Monday, 11/27, am

Hello, all! Hope you had a great Thanksgiving. Mine was spent at my mother's retirement center--not my first choice, but oh, well. It was cheap, which is a major consideration at this point. Went to DCMH for the first time in over three and a half months. It was great to see so many people who have been sending cards and bugging Angie and Carrie (the two other PAs) about me. It was, however, exhausting. Still was recuperating on Saturday. Still having pain, but, again, periods of time without any. Main complaint is still the fatigue. Even though I am "only" working 3/4 time, it adds up to much more. Getting ready more slowly, then resting before going in, then the 2 hour recup time when I get home, and remain tired throughout the evening. There are lots of things that are just not getting done. I'm wondering if I might have to decrease to 1/2 time for a couple of weeks, just to give my body a chance to recover more. It would be more of a financial hit, but if it allows me to heal faster, it would be worth it. I'll see how this week goes. The good news is that I am FINALLY sleeping better. Still not back to my baseline, but definitely better. It's actually good that I can look back on this blog over the past couple of months and see the progression. I'm getting frustrated when I don't feel closer to what I am hoping for, but reading my prior posts reminds me of how far I have come. Well, late for getting ready to go in at 11:30, so need to shower. Thanks for checking in! Laurie

Sunday, Nov 19

As usual, my apologies for not writing sooner. I plead exhaustion.... The great news is that for the past five days I am having several hours at a time of NO PAIN. This is a beautiful thing. Considering that something in my right chest/back or sternum has been constantly painful since August, this is really terrific. It also makes me feel like there might actually be a time when there is almost no pain all the time. Wow. Additionally, when I do something that causes pain (ie grocery or cat stuff shopping), it takes less time to go away. I'm not even using Tylenol or Motrin all that regularly! So this is all good. The bad news is that the fatigue continues. I'm so exhausted from the work week that I can't even make it go away completely on the weekends. Still only lasting about five hours, although trying to work for six. Get home and collapse. The other issue is my sleep cycle is still really off: Lay there and stare at the ceiling for hours, and yes, I am taking something. Had to go in Friday am, didn't get to sleep until 0200, then up at 0615. Even this weekend I couldn't get regulated. I have stopped all caffeine by early afternoon, no sugar or protein after 5 pm. Tonight I am trying Martha's suggestion of a warm bath and then getting into bed. I'm totally exhausted, so really hoping it will work. But hey, on Tuesday it will just be two months, so this is all to be expected.

On another note: My Fellowship in Warrington is having a Red Cross blood drive on Friday, 11/24. There certainly is no way that I can donate: it will just be two months since my last transfusion after the lung surgery, and you have to wait at least 3, if not 6, months post-transfusion to even consider donating. For any of you that are physically able, please try and donate this holiday season, which is frequently a time that donations go down and the need goes up. After my first heart surgery, because of the multiple times on bypass, I needed at least 3-4 units of blood and blood products. Obviously, I would have died without that much blood. After the second heart surgery I never needed transfusions, but I wasn't stable after the lung surgery and needed a pint. I will always be grateful to those unknown people who took the time and effort to contribute to saving my life. Someday I want to donate the amount that I was given, hopefully double. In the meantime, please do this for me in thanks to those who gave the blood when I was in need.

Thanks again for checking in, and, if I don't update this before Thursday, have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Laurie

Sat, Nov 11

For those of you keeping track, yesterday was the calender three month anniversary of the heart surgery. Absolutely EXHAUSTED working every day. As I said, not much choice. Did a few errands today, and had a "circle dinner" tonight, which was nice. Tomorrow I really don't want to do more than go to Fellowship, grocery shop and then stay home. The good news is that today I didn't have as much pain, which was a real relief. Couldn't sleep last night, however. Hope is better tonight. Again, my apologies for not calling-- I'm just so tired. More later, Laurie

Tues, Nov 7

Hello again! A little late to be up, but following the election results (and Jon Stewart!). VERY tired. After a couple back and forth discussion with the boss about schedule, etc, have come up with the current plan. They understand that I can't be full time yet, and I am worried that if I try to increase too rapidly that I will relapse. I'm still having the right sided pain the majority (85%) of the time, movement definitely still aggravates. Trying not to get too worried about it yet.... Anyway, we agreed that I will try working 3/4 time. Unfortunately, this means working every day about six hours. It also means 3/4 pay. Despite that hardship, especially with all the bills of the last few months including travel and hotel, I don't have much of a choice. So, I go to work, then come home and collapse on the couch. Sometimes I don't even go upstairs to change clothes, rest first. I'm hoping that I will improve a lot in the next few weeks and be back to full time by after Thanksgiving, but we'll see. Any extra energy is spent doing important stuff like food shopping, errands and as few things as possible. For those of you that think this means that I will be calling you, I am sorry to disappoint you. I'm so tired that I just become very introverted and can't deal with anything. My apologies. Keep in mind that working every day also involves showering, dressing, eating and then getting to work, so I get up even earlier so that I have a chance to rest before going in. Going to Fellowship is my main social event. So, will update in a few more days. Thanks for checking in! Laurie

Thurs, Nov 2

Hi all!! Today is the 6 week anninversary of the thoracotomy/lung hernia surgery and the 12 week anniversary of the heart surgery. That is something of a milestone. Sorry that I didn't write after Monday, but I was absolutely exhausted. Went in at 11:30, finished at about 5:00 pm, and I was so tired I was worried about driving home. Just collapsed for the rest of the night. Recovered Tuesday, went in Weds from 12 noon to 4:30. It was easier, patient cancelled, which makes a big difference for some reason to go from 10 stress tests in a day to 9 of them. Didn't feel as bad that night. Today I went back on the treadmill for the first time in a few days, and was pleased that I did 8/10 of a mile in 28 mins. My goal is to go for a full mile in 30 mins, then try increasing the speed but keep the time consistent. Had to do a few errands this afternoon, back in Friday at 12-5 pm. Will discuss with my bosses tomorrow the schedule for next week. The pain is still present, but I am really seeing a decrease in the intensity, and it is definitely less frequent than last week. This is making me increasingly more pleasant--I hope. I'm not planning a very exciting weekend (which is usual, I just have an excuse now!) so that I can rest up. Just started the Mists of Avalon book, which is 876 pages, so that should keep me occupied. Book review pending. I'll check in with the schedule over the weekend. Take care, Laurie