It has been a big week. On Tuesday, I had an Angiogram in
preparation for cardiac surgery. The week before I had the required
neurological exam to see if I was a good candidate for the surgery. I
am…thankfully. The angiogram was fascinating to watch. I could see the monitor
all through the procedure. At the end of it, the physician manipulating the
line said, “We’re finished…and you have a problem.” This, of course, I knew. On
the way back to my cubicle, Dr. Hui (my Cardiologist, whom I like and trust)
joined me and told me that I would indeed, require a valve replacement, and “a
bypass.” They will also “scrape away the cholesterol” in my heart…whatever that
means. Dr. Hui did not specify what kind of bypass I would have, and my reading
since then has taught me that there is a difference between coronary bypass
surgery and a heart bypass. I don’t fully understand the difference. I ill ask
my own physician on Friday when I see her.
I looked up an article online regarding the two procedures,
and reading it brought the whole thing home to me with a thud. My heart may be
stopped for a time…a machine may pump my blood…I will be in ICU for a day or
so…I will have multiple chest tubes. You’d think after 32 years in hospital
chaplaincy, I would know these things, but…
Well, I guess I did know them when I worked in the heart
transplant clinic, but I have “forgotten” them since. I could blame it on the
stroke, or simply my own denial mechanism. I keep reflecting on Dr. Hui’s
comment: “This ill happen within the next three months.” I surmise that this
means the situation is fairly critical. Thud.
The only reminder I have of the angiogram is the arterial
wound in my right wrist, which must be bandaged for the next two days. If it
bleeds, I have to call 911. Thud. The tape that covers it irritates my skin. I
keep having my attention drawn to it because of the irritation. I remembered
how my Dad was irritated by tape when he had surgery for an ulcer when I was a
student. His skin blistered under the tape, and they had to peel it off him!
I had a short walk yesterday, and a longer one today. Tomorrow,
I will do the whole 4 km. slowly, and carefully. Dr. Hui tells me to continue
my exercise routine right up until surgery, just cut it back by 20%. No excess
stress. Thud.
On top of all this, I have postponed an assessment for
cataract removal until next month, and tomorrow night, I sleep in the Sleep Lab
in Wetaskiwin. They will try to find a way to get me to a healthier sleep
pattern. A whole lot of health challenges all at once. Like I am falling apart
piece by piece, rapidly. Thud.
However, “What Makes Olga Run?” is a hopeful book about such
recovery and life beyond it. I have formed a plan. After recovery from the
cardiac stuff (six months or so), I will resume activity in the pool. My goal:
to swim lengths. More than that, to aim for the ability to swim one kilometer
at one go, even if it takes half a day. That should keep me busy until I’m
eighty-five! One payoff for swimming and pool workouts is the regular- and free
– observation of women in bikinis. Where else do you have permission o check
out the scenery like that?
It’s helpful to me to write all this stuff down. Helps me
deal with the attendant anxiety, and remember that I am fortunate to be so
close to Edmonton and the Mazankowski Heart Institute. A whole huge hospital
devoted to cardiac problems: possibly the best facility in the country. At
least that’s what I’ll keep telling myself until this is all done.
The big loss for me in all this speedy preparation is that I
doubt that I’ll have the chance to visit the Manitoba branch of my family in
the next 10 months. I am already missing them a huge amount. I want desperately
to watch Angus look through his food carefully to see if we’ve tried to foist
mushrooms off on him, and to experience another movie at home with Emma’s
steady and intelligent running
commentary. Only slightly maddening… and oh, so beloved.
Enough for tonight. Now, a shower and then to bed. Recovery;
oh yeah, that. I’m going to have a lot of recovering to do over the next year. Stay
with me on it. I’m sure there will be some long stretches hen I can’t write,
but I will try and keep you on board. I need some on-board folks. Thank you.
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