Another step closer to home…

For those who have not been following along in my saga, on November 10, I had quadruple heart bypass surgery.  If you want to read about the experience, start off by reading I’m Alive, the story about the surgery itself. In my last article I told you about My time in the CCU, the Cardiac Care Unit.

After finishing up my few days in the CCU, I was able to transfer from the 2nd floor to the 3rd floor where my regular hospital room was located.

Making it to my room was important to me because that is a big step toward being released from the hospital.  Even though the hospital I was at was very nice and especially the people there… they treated me great, I really wanted to go home!  Also, being moved out of the CCU was a sign that I was doing well.  If I was not moving along the right path they would not move me back to a regular room.  So, as I said it was important to me to do the things I needed to do to keep progressing forward.

Quick start to exercise

I moved to my hospital room late in the day, as I recall it was getting to be evening when they moved me.  When I got to where I was going, I had plenty of nurses and doctors coming by to give me medicine, check my vital signs and such, they kept me busy.  But, when I woke up the next morning, Monday, I asked Feyma where my shoes were, and when she pointed to them, I got up from the bed and put my shoes on.  I was ready to go do some walking.  Feyma and Sally, my sister in law, came out of the room with me to come along on the walk and watch me to make sure I was doing OK.

Just after walking outside my room, one of my doctors came off of the elevator and saw me, she was shocked to see that I was already walking!  As I walked up the hallway and back, many nurses and others expressed surprise to see that I was already walking.  Well… after a few hours my head rehab nurse, Lyn, came to my room.  She said that she heard I was out walking, which I confirmed, and she told me I was not supposed to be dong that! 🙂  ha ha… oh well…. I have always lived by the philosophy that it is easier to get forgiveness than permission, so no biggie!  Lyn tole me, though, that on Tuesday, the next day, she would be coming to my room with a team of rehab people who would help me get started on my exercises and prepare me to get more active.  I was looking forward to that!

My recovery team

When Tuesday came, Lyn and the team were there to get me started.  We started out by doing some breathing exercises and general warm up type stuff.  Exercises to limber me up, get my joints ready for something a little more intense.  It was also important that after even these warm ups we had to check my blood pressure and heart rate.  My heart was still recovering, and we had to make sure it was working properly with each ratcheting up of the exercise.  Sometimes I would have to rest for 10 or 15 minutes to let me heart calm down and get back to normal, that was all part of the process.

For Tuesday and Wednesday we did exercises like this twice a day, morning and afternoon.

I first met Lyn and the rest of the PhilHealth nursing team about 2 weeks before the surgery.  If you remember in an earlier article I told you how I had to go and have some doctors sign off on the surgery, approving me to get it done.  Lyn and a whole group of others were part of that process and helped guide me along the way.  The others on my rehab/exercise time were Paola and Jenny.  Great people, very helpful.  They helped me out a lot, and put me on the right path with the right exercises that would help me make good progress on my recovery and beyond!  My sincere thanks go to each of them!

I’m going home!

I returned to my room, as I recall, on Sunday night.  I was hoping to go home on Tuesday, but the doctor felt I was not quite ready on Tuesday.  When my doctor stopped by on Wednesday afternoon, though, she gave me the go ahead to check out of the hospital and head home!  I was so happy.  The hospital was great, and the people there saved my life, but I wanted to get back to my own home where I could be more relaxed and more comfortable!  It was about 7pm on Wednesday evening before everything was done so that I could be released, but it happened!  I was so glad to be home where I belonged!

That was on November November 16.  I entered the hospital on November 8, had the bypass surgery on November 10, and went home on November 16.  That was a quick turnaround!  I don’t know for sure, but a couple of nurses told me that I went home after bypass surgery faster than any patient they had ever seen.

How much did it cost?

In the past weeks, I have been inundated with requests from people wanting to know how much the cost was for my Quadruple Bypass Surgery!

I will be writing a full breakdown of the costs soon, but for now, to get a general idea of the costs involved, I recommend that you read this article: Almost there.  This article will give you a good idea of the costs involved.  I wrote that article just before going in for heart surgery.  Now that I have that all behind me, I have a better idea of the costs involved, and it will run you a little more than what I list in the article, but not too much more.  So, watch for my coming article about the costs involved, but you can get basic, close information about the costs in the article I linked to.

I’m happy to be home

Being home for several weeks now, I am feeling great.  I am on a regular and increasing regimen of exercise, primarily walking, and am just feeling better and better each day.

Although it is hard, pretty much impossible to remember exactly how we felt 20 years ago… I tell people that I think I feel better now than I have at any time in the 20 years.  I am still recovering and I am still sore in some areas, but overall, I feel great!

Thanks for the support that all of my readers have extended to me!  You are greatly appreciated!