I want to express my extreme thanks to everyone that has shown me support over the last month or so. I didn’t want to report my troubles here because I didn’t want a pity party. I hate those. But when people started finding out what was going on, they let the rest of my extended family know and the positive vibes started pouring in. You always wonder when you go will anyone notice? Will anyone show up at the service? Did we leave a mark? We all hope for the Jimmy Stewart “It’s been a good life.” type of response but most of us will never know. Well given the outpouring I have received I really feel that someone will give a damn when I’m gone. And for that I can never repay any of you. All I can do is say thanks and that it really did help, it did make a difference. It allowed me to keep a positive attitude and address anything that came along. My biggest thanks goes to my wife Chris and never faltered, never broke and never skipped a beat through this whole thing. It all made it much easier to take on whatever came because it wasn’t just me but me and all of you pulling together to get through this. For those that didn’t hear the whole story or was wondering what was going on…… In early April I started experiencing being out of breath walking across a parking lot in Bethesda, MD. Now I knew I was out of shape but thought that at sea level, given where we live in Colorado, I shouldn’t be that out of breath. A couple of days later after pushing our trash can to the end of our driveway on a chilly night my lungs were burning something bad. You know how when you suck in cold air and you get that burning feeling when you are exercising outside. Well that what it felt like, just really bad. It hurt to the bone across my chest and down my left arm. After about 10 minutes it finally settled down. So off to the doctor we went to treat what I thought was bronchitis. So a couple of weeks later I’m in San Diego, after the meds, and the same thing happens, being out of breath but just walking 6 blocks, but this time my left arm hurts like a bone bruise. You know that feeling when you walk in boots or high heels too long and your shin bones ache? Same type of thing. So back to the doctor.. hmmm… let’s look at the 200 pound elephant in the room. So we go for the chest x-ray, EKG, and CAT scan of my chest. They also refer me to a Cardiologist for a stress test. Now up to this point we were having fun trying to keep our planned vacation on track because of the Swine Flu. We were booked with United on frequent flyer miles and airlines were beginning to make noise about reducing the number of flights to Mexico. We have been seeing our friends that were planning to go drop like flies because of travel restriction from their countries or work restrictions, etc. All the while we’re saying that come hell or high water, we’ll be there. Nothing is stopping us. Wimps we call the others… No guts, no glory…. So here we are at the end of April. My Cardiologist appointment is on Thursday April 30th. The following Sunday I’m scheduled to fly to DFW for a business meeting, returning that Thursday and flying out Friday May 8th to Mexico returning the 23rd. So on Monday the 27th of April I call the Cardiologist and ask if the appointment on Thursday is a stress test or just a consultation? Just a consultation, why? Well I won’t be available for a follow-up stress test if I need on for 3 weeks after that, the last 2 weeks I’ll be in Mexico. We’ll let’s see if we can get you in on Wednesday for a stress test in time for the consultation on Thursday. Great. Did the stress test and show up for the consultation. Guess what, you failed the stress test and we need to do an angioplasty before you next fly (angioplasty is where they thread a wire up from your groin to your heart to inject dye and spot blockages, clean them out and if necessary install stints to keep the vessels open afterwards)…. Keep in mind of course that this is now the 30th of April, 8 days before our 15 day vacation to Mexico and I have a trip to DFW scheduled in 3 days. Hmmmm…. OK.. so we cancel the trip to DFW, when can you get me in. Tuesday. Great, how long after that before I can go on vacation. Sort of a surprised look from the Doctor.. guess he didn’t realize how important the Mexico trips was to us– silly him…. Well we’d like you to hang around for at least 72 hours after we put in a stint just to make sure there are no blood clots. OK, we’ll push the Mexico departure back to the 10th. Great, everything is still a go – Mexico here we come. Then United says they aren’t going to fly from Denver to Cancun for the month of May. Shit! But even though they said that, my flights still show up as going. Can we hope? So here I am, just after midnight, the morning of Tuesday the 5th, the day of my angioplasty, calling United and point blank asking if we are going to fly on Sunday? Well no they admit.. so they refund my taxes I paid and put my points back. So I make reservations for $550 for the 2 of us to fly to Cancun on USAir via Charlotte, NC going out and Phoenix coming back. OK.. another obstacle overcome. Check in at 6 AM for my 8 AM procedure. Well the left side of the heart, that is the one that if you have a problem you fall on your face, had some build up but was easily cleaned up without having to add any stints. The right side however…. Well let’s just say that it was totally calcified and had been that way for a while. The Doctor scraped for a long time trying to dig it out, and made some progress. But when he reached a “Sheppard’s hook” he wasn’t sure he could get the wire around the corner, let alone a stint if that was necessary. “Looks like we’re going to have to cut you open.” I never knew 10 words could bring your world to a halt. Up until this point it had all been speed bumps along the way that we just dealt with to get to the end prize, that vacation in Mexico. You didn’t really think about what each bump represented, you just kept driving because if you reached Mexico everything was alright. “Looks like we’re going to have to cut you open.” There went Mexico. Like a ship that lost its rudder, I was suddenly lost. No more compartmentalizing what was going on. No more keeping it in to hand-able chunks. The total enormity of what we were dealing with suddenly hit. The happy go lucky deal and anything attitude evaporated. I held it together pretty well till Chris got there. “They are going to have to operate.” And then I lost it and started really crying as all the pent-up emotions came to the surface. God bless her as Chris tried to climb over the bed railing to get to me and hug me. How do I get these down, she asked the Nurse. You don’t was the reply. Made me smile as Chris squeezed my hand and said it was alright. Everything was going to be OK. I had a rudder again. So the Cardiologist comes in and explains to Chris what he did, tried to do, and couldn’t do. He then explained that it seems the right side has been this way for a while because the left side has sent out and across feeder vessels that have kept the heart muscle alive and well, so there was no tissue damage. We can either treat it with drugs and mask the symptoms or operate and hopefully cure the problem. We all agreed given my age that it would be best to operate now and position myself best for the next 50 year run. So when do we have to operate? That will be up to the Surgeon. A couple of minutes later the Surgeon walks in and we cover the same territory to make sure we’re all on the same page. So up comes the same question. When does it have to be done? Up to this point we’ve gotten the impression that this afternoon or tomorrow morning were the best candidates. Well, the Surgeon says, I understand you guys are trying to get to Cancun this weekend.. yeah… well go ahead and go. We’ll schedule this for when you get back. Rudder hell – I got my whole ship back! Are you sure Chris asks… don’t jinx it – we’re going to MEXICO! Yeah he says. Your heart has been in this condition for a long while, it’s not the left side, everything will hold together for a while to come. So yeah, go relax, enjoy your vacation and we’ll see you when you get back. Just remember that if you’re doing something and your heart hurts – stop. So the next couple of days are spent making arrangements for the operation on our return, medical leave from work. We also found time to stop by a car dealer and buy me a new car before we left. We spent two glorious weeks in Cancun with our good friends, making new ones, and getting relaxed for what was in store upon out return. Lots of positive support from everyone I ran into. I left with no doubt that whatever came my way I could handle it and prevail. So we get back home about 2 AM on Sunday, clean out the old car and go in Monday to pick up the new one. 5 AM Tuesday we’re back at the hospital checking in for my single bypass. Now the Surgeon said that he was going to try and work up under the rib cage to keep from having to crack my ribs and take an artery from my right pectoral muscle rather than a vein from somewhere else. Positives to all this is that they wouldn’t have to crack my ribs, wouldn’t have to cut me in two places and the artery is build better that a vein for handling the pressure from the heart. That was what he was going to try but he assured me that the most important thing that my heart being fixed was his number one priority. So no matter what they had to do that would be the final outcome. Well as it turns out he was able to take the easier way but took a little longer than he planned. I was in there for 6 ½ hours, which to me passed in the blink of an eye. So Tuesday afternoon I was sitting on the side of my bed. Wednesday I was up walking around and spending about half my day in a chair out of bed. By Thursday night all the tubes, IVs and oxygen were off and out of me. So it looked like I’d be heading home on Friday. But before I went, I had one last task not mentioned up to this point. If they had mentioned it I probably would have accomplished it by now because I was meeting or surpassing everything they wanted me to do. But no one had mention this last item but it had to be accomplished. I had to take a bowl movement before I could go home. All that stands between me and home is a good shit. I don’t know about you, but I can’t shit on demand. Well we have stuff to help you…. So I had to bend over and take it like a man. But I did, twice and was duly rewarded so I got to go home. Since I’ve been home the improvements have continued and I’m up to walking a little more than 2 miles a day. I’ve lost at least 10 pounds from before I went to Cancun and am putting together my future exercise program. I have an appointment with my Surgeon on Wednesday of next week and we go from there. Again I attribute a lot of my recovery to the prayers and well wishes sent by my extended family. It does help and it does make a difference. So if you get a chance to support someone else in the future, please don’t hesitate. I know I won’t! See you all again in 2010. We’ll be back with a vengeance! Jamie
Jamie, it sounds like you had a "shitty" time getting home from the hospital. You know we had to look after the Mayor. Truthfully I wasn't worried about you as much as I was worried about Chris worrying about you. You are a tough old bird but Chris was wearing herself really thin. Anyway we are glad everything worked out great. Tell Chris thanks for trusting me to keep an eye on you during our trip. Continue your recovery and keep in touch. Yes we are starting to see a lot of our Cancun friends as extended family and try to stay in contact with them throughout the year. Take care now Uncle Jamie. :shock: Dale and Cherri PS I'm working on your pictures. I'll send them soon.
Jamie..Glad to hear your getting better as each day goes by. looking forward to seeing you and Chris next year. Take care!
The thought of you walking around in high heels gives me chest pain. :shock: Seriously, Suz and I are really happy that everything is going so well for you. We are getting to the age where things sometimes happen that cause us to take stock of our lives and kind of re-define what is really important. I'm glad that you made it through it all and will be back stronger than ever. Hopefully we can see you again next May. Continued prayers for the rest of your recovery! Tell Chris we are proud of her too - I'm sure it hasn't been easy for her either. Firm & Suz
Jamie, Keep plugging Big Guy. Glad you are doing well. One of these days we hope to meet up with you in Cancun or elsewhere. Exercise well and take care of yourself. I have to keep my TTR Pics group together!
Wow Jamie, your courage (and Chris' too) is inspiring! Please thank her for keeping us informed. Sometimes in life it's about the journey, but this time it's about the destination. I'm so glad thad you have safely arrived!! :daveandmo: Looking forward to the next time we can get together. Take care. George and Debbie
