I wanted to give an update on perspective with my heart and getting better related to the Very Bad Santa Crawl last night.
This time last year, I was very very ill...I parked across the street from where they were meeting, walked about 25 yards and was gasping, feeling sick, and could barely stay 30 mins. In May, we had our high school reunion and we parked about two blocks away.
It was 2 1/2 months out from my surgery and I could walk it, but barely.
And it was a hard, quivering heart feeling climbing one flight of stairs. 9 months after surgery, I'm still pretty slow, but I could keep up with the other people walking, could stand and talk to friends, and walk back to the car in pretty good energy. ♥
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Help Lei Lani with medical bills from open-heart surgery!
Here's the link to help donate for medical bills! If you feel it in your heart to help, please do! I'm trying to raise $850 for the cost of my insurance this month and price of cardiac rehab. If you'd like to donate more, you can donate to cajunhearts@gmail.com. Heaux heaux heaux!
Cardiac rehab Thanksmas party!
We had our Cardiac Rehab Phase 3 Thanksmas Lunch today. In true rehab style, we had to work out first before all the delicious (bad for the heart, good for the soul) food! No matter - it was great, and I am lucky to be in a group that has such talented cooks. Notice that the plastic silverware was my contribution. ♥ ♥
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Nine months since surgery!
A little late with this one, but 01 Dec. made 9 months out from my surgery! I still get pretty worn down, but it's less so. I still have cognitive problems, but I can get through them. I still have heart flutters, but that's just it shimmying...waiting on the heart monitor results. And I'll be going back to Cleveland in Jan instead of December. And I'm still feeling like there's a long way to go, but that there's a long history behind me. Here's the link to the surgeon who performed my surgery. I just finished an email from someone on a valve message board asking what he was like.
Clearly his accomplishments are great, but what I remember most is that I asked for a sedative the night before the surgery to calm my nerves...and he told me - they fact that /I'm/ the one doing your surgery should be all the re-assurance you need. And it was, a truly comforting thorugh to know that it would be ok and that he hada lot of skill are exactly what helped catapult me back to life. ♥ ♥
http://www.clevelandclinic.org/thoracic/surgeons/Pettersson_Bio.htm
Dr. Gosta Pettersson is Vice Chairman of the Cleveland Clinic Department of Thoracic & Cardiovascular Surgery and Surgical Director of Lung Transplantation. He is board certified by the European Board of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. His professional interests include acquired heart disease (including aneurysms of the thoracic aorta), reconstructive valve surgery, and heart and lung transplantation. He has a special interest in reoperations, endocarditis, complex coronary artery surgery, aortic and mitral valve repair/replacement (including homografts and the Ross procedure), and adult congenital heart surgery. He is an experienced congenital heart surgeon now pursuing this interest in adults.
A native of Sweden, Dr. Pettersson received his medical training at the University of Gothenburg, where he also undertook his Ph.D. studies and defended his thesis. After completing a clinical and research fellowship in the Department of Surgery at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago, Dr. Pettersson served as a staff surgeon in the Department of Thoracic Surgery of Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, Sweden. Subsequently, Dr. Pettersson became a Professor of Thoracic Surgery at the University of Copenhagen and Chief Surgeon in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the State University Hospital Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen. While preparing for the transfer to the Cleveland Clinic, he was Chief Surgeon at the Private Hospital Hamlet in Copenhagen during 1998. He was appointed "expert" in matters concerning cardiothoracic surgery, including heart and lung transplantation, by medical authorities in Sweden and Denmark. He is licensed to practice medicine in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
A recipient of numerous awards, Dr. Pettersson has held guest professorships in China, the United States (Boston, Albany), and Romania. Dr. Pettersson is an extensively published expert on the Ross procedure, surgical treatment of endocarditis, and lung transplantation. Among his more than 200 published works are book chapters, journal articles, abstracts and scientific papers on a variety of topics related to his specialty interests. He serves as chairman of the Endocarditis Working Group of the International Society for Chemotherapy, a group of leading surgeons formulating recommendations for the surgical treatment of endocarditis.
An invited lecturer to many national and international conferences, Dr. Pettersson’s presentations include topics ranging from bronchial artery revascularization in lung and heart-lung transplantation to biological tissue in the treatment of aortic valve disease. He serves on the OPTN/UNOS Thoracic Organ Transplantation Committee for Region 10.
Dr. Pettersson holds memberships in more than 20 scientific societies including the American Association for Thoracic Surgery, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the European Association for Cardiothoracic Surgery, the Society of Heart Valve Disease, and the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation.
When time permits, Dr. Pettersson enjoys skiing, hunting, and horseback riding
Clearly his accomplishments are great, but what I remember most is that I asked for a sedative the night before the surgery to calm my nerves...and he told me - they fact that /I'm/ the one doing your surgery should be all the re-assurance you need. And it was, a truly comforting thorugh to know that it would be ok and that he hada lot of skill are exactly what helped catapult me back to life. ♥ ♥
http://www.clevelandclinic.org/thoracic/surgeons/Pettersson_Bio.htm
Dr. Gosta Pettersson is Vice Chairman of the Cleveland Clinic Department of Thoracic & Cardiovascular Surgery and Surgical Director of Lung Transplantation. He is board certified by the European Board of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. His professional interests include acquired heart disease (including aneurysms of the thoracic aorta), reconstructive valve surgery, and heart and lung transplantation. He has a special interest in reoperations, endocarditis, complex coronary artery surgery, aortic and mitral valve repair/replacement (including homografts and the Ross procedure), and adult congenital heart surgery. He is an experienced congenital heart surgeon now pursuing this interest in adults.
A native of Sweden, Dr. Pettersson received his medical training at the University of Gothenburg, where he also undertook his Ph.D. studies and defended his thesis. After completing a clinical and research fellowship in the Department of Surgery at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago, Dr. Pettersson served as a staff surgeon in the Department of Thoracic Surgery of Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, Sweden. Subsequently, Dr. Pettersson became a Professor of Thoracic Surgery at the University of Copenhagen and Chief Surgeon in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the State University Hospital Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen. While preparing for the transfer to the Cleveland Clinic, he was Chief Surgeon at the Private Hospital Hamlet in Copenhagen during 1998. He was appointed "expert" in matters concerning cardiothoracic surgery, including heart and lung transplantation, by medical authorities in Sweden and Denmark. He is licensed to practice medicine in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
A recipient of numerous awards, Dr. Pettersson has held guest professorships in China, the United States (Boston, Albany), and Romania. Dr. Pettersson is an extensively published expert on the Ross procedure, surgical treatment of endocarditis, and lung transplantation. Among his more than 200 published works are book chapters, journal articles, abstracts and scientific papers on a variety of topics related to his specialty interests. He serves as chairman of the Endocarditis Working Group of the International Society for Chemotherapy, a group of leading surgeons formulating recommendations for the surgical treatment of endocarditis.
An invited lecturer to many national and international conferences, Dr. Pettersson’s presentations include topics ranging from bronchial artery revascularization in lung and heart-lung transplantation to biological tissue in the treatment of aortic valve disease. He serves on the OPTN/UNOS Thoracic Organ Transplantation Committee for Region 10.
Dr. Pettersson holds memberships in more than 20 scientific societies including the American Association for Thoracic Surgery, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the European Association for Cardiothoracic Surgery, the Society of Heart Valve Disease, and the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation.
When time permits, Dr. Pettersson enjoys skiing, hunting, and horseback riding
Friday, November 30, 2012
Day 30 of thanks: going the distance
Day 30 of thanks: going the distance. Somewhere along the line I quit counting weeks out from my surgery and it hit me this race might be longer than I planned ...and that is pretty sweet. The sun has gone down and the loom has gone up and long ago somebody left with the cup.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Day 28 of thanks: Two hearts
Day 28 of thanks: two thumb prints make a heart aka another human being's pulmonary valve inside of me. It's not something I try to think about too deeply because I just can't. I might never be able to. I think about it every day though. And it's weird.
Friday, September 21, 2012
Have a Heart Fund Raiser!
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https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/send-money-online
email address: leilanimichel@gmail.com
You can also send a check to:
Lei Lani Michel
PO Box 2587
Reserve LA 70084
Every little bit helps! All of it goes to medical bills.
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