Hiked today

I went on a hike today. Super flat and easy, but a hike none-the-less. So that was good. Melissa leaves tomorrow, so I'll be on my own again. Jen has organized some people to check in on me throughout the week -- to be sure that I'm eating lunch and whatnot.

My mother made it home from her journey. It took around 29 hours from door to door, so although the train is cheap, it's also slow. I think she's having a retirement party today.

Trying to eat and heal.

c

Mom leaves today...

My Mom leaves today. She's been out here for about two weeks, and I'm sure that she's anxious to get home. She's taking the Greyhound to the train station in Denver, and then she'll be taking the train to Chicago. From there, she'll get on another bus to Janesville, WI.

I'm feeling better. My appetite is getting (sort of) back to normal. I'm walking three times a day. Boring stuff, really. But, I guess that for now, boring is good.

I'm going to try to start some sort of Cardio Rehab next week. Unfortunately, I'll be driving down to Denver for this, as the Summit Hospital doesn't offer anything of the sort.

My first appt. with my Dr. is on June 11th. Not sure what to expect, but I'm guessing that I'll be released to do more activity if all goes well.

Stay in touch...feel free to call anytime.

chris

missed my anniversary

My one-week anniversary came and went yesterday, and not a present from anyone ;~)

Yep...it's been a week and a day since I had my sternum cracked open and a "cow valve" installed. And I have to say that it's pretty weird to think about. Walking around town you run into people you know, and I'm not sure they know exactly what to expect.

Daily activity kicks my ass. Taking a shower for instance pretty much wipes me out. I get to go on three walks a day, and then usually need some sort of rest afterwards. And I still have bouts where I just don't feel good. It's nothing that I can explain, but I think it's a combination of everything that's happened in the past week, the drugs, pain, lack of sleep and hugely diminished appetite.

But, on the upside, I feel good today. I haven't taken a vicodin yet, and I don't feel I need one right now. So that's cool. And, it's finally a nice day out...sunny and (some) blue skies.

c

Is there anything more to life then being really, really, really, really goodlooking?

So, I've been home for a couple of days now. It's hard to remember. I think that I was discharged on Saturday, and it's Monday now. So what...three days? I've had a couple of blood pressure scares.

Last night, at 10:30 p.m., my bp was 148/100. Which is as high as it's been since the operation. I had just gotten done watching Iron Man with that dreamy Robert Downey Jr., so that probably didn't help. In the hospital, they were giving me drugs to keep it down (my blood pressure), but they didn't have that dreamy Robert Downey Jr. to deal with. So anyway...bp is up, and to me, scarily high.

I made Melissa call Dr. Guber to see what's up, and if this were any call for alarm. He said that as long as it's not above 200/xxx I'm ok. So that's pretty friggin' high. AND, guess what? At 4am this morning, it was 160/100. So I figured "elevator...going up!". I'm screwed. But, luckily it was back down this a.m.

I've had a half a sandwich and some cottage cheese today. Eating is not really appetizing at all. I just ate a gold fish cracker. One goldfish. That's all I need.

I'm just like a supermodel.

c

home and going to bed

Hello everyone -- I've been in Frisco for much of the afternoon. Lisa and Christy made chilli dinner, and it was delicious. Well, maybe it's not really that good, but after hospital food, Ramen Noodles and "just-add-water" potatos would have been an improvement! Just kidding, the tiny amount that I enjoyed, I truely enjoyed. I still have no appetite for food, coffee or wine. I can't drink while on Vicodin anyway (or maybe I can?).

I just took two Vicodin, and now I'm trying to sleep. Earlier I had a nightmare during a nap, and that really freaked me out. So I'm hoping that doesn't happen again. I understand that weird dreams are normal. I wonder if it's my body trying to make me remember the surgery...I hope not. I definitely don't want to remember that.

I wanted to thank everyone who came down to visit me in the hospital, and those of you that just had me in your thoughts. It means more than you can know, and I can never repay your kindness. I can't believe what I've been through, and how hard it was, and I woudn't have been able to do it without your support.

I'll ramble on more about that later as I believe the drugs that are "on board" (in hospital parlance) are begining to take affect. I've done some wierd things on Ambien, who knows what narcotics will do.

Wow. Home just four days after open heart surgery. What a short, strange trip it's been.

c

on his way

He's probably home now and on the road to recovery. Send him your good thoughts of strength and health.

outta here

Well, they're discharging me this morning, and I'm heading back to Frisco. My Mom and Melissa are heading up with me, and my Mom will be staying for the week and then taking the train back to Chicago.

I'm not sure that I'm ready, but I guess that the doctor knows what's best for me.

Aimee, the woman who Dr. Guber hooked me up with who'se had two on these surgeries (one human, and a mechanical one now) stopped by yesterday - which was just awesome. It was so good of her to take the time out of her day to come see me. It was a good perspective, and she looked great. Super healthy and happy. She said the the hardest part was to come, because I'll be frustrated and wanting to do too much too soon. And that if I do that, I'll just pay for it later. Now get this...the first time she had this surgery, when she was 31, she had a one-year-old child, and she couldn't take pain medication. I can't imagine that. Makes me feel like a huge sissy.

So there is a bunch of activity going on around me, so I'm signing out.

c

and Lisa brought ice cream!

I did have a picture of Jordan

Happy Visitors

Mike McKay on the left and Melissa on the right.
Jordan was here too but I didn't get a picture of him.

don't let the door hit you in the ass

He gets out tomorrow at 10am. Back to reality albeit a slightly different reality. I'm going to try and post a picture or two later this afternoon.

echocardiogram and surgery scar

Manny just gave me an echocardiogram -- he can't really tell me anything that he sees though. He'll lose his job if he does. So I need to wait until Dr Pachello (the cardiologist) takes a look. Hopefully all is well. Here is a picture of the scar. I know...it's doesn't seem that bad. But I'll tell you what, every morning, it feels like someone parked their Subaru on my chest. The pain comes and goes, but right now I feel pretty good. I just did a lap around the ICU, and that pretty much works me over. So I'm just laying in bed recovering from that now.

chris

Don't call it a comeback

As you can see, he's back! I got here about 6:15 with the requested Burger King dinner and he was doing this third walkabout. He looked great as he lapped some poor old guy in the hallway.

He's currently on his computer while we sit out in the waiting room during the non-visiting hours. I think Lisa is bringing him some ice cream later.

It looks like he might make a break for it on Sunday.

What an amazing experience

I'm in a huge amount of pain. I can't breathe and my chest hurts. I'm on Vicadin...which is good. I'm pretty drugged up. I've had three IV's , a chest tube and pacer wires pulled out of my body. The chest tube was the hardest. It's about the diameter of a drinking straw, and it was about 10 inches into my body. It hurt like hell when it when they pulled it, and the weirdest thing was that when the dressing was changed, there was about 2" of a "blood tube" hanging out of my body. It was like a umbilical cord. Then they cut it off.

c

Day Three

It seems he got some sleep last night but he definitely still sounds tired as I'm sure he will for quite some time. He has had open heart surgery after all! I can't imagine the depth of his tiredness as I'm just worn out from normal life!

They were doing an EKG when I called and I think they have plans for more walkabouts today. He did one lap around the unit and said it sucked. I asked him if it felt good at least to be standing up and he said that it didn't. I think the plan is for him to get out of there tomorrow but I'm not sure so I'll keep you all posted. It's really amazing that his hospital stay will only be about 5 days.

He was waiting for some breakfast and his full roster of visitors today.

To everyone that I've talked to that wasn't able to talk directly to Chris - he knows you've called and I can tell he's so happy that you're all checking in on him.

full nights sleep, really?

apparently, a full nights sleep means waking up and doing a walkabout in the middle of it. They're planning on getting him up and walking at 4am. Seriously? They are going to let him sleep until then without interruption though so that's good.

He's doing great - lots of visitors planned for tomorrow and it looks like they will spring him on Friday.

One thing is certain - Chris is a lucky man. He has a lot of friends and great support - all of which will be important for him in the coming weeks.

Day two going as planned

Chris walked about 100 ft. to his new room (2223) and is taking a nap as I write this. They've taken out the chest tube and his scar looks good - you know, as good as a scar can look I guess. It's about 4 inches long. He asked me to take a picture of it so he could see it on the camera.

Chris' Dad left about an hour ago to catch the train back to Wisconsin and Mom is taking a little break driving Chris' car around Denver - Chris is worried she'll get lost.

They plan to have him up and walking around more as the afternoon progresses - he doesn't sound that excited about it but knows it's good for him. And, they said they will let him try and get a full nights sleep tonight without interruption. They are taking the catheter out at some point this afternoon and he's bemoaning the fact that he will now have to get up to pee. Once again, they just want him moving as much as he can stand.

groggy but good

I was able to talk to Chris this morning around 5:30. I had just called to talk to his nurse, Carmen, but she let me talk to him and he sounds good. He's definitely tired and groggy but doing great. They were able to get his blood pressure up enough to give him some Didlaudid and Vicadin (you're supposed to capitalize narcotics, right?). He didn't get much sleep but he probably will tonight.

They sat him up on the edge of his bed and also had him sit in a chair for awhile. Today he'll get to eat and they'll be moving him out of ICU. They're going to make him walk to his new room which Lynn said he will hate but it's good for him. His OR nurse, Cindi Love, stopped by a couple of times. She asked him if he felt like shit and he said he felt worse than shit. He laughed a bit when he told me this so he's definitely coming around. Doc should also stop by today to check in on him.

I told him you are all thinking of him and passed on your good wishes. He was happy to hear that I talked to a lot of you and says 'hello' back.

I'll post more this afternoon.

recovery begins

He's resting, drinking tiny sips of water and waiting for some pain meds. They're planning on having him sit up around 3am and tomorrow he will walk to his new room out of ICU. His main nurse, Lynn, has been wonderful and his new night nurse, Carmen, promises to take good care of him tonight.

He's doing great.

More in the a.m.

He's waking up

We've only been allowed to look into his ICU room from the hallway a couple of times. This last time he was opening his eyes and nodding his head in answering the nurse. They should be taking the vent out within the hour and then we'll probably get to go into the room for a brief period. He looks really good considering - his color is good and well, he just generally looks way better than I was anticipating.

Melissa and I and his parents are here and will all wait till we are actually able to talk to him a bit.

I know he's felt all of your energy and good thoughts - keep it up! He's going to need a lot of strength in the next few weeks.

it's on to recovery

He's out of surgery and rolling into recovery and then ICU. Doc said it was great and that Chris did great. He now has a new bovine valve. He'll be on a ventilator for a couple of hours and then they'll wake him up.

on to making some calls -

machine-free

he's off the heart/lung machine and will be going to recovery soon. Halle-fucking-lujah!

Doc should be out soon to talk to us -

Cindy Love says, "they're kicking ass."

Chris' main nurse, Lynn, just came and gave us this update so it sounds like all is going well. Extremely well, is what Lynn said actually. He's on the heart/lung machine and they are putting in the value right now. It should be about an hour before Doc comes down to talk to us afterwards.

Time for a little walkabout -

it's a full room today...

with lots of families in here waiting. We continue to wait. It's been about 2 1/2 hours since they started. Feel free to call later this afternoon if you haven't heard from me.

Underway

The last hour has been a hard one for us here seeing Chris off to surgery. Lots of tears, hugs, hand-holding and some laughs, of course. They finally gave him some drug to calm his nerves a bit and we could see it start working as he wanted to make his hair net into a beret.

The head surgical nurse, Cindy Love (you've got to dig that), is wonderful as is everyone we've been in contact with here at Porter. He's in good hands.

More later. I need to go walk around a bit.

...and it's time.

They wheeled him into pre-op just now. We do get to see him again before surgery starts at 11am. Doc stopped by this morning and tried to reassure Chris that all will be well. I hope Doc had a good nights sleep and a healthy breakfast. I have every confidence that he will take good care of our friend.

10:00 am is the time

For the surgery...I'm posting this now, as Dawn is obviously shirking her responsibilities.

So, that's that. I'm really scared and I don't want to have to deal with this. I can't believe that I need to have heart surgery.

From now on, it will definitely be Dawn posting, as I'll be out.

Thanks for thinking about me today.

chris

Rules? What Rules?

They're letting me hang in here with Chris during the supposed 'non-visiting' hours. I think I look scary so they're letting me stay.

Chris had a lovely dinner of salmon and rice with some nasty looking vegies. He didn't eat most of it. He's just laying around (so lazy, he is) and waiting to take a shower.

His doc came in earlier and chatted a bit - Chris has already asked many questions so he wasn't here long. Chris really likes him as do I. He's funny and personable but you can tell he knows his shit. I have no fear of him doing this surgery. Chris will start anesthesia around 11am and surgery begins at noon.

More in the morning.

if you want to call to find out about me

303.778.5622

My Room # is 2226

code is 7471

The Cath sucked, but not as bad as I thought it would be. Supposedly they gave me some sort of sedative, but I don't think it worked. Now I have a hole in my right leg, and that sort of hurts.

chris

Cath procedure went super...

He's done with the cath procedure and all is well. No blockages or problems and he's ready to go for tomorrow. His parents and Melissa are with him right now and I'm on my way from Fort Collins in a bit.

FYI - if you were planning on stopping by tonight (5/19) there are no visitor's allowed between 6:30 and 8:30 both a.m. and p.m. Stupid hospital rules. This applies to when he's in ICU as well. Once he's in a regular hospital room anytime is fine.

He sounds good on the phone but I know he's scared. Please send all your positivity his way.

Figured it out!

Hi all - just figured out how to post on here so you'll be hearing from me later in the day and tomorrow, of course.

Porter Hospital

Is where I'm at.

It's Adventists -- so Jim, that was for you.

Here is the website:

http://www.porterhospital.org/

I'm sitting here waiting for my heart catheterization. They somehow screwed up my hospital band, so I'm waiting for them to fix that. Nobody really seems to have a comprehensive overview of what the hell is going on, so that makes me feel pretty good.

Last night went to Dane Cook at the Pepsi Center and stayed at The Curtis hotel, it's a very cool place in downtown Denver. Check it out http://thecurtis.com/.



c

Dawny P.

Dawn Paepke will be posting updates after tomorrow. I should be able to post again after the procedure in the a.m. on Monday.

So...I check in at 9am. Til then.

chris

Well -- that's about it for me...

I'm not going to be posting again. I go into the hospital on Monday at 9 a.m. I'll be getting the heart catheterization at 10 a.m. Then, I guess that I'm in-patient until the next day.

I go into surgery at noon on Tuesday, and will be in ICU for the rest of that day, and the next day, hopefully heading to a regular room on Wednesday. If all goes well, I should be checking out on Friday or Saturday morning, but I don't really know.

Dawn Paepke will be the person to contact while I'm in the hospital for updates and whatnot. Check the blog first, as she'll be posting updates for me during the procedure. Her phone number is 970.980.4028, but again, please check the blog for updates first, as I don't want to have her inundated with phone calls.

I didn't make a will, as I just couldn't bring myself to do that. And although I know that this isn't exactly legally binding, here is what I want if all goes horribly awry:

Stuff

I don't really care about my stuff. I guess legally, my parents get it. However, there are a few things that I'd like to give to certain people, and here goes:

• My Car -- My sister Kathy can have it if she wants it. It needs:




• Rear Struts


• Clutch


• Brakes




• My 9mm Beretta -- Jordan Weyand
• My Rifle -- it's not my rifle, it's Mark Moore's. Please give it back to him
• My Bow -- Rich Young
• My part of the snowmobiles -- Ry Ry Mo
• My New Computer -- Dawn Paepke
• My Old Computer -- Melissa Carerra
• Framed pictures -- Carol B.

• Skis -- Who Ever fits them. I have both telemark and skate. Four pairs of boots and three pairs of skis.

• All my ski apparel -- Lara Carlson. What I want you to do is sell everything, and buy yourself a new shell. And if you already have a new shell, just keep the money.

• Avalanche Beacon -- Lisa Granatowski

• Motorcycle -- Carol Busch can have this, as it was her father's bike, and it's only fitting that she have it. I was going to give this to Donna Skupien, so, Carol if you don't want it, it's hers.

• TV -- Lisa G. Cause it really ties the room together

• Map Collection -- Carol get's 'em

• Guide Books -- again...Carol Busch

• My 401 K -- Please divide between my two god children. It's not worth much anymore, but it's still something.
• Bike tools, work stand, etc. -- Rich Young & Carol. You two figure that out.
• Bike Trailer -- Carol Busch
• Yeti Mountain Bike -- Jordan Weyand. I was going to give it to Chandler, but stupid Chandler just had to go out and get a new one...stupid Chandler.
• De Rosa Frame -- Rich Young
• CD Collection -- Lisa Granatowski, just because she hates them so much. But she needs to keep them in the plastic cases.
• Albums and stereo system -- Dawn Paepke, cause she's a DJ
• Litespeed -- Dawn knows a guy who needs a bike, he can have it
• Schwinn Cruiser -- Bill Schenk
• Camping stuff -- Carol Busch
• If I've forgotten anything that is meaningful to you, that I own, please let me know, and I'll add you to the list.
• There is a bunch of other crap, please divide it up, or throw it away...I don't care.

Please don't feel left out if you didn't get any loot. I am just trying to give things to people who need them. Except Lisa and the CD's, that's more to be a pain in her ass than anything. Most of this stuff is in my storage unit. Melissa knows where it is and where the key is.

And, if nobody wants any of this stuff, it's mostly in my storage unit. So, just leave it there, and it'll eventually get sold by the storage unit company when the bill doesn't get paid. How nice is that?

Oh yea...if for some reason I'm left in a vegatative state, pull the plug. Don't want to live like that. Dawn, this is all on you. Sorry. Cremate me. Dump me somewhere cool, with a good view. Maybe in Moab, as I love it there so much. But, really, whatever is convenient.

If I come out of this awake and alert, please disregard all of this.

I'm heading to Denver tomorrow to see Dane Cook with Melissa at the Pepsi Center. I'll be staying in a hotel Sunday night. So, that's my schedule.

Hope I'll see you all on the other side (of the operation...not that "don't go into the light" sort of other side.)

If not, thanks for everything. I love you all.

c

Friday Night

Four days to go (or so). I'm not happy.

I finally talked to Aimee

So...more on that tomorrow. I have an appt. with a cardiologist tomorrow at three pm. I'm not sure what to expect, but I guess I'll know more at 4pm. I'll let you know.

Nothing new really. I'm pretty resigned to this whole thing at this point. I just want it over, and I want to start getting better.

trying to drink away the part of the day that I cannot sleep away

Here is something fun to do...if you haven't had the pleasure, make a will. At this point, I can't bring myself to actually do it, but just having the document open on my desktop is difficult. Oh yea, also write down all your log in and passwords to all you accounts. I think that I have about a million. And, on top of that, I need to get a note from my doctor so my mom can get out of work. WTF is that all about? Really? She's actually retiring at the end of the month anyway, but in order to use her sick time, she needs a note. A note! Do I really need to be dealing with that? That's some messed up shit! I need a drink.

I have to go to a pre-hospital meeting on Thursday at 3pm. But you know what's weird? On the phone, while scheduling this, they asked me if I was allergic to latex. So, I'm not sure if I should be looking forward to this "meeting" or what, but I think I may score.

c

Katie O-K

Katie's surgery went as well as could be. They removed all three lesions, and there was minimum to no brain damage. She'll be up and walking today, and out of ICU too. So, thanks to everyone for keeping her in your thoughts, and a big thanks to everyone who offered up miles. It seems that the response was so good for that, that they're all set for now.

In Chris News:
So, I had originally scheduled my surgery for Monday, May 18. However, prior to the surgery, I need to have a Heart Catheterization. Which sounds like an awful lot of fun! Basically, they shove a catheter into my leg, and up my femoral artery. This will then travel up above my heart, where it will inject dye into the aforementioned heart. Then, my heart is the subject of a photo shoot, designed to tell if there are other problems (blockages in my arteries, aneurysms...etc.). I would rather do the CAT scan, but Dr. Goober feels that, since I'm an athlete, the catheter is a better option. I don't know why. Goober...that's just funny.

SO, anyway, the surgery is now tentatively on the 19th, and the HC is going to be on the 18th.


Oh yea...I'm having the surgery at Porter Hospital. And I still don't know what valve to choose. But with all the swine flu going around, I should probably go bovine. It's not actually a cow valve, but rather a valve constructed from the heart tissue of a cow.

Hey...here is something interesting:

Surgical Technique for Aortic Valve Replacement:

Aortic valve replacement requires the use of a general anesthetic. Once the patient is asleep, the chest is opened and the heart is exposed. Patients are placed on the heart lung machine by placing catheters in the aorta and right atrium. The heart-lung machine does the work of the heart and lungs so that blood can be redirected from the heart. Once the patient is placed on the heart lung machine a clamp is placed on the aorta to stop blood flow into the heart. This allows surgeons to work on a motionless heart devoid of blood. The aortic valve is exposed by opening the ascending aorta. The diseased valve leaflets are removed. Sutures with Teflon felt bolsters (pledgets) are placed along the rim of tissue where the native valve was once attached. Sutures are then passed through the prosthetic valve. Prosthetic valve is then secured in place by tying the sutures. The aorta is then closed and the clamp removed from the aorta. This allows blood flow to resume to the heart and the heart begins to beat. Any air is evacuated from the heart; the support of the heart lung machine is withdrawn. Temporary pacing wires are placed, drainage tubes inserted, and the incisions are closed. The patient is then taken to the intensive care unit for recovery.

Sounds easy enough, eh?

Gin and Juice

You know what's good? Gin and tonic, that's what. Yea! It's a beautiful day, and I'm hanging out drinking some G&T's, and basically enjoying life.

Life, by the way, is also good, and as far as I know, better than the alternative.

nothing

new-- I'm going to call my dr. this afternoon to see what the hell is going on. I'm also calling Aimee, and this other guy (who've both had the surgery).

More when I know.

c

Focus your Brains

Good News! You now have more time to focus your good thoughts for Katie. She's actually flying out to Chicago this Sunday, and will have surgery later on this week. So, keep that shit coming.

In other news, my bluebird has turned grey, but I still got out on my road bike. It's a Litespeed, but I'm definitely not going that fast. It's great to be out doing something physical, but hard to keep my heart rate below 130. (Which, by the way...Won 29? 129? get it...it's where I'm living my life...sheesh. It's like pulling teeth trying to be clever around you people).

Anyway. You know what sucks? Getting passed by people on recumbents! Seriously. That just happened to me. Do you know how humiliating that is? At least he wasn't wearing sock garters and a pith helmet -- but I'm pretty sure he gave me the finger as he smoked past me at 12mph.

In other Katie news:: if anyone out there has extra frequent flyer miles that you're just going to throw away, please donate them to help out with the travel expenses. Not for Katie so much, but for others that are flying out to Chicago to help out. Hit me up if you can help, and I'll get you in touch with the right people.

chris

Sunny and 55 degrees

It's a bluebird day in Colorado. Sunny, clear and warm. If it's anything like this were you live, I encourage you to take the day off and go on a hike. I'm going to. I have a bunch of work to do first, but I think that this afternoon I'm out. So, if anyone would like to join me, feel free.

Katie is in Chicago, probably already in surgery. I hope it's a bluebird day there too.

Here is what's better to do than be at work:

• Sit on my sunny front porch
• Walk 25 feet out my back door to the North Ten Mile creek and go fly fishing
• Go on a hike
• Go on a road bike ride
• Well...pretty much anything other than sit in an office staring at a computer screen

Thoughts to Katie

c