Folks, I am back!

Hello family and friends, I am happy to report that I am back. Thank you sincerely for your kind prayers, good wishes and everything else I have received. It really lifted me up enormously knowing you were out there for me. Thank you, thank you!

Today was post surgery day four. It was a far better day than day three. Glen and Katie filled you in on my day three A-fib side trip. It happens in 30-40% of patients. It was tolerable, but I can’t recommend it to anyone, especially the part where I thought I was having a classic heart attack, but I didn’t and am fine. My march to a different drummer started around 10:00 AM and concluded around 3:30ish. They gave me some significant meds to convert me into a normal sinus rhythm, and a side effect of those meds was to slow my heart so much that I needed a pacemaker to keep it above 40 beats per minute. Last night it had to kick in quite a bit. 

I wonder if that had anything to do with the strange dream I had of a tattered blue and white jet landing on a runway headed straight at me, but a tad to the side leaving just enough room to miss me while Glen yelled for our family to skate out of the way on rollerblades. I received quite the stern admonishment for standing there and staring at it. 
I hope you enjoy my perky photo, especially the slippers. The little black box in my hands is my temporary pacemaker which I hope to return to Brigham and Womens tomorrow like a long over due library book. The pacemaker wire will be the last wire removed from my body other than my one remaining IV. The number of tubes and IV’s associated with this surgery is pretty astonishing; I cant wait to be tube and tether free! 

All of this side tripping laid waste to my hopes of getting out Sunday (today), then Monday, now it’s Tuesday. Nevertheless, today was a super great day, as I stayed out of A-fib, walked the halls five times, and visited with our daughter Katie who endured two COVID tests and two weeks of isolation just to be here wit her dad and me. Our son Alex was sad not to be here, but he has a young family and it just wasn’t feasible. He has been FaceTiming instead.

I must say a word about the care I have received here at Brigham and Womens. It is top notch. My doctor, Tsuyoshi Kaneko, is a compassionate straight shooter, a perfect match for me. He patiently answered all of my questions giving me the percentages and averages, I so craved in a world where data does not always direct the outcome. Although my case was more severe than he thought it would be given all of the imaging, he was able to complete a durable repair and SAM was a non-issue! I was so fortunate to be in his hands. The anesthesia team was also remarkable. Wires were inserted into my back to serve as nerve blocks, and of course, in addition to the anesthesia, there were those managing the heart lung machine. The whole thing is a bit like a symphony, which takes a dedicated, flawless team. Then when the after care team takes over, every twelve hours a new duet in the form of a RN and a PCA come to my rescue, and rescue me they did calling the doctors and PA’s only when needed. They were so caring and competent. Everyone has been marvelous. I am so blessed. At a time when institutions have been routinely questioned, I can say my care at Brigham and Womens has been above and beyond. 

Tomorrow I hope for another good day then we are homeward bound! Hooray!

With love ~ Jean