DAYS 347 - 352 RECOVERY

On this date last year I was in South Carolina having my heart rebuilt at the Spartanburg Regional Heart Center.  Living with a faulty-functioning heart for several years was no fun so I was more than ready for a permanent fix. 

Little did I know how long and hard the road to recovery would be.  I couldn't have done it without my "nagging" husband.  I mean that in a thankful, loving and positive way.  It was he who cared for me day in and day out for weeks that grew into months.  When I wanted to give up, he pushed me to take another step, then another and another. 

My expected hospital stay of seven days stretched to a total of eighteen due to complications of blood clots in my lungs caused by two previously undetected genetic blood disorders.  Not being able to eat due to constant nausea from the boatload of meds I had to take caused my weight to plummet (not a good thing for me) and due to lack of activity my muscles atrophied.  Yes, I was a pathetic, sorry looking sight.  Because I see so many frail elderly people, I had my doubts that it was even possible to rebuild muscle, strength and agility at my age.   Walking was the best way to begin and in this I had no choice.  With my doctors, nurses and Darryl prodding me, I started walking the hospital corridors.  At first someone, usually a nurse or Darryl, would hold me up as I took baby steps before I graduated to a walker and then to just the handrails along the wall for support.   

Once home,  I began a regimen of walking a minimum of 30 minutes per day.  At first I could do only about five or ten minutes at a time.  It took 121 steps to walk inside our cabin  going from the front door, looping around some furniture, stepping into the kitchen area before making my way into and out of the bedroom and mudroom.  I walked that route over and over everyday.  Since I wasn't supposed to walk inclines and living on the side of a mountain where everything is at an incline, my outdoor walking was confined to the 30x40 ft area we leveled for the greenhouse and garden storage building.  It lifted my spirit to be outdoors on a warm winter day with Darryl and my animals (goats, cats, and a duck) following behind me as I repeatedly walked around and around that flat area. 

Next came the running tracks (walking, in my case) at the local grade school and nearby equestrian center.  With a pedometer tucked in my pocket,  I was now measuring distance instead of time.  On bad weather days you could find us walking the mall in a neighboring town, so I  had no excuses.  Even now, a whole year later, I get flashbacks when I drive past those locations remembering how, with every breath after only a short distance, my lungs would hurt so bad.  I'd lean on Darryl's shoulder frequently to catch my breath and wipe my tears.  With Darryl's prodding, I eventually pushed myself to walk over a mile at a time. Two months after the surgery I was allowed to begin cardio rehab. 

Darryl didn't have to nag me this time because I was already seeing the benefits of my previous labors.  I wasn't about to go there three days a week just to waste my time.  I had work to do and a mountain road to run.  The average improvement for cardo rehab patients is 20%.  Mine was 69.7%.  I was smokin' and I wasn't going to let anything get in the way of reaching my "Rocky Moment."   

The next month I broke my ankle.  Now five months later I'm still wearing an air cast/brace on my ankle because the bone hasn't fused. 

When I initially set my goal of running, not walking, one mile up that mountain road, I had no idea it would take longer than a year and that I would still be writing this Take Heart blog.  Ok, so I've had a delay, but I'm still determined to get there and I'm sure with Darryl's nagging, I finally will.

Meds:   Amiodarone, Cardizem,  Vayacog, L-Carnitine, Vitamin D, I-Caps, Flax seed oil, Multivitamin, B-12, L-Arginine, Glucosoamine, Calcium, Garlic, Aspirin, Omega-3 Fish Oil, Vitamin C