Out of Order

Okay, I lied. Sorry. 

In this post I indicated that I'd post periodic updates, and then I went and had a triple bypass and took a three month break with no updates at all. 

No one was more surprised than the cardiologist by the results of the heart catheterization. He detected four "old" blockages. These were candidates for being stented, but this approach would have required multiple procedures and necessitated being on blood thinners for an extended period after the last procedure. This would have put me out of the kidney transplant window for a longer period, with the added risk of additional kidney damage from the dye needed for each stent procedure. He and my nephrologist recommended bypass surgery, and referred me to a cardiac surgeon. 

Turns out my referral was to the best guy in town. He consulted closely with my nephrologist. He would install a dialysis port as part of the surgery, as kidney failure is a real possibility with bypass surgery even in people with normal kidney function. It was not at so great a risk for a heart attack that they needed to do it right away. The first date they offered me for the bypass was my birthday, and I didn't see any point in delaying it further so I could celebrate another completed trip around the sun. 

It turned out they only needed to bypass three of the four blockages. My kidney function held steady enough that they didn't need to dialyze me. My previous post covers the immediate post surgery experience. I'll share a little more about recovery in a future post.

Another hiatus

Well, the previously mentioned bypass surgery knocked me out of the communication loop for a long time, although it isn't entirely to blame for my absence. Priorities, I guess. I think a few notes to remind my future self what this was like are in order.

First of all, this isn't something I ever want to do again. When they're preparing you for a surgery like this, they don't do a very good job of explaining how traumatic to the body it is. I knew about and dreaded having my sternum sawn open. That in itself worked its way into every dream I had for half the summer. I didn't realize how sore my leg would be, where they got the blood vessel from for my three bypasses. I almost couldn't feel the incisions themselves, especially the one up in my groin. But the bruising extended the entire length of my leg down into my foot. Any my right arm was a lovely thing due to the blown IV on the third or fourth day after surgery. The most intensely painful thing was definitely the chest tubes. It was frustrating having my blood sugar checked before every meal. The food in the hospital was good, though my appetite wasn't. The most depressing part was the extra hospital time waiting for my blood count to return to normal. Finally they just sent me home on iron because it wasn't happening.

Those are the negatives. There were many blessings, too, though. My health going into the procedure turned out to be a great positive. The rehab folks who came up to the room could tell I'd been pretty active prior to the surgery, even the day after surgery. My dear wife was concerned over how long it took me to come out of the anesthesia and get my tube removed, but when they took it out I tried to sing to her almost right away, attempting to croak out "I Wanna Hold Your Hand." Before that, I faintly remember being frustrated as I tried to write on her leg with my fingertip, "PAIN." They brought me some of whatever they were giving me for pain. They don't really use opioids much, which helps with the bowel recovery. They were surprised at how quickly that bodily function bounced back. 

All in all, I think the experience has me more prepared for what I'll go through with the kidney transplant.

Recovery is going nicely. I'm not running as much as I expected to be by now,  because it's hard to keep the heart rate in range. But I was able to get back on my bike for the first time yesterday, which felt great. That was a matter of waiting for my sternum to heal sufficiently, and the recumbent riding I've been doing in rehab had my legs well prepared for that activity.