Home Again

Hello everyone. Kellie and I spent the last week in Georgia with her family for the Holiday's. That meant weather of 80 degrees and sunny. Sorry to my Seattle brethren....we hope you handled the winter weather. The heat of Georgia allowed me to step up my walks. At the beginning of the week I walked about 2 miles and was exhausted afterwards. By the end of the week I had no problem walking the two miles. I have definitely turned a corner over the past week and a half. I don't feel like I am "sick" anymore, although I am reminded constantly that there are still many things that I cannot do. I must keep reminding myself to be a good patient. But I really am feeling a whole lot better. We are continually amazed and how the body is capable of healing itself. Crazy! Crazy! Crazy!

I hope everyone has an excellent New Years and that 2009 starts with happiness and health. I for one will not take for granted the simplicity that is life in 2009. I will not take for granted the people that I love and I will continue to remind myself that is what is truly important. Life is short so I will live and love, take some time for myself and give what I can to those who are less fortunate. This is my resolution.

Love to all,

Steve

Snow Day

That's right this snow will not stop my rehab. Toby and I were not deterred and continued on our daily walks. However, he was much more interested in playing in the snow than walking in it. Good thing Kellie had the day off as she was in charge of wrangling the lad. My first day of Cardiac Rehab at Evergreen Hospital was scheduled for Wednesday but was cancelled due to a mysterious snow that I was unable to see. Oh well, I am capable of walking on my own. The weather was a nice break to the routine. Hopefully it hasn't caused too many issues for all of you. Stay warm, stay dry, and stay home if you can.

Take it easy,

Steve

Training Partner

A photo of my cardiac rehab training partner....Tobious Roosavelt Howard I aka. Toby! Happy Holidays!

One Month

This will be a quick update as I wrote a small novel just a couple of days ago. Today is the one month anniversary of my surgery. I cannot believe it has already been a month. Crazy! As an update of my health I will only say that I went holiday shopping at the mall with my mother this week. That's how stir crazy I am feeling.....I will do just about ANYTHING to get out of the house. Thanks mom. Anyway, just wanted to give a shout out to my friends and family for your support the past month. One month down and the rest of my life to go. How sweet it is!!!!!!!

The wind and rain did not deter me and my trusty sidekick on our walk today. However, one of my "junkyard" neighbor's tent like objects did carry through the air and nearly impaled my dog and myself. I did not see that one coming. I was sure if I was near death it would have had something to do with my heart and not a tent pole going through a main artery. Needless to say, Toby has zero interest in walking by that neighbor's driveway anymore.....he clearly feels that house is trying to kill him. Fair enough....we'll stay on the other side of the street from now on and maybe wear a helmet, body armor, and some goggles.


Take care,

Steve

Lazy Blogger...ie. ME

Rebekah this one is for you. Sorry I am such a slacker! This has been a good week for me. I was able to attend a charity function for Children's Hospital and let me say that human contact is very underrated. It was such a treat to get out of the house and speak to people again. Sorry Toby no offense intended but until you learn to speak back to me the days will continue to drag. If this does happen I might need to be committed to a different kind of hospital....if you know what I mean. I've found myself missing the normal things in the life the most. The ability to hop off the couch, grab the keys and drive to the store...what I wouldn't do to be able to do that again. Ahhhh to have goals. I'm not complaining I just hope that when this is all over I won't lose sight in the joy of the simplicity of life. If I can remember this then the entire experience will have been worth it. No doubt!

I continue to add distance to my walks and try to pound the pavement 3 to 4 times a day. It's amazing how much I look forward to these walks. I can feel my body restoring itself to health with every single step. Rebekah, it's a little bit too cold to take the shirt off and pull the spandex shorts on. So no spandex for now....sorry ladies! In all seriousness I am starting to feel much better. I am amazed everyday how the body can bounce back from such trauma. Only 3 1/2 weeks ago I was in the ICU and now I'm walking for 45 mintues to and hour everyday. Crazy!

Next week I get to start driving again. YES! In the immortal words of William Wallace, "FREEDOM"! I cannot wait. I will also be starting my cardiac rehab next Wednesday...I thought it would be this week but apparently I am not the only one in Seattle recovering from heart surgery so next week it is. It is nice to add things to do to my days. I'm starting to feel like a real person again. Thanks again to all of you for your positive thoughts and wonderful words. They do not go unnoticed.

One last thing for Rebekah.....Next week is the end of the quarter party for my ESL students. I am going to try and attend. Is there anything you'd like me to say to Abdiwalli for you? Maybe, "You are sooooooo beautiful".

Love to you all,

Steve

Tuesday October 2nd, 2008 at 7:00PM....My First Post Op Sneeze!

I'd been warned that the most painful act following this surgery would be any sort of sneeze. Despite the warning I was in no way, shape or form ready for the actually pain the usual joyous act of sneezing would cause. I was sitting on the couch enjoying an evening with my wife and mother when I felt a common itch enter my nose. I grabbed my pillow and nonchalantly pressed it to my chest as warned by others who have had the same surgery. As the sneeze slowly crept out my nose I felt the pain radiate from my chest as water leaked from my eyes. At the same time a string of four letter words spewed out my mouth......this allowed my wife and mother to fully understand the pain that felt like a volcano opening my chest and spewing lava throughout my body. Just as quickly as the sneeze had occurred it was over. It took about five minutes to gain the confidence to move from my idle position on the couch. Now I understand when others say, "they will never forget their first post op sneeze". Mine occurred Tuesday October 2nd, 2008 at 7pm and it hurt like s&*t.

With that being said I met with my cardiologists at the UW and my recovery seems to be going well. I've been hampered with an annoying little cough. Coughing doesn't hurt as bad as a sneeze but it certainly does not feel good. It's probably due to some acid reflux and possible trauma to my throat after being intibated. We had a chest x-ray taken to make sure that there is no fluid in my lungs. This is unlikely because my lungs sounded good to the doctors but it's always better to be safe than sorry. Next week I get to start my cardiac rehab therapy at Evergreen Hospital which I am excited about. Any reason to get out of the house is a huge positive in my book. As for current exercise I have increased the pace and length of my walks.

Thanks to everyone for all your thoughtfulness. To all my buddies, thank you guys so much for the gift. You guys are ridiculously generous. Have fun this weekend and I wish I could be there. Next year Howard version 2.0 will be raring to go for dudes weekend.

Take care,

Steve

Still Walking

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Kellie and myself spent the holiday at my parents house with my family. It's safe to say that I ate the least amount of turkey EVER at a Thanksgiving meal. As for myself I'm feeling pretty good for a guy who is two weeks out from heart surgery. I'm walking four to five times a day and am adding a little bit of distance every couple of days. The fresh air is good for the heart as well as my soul. I can feel the healing with each breath. I am also sleeping much better over the past week. The night sweats many people experience after surgery have finally subsided so I'm only getting up once a night. My chest and back are still sore but totally manageable. I'm taking a prescription anti-inflammatory and extra strength Tylenol at bed time. My brain is starting to work again.....I'm now able to get all my passwords straight. That was extremely frustrating....I literally couldn't even type for a couple of weeks. Thanks again for all of your support. Sorry for my spotty updating of the blog I will try my best to do better. For all intents and purposes things are going extremely well and although I would not recommend open heart surgery to everyone, it is definitely a doable experience. Love you to you all.

Steve