I’m too sick to care. I pretty much just lay in a haze, trying to deal with the nausea, and the excruciating pain that comes every time I have the dry heaves. It’s now late at night and I hear activity next door, a new admission. And, a loud one…he sounds confused and yells all night long. Poor guy. There is no escaping the noise and constant sounds, I try to shut my eyes to ignore it, but it’s still there.

Postop Day 2: Saturday, March 27, 2010

I’m a little more with the program this morning…I got through my bath and x-ray without too much discomfort and, oops, there it is again, “The Chair”. My night nurse brings in the chair and tells me it’s time to get up. I’ve been in bed for 48 hours now and I can’t really argue. I struggle to a dangling position with the help of 2 nurses and my heart pillow and hobble over. My chest tubes and foley are dangling but aren’t uncomfortable…yet. I sit up but feel absolutely horrible. I’m super nauseated and just lay there holding my tub in case I throw up. This is pure misery. My other surgeon stops by while I’m sitting up to check my labs, etc. I can tell he feels bad that I feel so awful. None of the antiemetics are working and the pain is horrible every time I vomit. When will this end? It is at that moment I decide to forgo any more pain medicine (narcotics) because I think that is what is causing the nausea. They have started me on Toradol, an IV anti-inflammatory, to help with the pain. That is going to have to do because I’ve come to the conclusion that I’d rather be in some pain than be nauseated and in excruciating pain.

I’m starting to come around a bit more, awareness-wise, and am forming more memories. At around 3:30 pm Saturday they move me to a different room, with a door! Yahoo! I also ask them to take my foley out so I don’t get a UTI. I’m still so weak I need to use the bedpan all evening and all night because I can’t really get up very easily. By the end of night shift I am a professional with the bedpan! I never thought I’d show up for work one day and be a patient in my own unit who cannot even go to the bathroom on my own, but there I was. And, to be honest, I didn’t care I felt so crummy.

Post-op Day 3: Sunday, March 28, 2010

I’m starting to feel like my old self this morning. I actually get up and walk through the unit a bit, telling the staff to “Look Alive”. I think it helped everyone when I came out of my cave. I was able to sit in the chair and nibble on a little food for breakfast. I still had my chest tubes and Cordis (large IV in my neck) in but those would come out today. Now they were starting to bug me. I must be feeling better! I spent the day visiting with family and co-workers. Everyone was careful not to wear me out and the staff even went and picked up Fro-Yo! Finally something that I could hold down!

That afternoon, the cardiothoracic fellow came in to discontinue my chest tubes. My nurse pre-medicated me with a little Fentanyl but it didn’t help. They don’t actually hurt coming out but the pain occurs when they pull the sutures tight. I don’t think any pain medicine would help the feeling of your skin being pinched together really tight. But, it only lasts a few seconds and I’m free of the big tubes hanging out of my chest.

The next project is to get my Cordis out and an IV in. I asked to have it out and my nurse looks at me like I’m crazy (she knows I’m a really difficult IV stick). The next 2 hours are spent trying to find a vein with several nurses coming to look but no one with the nerve to poke me except for my nurse who tried a couple of times but was unable to get an IV. Finally they call anesthesia and he was able to put in a 22 gauge (tiny) IV in my hand using the ultrasound. I have to guard this like it’s gold!

Late in the afternoon I started to notice the symptoms of a UTI…uggh. I kept having to get up to go to the bathroom but only a few drops would come out. I notified the ICU doctors and a UA was sent. A few hours later the results showed I had a big UTI and I was started on antibiotics. Uggh.

Another night in the ICU…sleep was elusive (as I would find for several weeks)…I’d sleep an hour or so and then wake up. There were constant alarms from my frequent PVCs and my blood pressure cuff would wake me up. By now I was stable enough to only have it checked every few hours at night. I was able to participate more in my AM care and was up in the chair by 6 am.

Post-op Day 4: Monday, March 29, 2010

Wow, I’m finally starting to feel human again. I can now get up to the bathroom without much assistance and spend a good portion of the day in the chair. I’m able to eat more, but I’ll admit, the VA food isn’t the tastiest. Luckily I have staff who are bringing me yogurt and fruit. I ambulate around the unit more and my hubby visits later in the day as he had stuff to do with our son and get him to school. I miss them both dearly but I know he has everything covered on the home front. His mom flew in Sunday to help and they visited that afternoon while Riley stayed with my mom. The plan for today is to keep increasing my activity level. The nausea is finally gone and I’m feeling better. My surgeons have checked in every day and are happy to see the progress I’m making.

Post-op Day 5, Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Wow, I feel a lot better this morning. I’m up super early again, which, is a relief because hospital beds just aren’t that comfortable. It’s dificult to find a position of comfort in bed and I’m ready to get the day started. I ambulate around the unit several times today, and my husband, our ICU Attending, and I even walk outside the unit and surprise my surgeon in his office. This longer walk kicks my butt a bit, but it also feels good to get out of my room more. My husband talks our son into visiting (he was scared) and it was so fantastic to see them! I finally feel like everything will be ok and seeing my son made it all worthwhile!

The day is spent visiting with many staff members, so many, that both myself and them got “in trouble” from my boss. Everyone is super protective of me and doesn’t want me to overdo it. They shut my curtains and door in the afternoon so I could take a much-needed nap. That day was also spent with a PT and OT consult to get me ready to go home. The goal is to go home Wednesday if the surgeon gives his blessing. It’s hit or miss depending on my labs, etc. but I’m hopeful.