For those interested in physical stats:
After 82 days,
I can achieve and maintain an average heart rate of 150 for 45 minutes comfortably.
Average blood pressure is 100/52
Cholesterol
Total: 116
HDL: 40.90
LDL: 61
Triglycerides: 69
I am 90% Vegetarian
Exercising 5-7 days a week.
Pain level is down to a 1 or less at rest, a 2 or 3 during exercise.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
81 Days after surgery
Those days after surgery remain fresh in my memory. They were days of suffering and hope. 81 days later, I continue to recover and continue to hope. The heart is a remarkable muscle pumping life giving liquid to extremities. I understand the metaphors of the heart more clearly.
Sunday, several family members met with doctors to decide the medical fate of my 99 year old grandmother. She fell and broke her hip, necessitating surgery if she is to walk again and regain a quality of life. Her heart was central to the decision. Would she survive the surgery. As we age past our eighties, but sometimes younger, we often experience small heart attacks that eventually weaken our heart to death. So, her heart was the question; would it sustain her life during and after surgery. She too is recovering. The surgery went well. The next forty-eight hours are critical for her. Will her heart pump sufficiently?
Its a great question: does your heart pump sufficiently, to your extremities? The heart of the matter is often in the metaphor. Thanks for reading.
Sunday, several family members met with doctors to decide the medical fate of my 99 year old grandmother. She fell and broke her hip, necessitating surgery if she is to walk again and regain a quality of life. Her heart was central to the decision. Would she survive the surgery. As we age past our eighties, but sometimes younger, we often experience small heart attacks that eventually weaken our heart to death. So, her heart was the question; would it sustain her life during and after surgery. She too is recovering. The surgery went well. The next forty-eight hours are critical for her. Will her heart pump sufficiently?
Its a great question: does your heart pump sufficiently, to your extremities? The heart of the matter is often in the metaphor. Thanks for reading.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Merry Christmas every one!
Seven weeks and one day since surgery. The past 10 days have been ones of noticeable healing and decrease of pain. Each day I notice some significant occurrence or movement that hurts far less than those grueling three weeks after surgery.
For those of us from the west or who derive from a western Christian experience, Christmas is a holiday of celebration, giving and family. Certainly, the giving aspect has become dominate outside of faith circles, but I am not exploring the area of crass mercantilism. Among people who hold onto remnants of tradition, the history Christmas lies in the birth of Jesus of Nazareth some two thousand years ago. Yet the heart of Christmas lies in something far more transcendent. The spirit of Christmas lies in the hope for eternal healing. This hope transcends western experience.
Since starting this blog, its been visited several thousand times, with nearly thirty percent of visits from outside the U.S. So, many of the visitors have lived outside a western experience. I offer to all of us that when I search out the heart of this holiday, it remains something far more significant, more ethereal, more transcendent than gifting, receiving, and family gatherings. Christmas represents our search for meaning; a meaning that includes rising above the depravity of pain and suffering.
The pain in my back and upper chest reminds me of the surgery and the days of suffering afterward. As the scar begins to fade and the pain abates, my suffering from the events seven weeks ago will become a fading memory. Throughout this experience, I have reflected on people I know who suffer far more than me due to man's depravity. Boys who have been forcibly conscripted into horrible wars before puberty, girls raped due to ethnic violence, children born into an environment of dirty water and dysentery, and starvation only to name a few.
Christmas represents the eternal hope that this experience is a comedy; that in spite of all man's depravity, this thing we call life all ends well; that Shakespeare and Dickens got it right. "God bless us every one! said Tiny Tim, last of all."
For those of us from the west or who derive from a western Christian experience, Christmas is a holiday of celebration, giving and family. Certainly, the giving aspect has become dominate outside of faith circles, but I am not exploring the area of crass mercantilism. Among people who hold onto remnants of tradition, the history Christmas lies in the birth of Jesus of Nazareth some two thousand years ago. Yet the heart of Christmas lies in something far more transcendent. The spirit of Christmas lies in the hope for eternal healing. This hope transcends western experience.
Since starting this blog, its been visited several thousand times, with nearly thirty percent of visits from outside the U.S. So, many of the visitors have lived outside a western experience. I offer to all of us that when I search out the heart of this holiday, it remains something far more significant, more ethereal, more transcendent than gifting, receiving, and family gatherings. Christmas represents our search for meaning; a meaning that includes rising above the depravity of pain and suffering.
The pain in my back and upper chest reminds me of the surgery and the days of suffering afterward. As the scar begins to fade and the pain abates, my suffering from the events seven weeks ago will become a fading memory. Throughout this experience, I have reflected on people I know who suffer far more than me due to man's depravity. Boys who have been forcibly conscripted into horrible wars before puberty, girls raped due to ethnic violence, children born into an environment of dirty water and dysentery, and starvation only to name a few.
Christmas represents the eternal hope that this experience is a comedy; that in spite of all man's depravity, this thing we call life all ends well; that Shakespeare and Dickens got it right. "God bless us every one! said Tiny Tim, last of all."
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Yawn
Six weeks and one day (November 5) after open heart surgery, I yawned relatively pain free for the first time. I haven't blogged in the last several weeks working to catch up. This evening while watching a Fleetwood Mac concert on TV and talking with Tucker about the holiday dance he attended, I yawned deeply and realized that the chest pain has begun to lessen significantly.
Anne and I traveled to New York for business, to visit family and to attend the Charity Water Ball (www.charitywater.org) last Monday. Anne, a group of friends, and I gave a well for my 50th birthday. The well will soon be dug in a community of the greatest need in one of the poorest areas of our world. We moved slowly through the airports and Anne did the heavy lifting. Though most of my energy has returned and all of the wounds are healing well, the movement of travel left me quite sore each evening. Yawning, coughing and even laughing deeply were all quite painful. So, to yawn this evening and feel little to no pain was quite nice.
Anne and I traveled to New York for business, to visit family and to attend the Charity Water Ball (www.charitywater.org) last Monday. Anne, a group of friends, and I gave a well for my 50th birthday. The well will soon be dug in a community of the greatest need in one of the poorest areas of our world. We moved slowly through the airports and Anne did the heavy lifting. Though most of my energy has returned and all of the wounds are healing well, the movement of travel left me quite sore each evening. Yawning, coughing and even laughing deeply were all quite painful. So, to yawn this evening and feel little to no pain was quite nice.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Week three
Last Friday was the three week anniversary of my surgery. I was and am very thankful for the good result from surgery, but didn't want to write a nostalgic reflection. As a French friend emphasized, I am lucky to have both good healthcare and insurance.
Technically, week three has ushered in significant improvement. I have begun exercising, walking at least thirty minutes a day. Yesterday, I climbed back onto a stationary bike for an easy fifty minute ride that felt great. The pain has decreased sufficiently that I am now sleeping five to seven hours a night.
The interesting physiological effect was a noticeable lack of confidence for the the first two and a half weeks. A deep sense of mortality and simple pain were the catalyst of this effect. Week three seems to be significantly different. Possibly the depletion of drugs from my body, plus the decrease of pain, plus a sense of overcoming has lead a feeling of tepid confidence. You know folks, death is near; either you face it or fear it. Fearing it inappropriately will not extend your life. I write this because of hearing too many stories about people who put off seeing a cardiologist, resulting in a fatal heart attack. A heart attack isn't the recommended metric for measuring your heart health.
Technically, week three has ushered in significant improvement. I have begun exercising, walking at least thirty minutes a day. Yesterday, I climbed back onto a stationary bike for an easy fifty minute ride that felt great. The pain has decreased sufficiently that I am now sleeping five to seven hours a night.
The interesting physiological effect was a noticeable lack of confidence for the the first two and a half weeks. A deep sense of mortality and simple pain were the catalyst of this effect. Week three seems to be significantly different. Possibly the depletion of drugs from my body, plus the decrease of pain, plus a sense of overcoming has lead a feeling of tepid confidence. You know folks, death is near; either you face it or fear it. Fearing it inappropriately will not extend your life. I write this because of hearing too many stories about people who put off seeing a cardiologist, resulting in a fatal heart attack. A heart attack isn't the recommended metric for measuring your heart health.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Now
Its now two weeks and two days since my sternum was cut and three heart arteries were bypassed utilizing a vein from my right leg and a mammary artery. I walked with my good friend, Hugh Jones, for over 30 minutes today in the beauty of a cool autumn evening. Though I feel tinges of pain in my rib area and my right leg, I am recovering rapidly and, at moments today, felt better than before the surgery. Would you give two weeks of pain in exchange for twenty years or more of a healthy heart?
I have had several friends ask for a description of the symptoms that lead me to talking with Dr. Swords (my general physician) about having a stress test. On review, the key symptomatic correlation was that I felt the symptoms while exercising actively: at first, tingling in my right thumb, later some tingling in my right arm, and also the feeling or need to burp. But, these symptoms were not "strong".
Don't become paranoid, but if you clearly have symptoms that cause you some concern, talk to a physician, now. Don't wait. Talk with someone who has heart damage, and he or she will tell you, don't wait for a heart attack to learn that you need medicine, a stint, or a bypass.
In my pre-operation meeting with Dr. Gerhardt (surgeon), he indicated that if all goes reasonable well, I should be snow skiing, maybe even racing by early February. Right now, at my current pace of recovery, I am feeling more confident, each day, that this may become a reality. So, don't wait to face your reality, whatever it is, act now.
Feel free to write me if you have questions. My private email is belboro@mac.com
I have had several friends ask for a description of the symptoms that lead me to talking with Dr. Swords (my general physician) about having a stress test. On review, the key symptomatic correlation was that I felt the symptoms while exercising actively: at first, tingling in my right thumb, later some tingling in my right arm, and also the feeling or need to burp. But, these symptoms were not "strong".
Don't become paranoid, but if you clearly have symptoms that cause you some concern, talk to a physician, now. Don't wait. Talk with someone who has heart damage, and he or she will tell you, don't wait for a heart attack to learn that you need medicine, a stint, or a bypass.
In my pre-operation meeting with Dr. Gerhardt (surgeon), he indicated that if all goes reasonable well, I should be snow skiing, maybe even racing by early February. Right now, at my current pace of recovery, I am feeling more confident, each day, that this may become a reality. So, don't wait to face your reality, whatever it is, act now.
Feel free to write me if you have questions. My private email is belboro@mac.com
Friday, November 19, 2010
Sonogram this morning
I'm off to have heart sonogram. This is normal follow up to verify that no fluid is collecting around the heart. Surgery was two weeks ago today. I am feeling good. Will walk for 30 minutes to an hour today. Sleep is still a problem, but feeling less pain at night so as I exercise more, I am hoping my body will call for more sleep.
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