Went to Baylor Scott and White for a second ablation Tuesday.  Woke up in the dark with a plastic tube going down my gullet.  I guessed something had gone wrong, and it had.  I am still in the ICU, but they say I am doing well, so I might go to a regular room early next week.  After that, rehab facility maybe?  Who knows?  Meds kicking in, so I stop now.  More later.

Holy smokes, Bob! So glad you're still with us.

They seem to think I'm progressing well enough to get out of ICU.  They're moving me to room 1006 in the Roberts hospital in the Baylor Hospital campus, on Hall Street.

Kenny J and I visited Bob in the hospital this morning. Seems there was a glitch in the minimally-invasive heart procedure he was undergoing that required the surgeon(s) to open his chest twice - once to repair his heart and the other to stop bleeding. When we arrived in his room he was sitting in a special chair. His doctors have told him his recovery is going well. He looked good, considering what he has been through. We had short visit with him, then left as a physical therapy nurse got him up and started walking him down a hallway on a walker. His doctor told him that his fitness, due to cycling, played a part in the positive outcome of his operations.

After all the trouble, I still have two issues to resolve with the heart.  I'm still leaking lots of fluid, and I won't go home until the drain tubes are out.  Also, the bad valve I've been ignoring has apparently gotten worse, and needs to be replaced.  There is a team here that has been doing that without opening the chest.  They want to evaluate me for that procedure, but I have to be in better shape than I am now.  We'll see in a few days.

I hope you all the best Bob. Dang, that is scary stuff!

Thoughts and prayers are with you Bob.

Well, the doctors said they had done about all they could do to me--for me, that is, so they released me to go home, so, here I am.  I'm still a little dopey from the meds, and my gut is all screwed up.  I hope I can regain my appetite and start enjoying food again.

Next evaluation for the heart valve is Dec. 2.  Still dealing with gut problems.  Have to force myself just to take in small quantities.

Lynn M reported this morning that Bob's wife Kathy may bring him to Barbec's for breakfast Thursday morning (Nov 21).

Dang, hope you're doing better soon.

WHen I was in the hospital my friends would call or text and say "can I bring you anything? "   The answer was always  
 
Yes. Wataburger.  
 
Let us know if you need an emergency burger run or something .. hospital food is terrible!  
 
 
Quote from rmillay on Nov 29^th, 2019, 3:11pm:

Well, on Monday they finally got started on what I came to the hospital for.  (Tip: don't go to the hospital for a procedure over Thanksgiving.)  The doctor drained a liter of  fluid from the space around my left lung.  The next day he drained 1.2 liters from around my right lung.  This resulted in a lot freer breathing, and some decent sleep.  Yesterday I got a CT scan, and after a long and uncomfortable series of breathing tests, they discharged me.  I had to go back today for an X-ray, and for the surgery PA to gaze upon my scars.  With the help of Miralax and Megace, I'm eating more normally now.  I need protein in my blood to discourage the pleural effusion, not to mention to build my muscles up a bit.  Barring any more setbacks, I should be able to make the Christmas party at Barbec's next Thursday.

It was pleasant to get out and hobnob with the gang yesterday.  It was a bit of an effort, but I was happy to see I could sustain it that long.  It was also nice to get hugs and stuff.  I saw the heart doc who opened me up that afternoon, and he thinks a lot of my current troubles stem from the bad heart valve.  My primary physician was encouraging today, took an x-ray and some blood.  If I can get better sleep, and increase my mobility, I will be happier.

I'm getting out occasionally, though these cold mornings are discouraging.  I still gasp for breath getting up from a stationary position, but I am able to do for myself most of the time.  I actually got some good sleep in last night.  Don't know if it was a new prescription, but I sure hope for more good nights.  Best part was, I rolled over onto my right side and dozed a bit like that, without my chest hurting.  Feels like the breastbone may be knitting and getting stronger.  No doctor appointments until after Christmas.

That's very good news, Bob. Sounds like your appetite is on the road to recovery as well as your strength. Hope to see you soon, at Barbec's. Course, my luck, I'd skip Tuesday and go Thursday and you would do the opposite.  

Tip off!  I've got a ride to Barbec's for next Thursday.  Kathy wants to meet Lynn there.

Busy week.  Kathy wants to take me to the gym Tuesday.  I meet with the valve doctor Wednesday.   She has a doctor's appointment Thursday, so I will drive to Barbec's  then, assuming the weather is not terrible.  Driving is not difficult for me, just the stuff in between.

I'm scheduled to have procedures to deal with the abcess on my chest and to drain the left lung tomorow.  If that works out, we'll talk about heart valve.

Very glad to hear the procedure stayed on course and the abcess was superficial. The valve procedure sounds like it may be more involved. Hope everything goes well. There are beginning to be signs it will be warming up. Hopefully you'll be ready to ride when the weather gets ready!

They took the chest tube out yesterday and sent me home this evening with a wound vacuum and scheduled home nurse visits.  Going to have a new daily schedule for a few weeks.

Bob, I hope the nurse is HOT so you'll have something to look forward to every day  

Been away for a while -- what's the latest on Senor Millay?????

Quote from aikigreg on Aug 23^rd, 2020, 6:22pm:

 
Yes, between such a long, arduous recovery from valve replacement, and the wrecks she has had, she really has had a tough go of it. But, she's back to pedaling a lot of miles, so good for her.
 
Quote from aikigreg on Aug 23^rd, 2020, 6:22pm:

 
So many of us are getting older and/or fighting health issues, I've thought about adding a Health and Riding forum where everyone could detail health issues. It really is nice to read how others have been handling such things when you end up newly diagnosed yourself. I remember when I lost half a lung to surgery for lung cancer, and then had to do chemo, I couldn't find a single rider online who was going through the same thing. Of course, many people do not want to post such personal things as health issues online, so I don't know how many posts we would get in such a forum. And there certainly isn't a thing wrong with posting stuff like that in this general forum.

I'm alive and riding a little better each week, Paul, thanks.  My valve replacement was the aortic valve, which used the TAVR procedure.  That replaces the valve using a catheter inserted in the femoral artery at the groin.  Other valve procedures require opening up the heart.  I wasn't told the brand of the valve.  It was only described as semi-synthetic.  The valve gave me an almost immediate improvement.  The rest of the stuff they did to me during that hospital stay was not so pleasant.