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

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.

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.

Have a Heart Fund Raiser!

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. 

Letting go of the illusion

Tomorrow is my last day in this phase of cardiac rehab, and it's been an emotionally and physically exhausting and motivating experience. I can now walk more than 100 yards, although slowly, and I can get around reasonably ok. I still get very very tired easily, so it's a precarious place. In May, it was super-tough to walk up a flight of stairs for my high school reunion and now I can with less effort. There's still a long way to go, and I'll go to get a stress test next week to see how my heart and lung function has improved.

I'll be entering what they call Phase 3 of cardiac rehab - it's still 3 days a week, about 2 hours each time - but now it's to concentrate on stamina and endurance with more aerobic exercises. It's such a different ballgame with congenital patients.

In a more frustrating corner of recovery, I'm also going to see if I can do cognitive therapy to help with the brain problems post-op. I'm forgetful and can tell my brain isn't doing what it's supposed to. I might not need a lot, but I want to get tested for what feels like the pump-head syndrome - but I figure it will take time for everything to come online. There's a lot of changes that are happening, and the most awesome Riki Thompson gave me such good advice this week --> let go of the illusion.

That is, let go of trying be where I think I should be or where I want to be and don't find comfort in the illusion of it...but to be present and alive in what is happening now. ♥

Hurricane Isaac - Light, heart, and tears

Here is a video I made showing the emotional feeling after Hurricane Isaac. The music is an original composition by my brother-in-law, Chris Bogen. It's peaceful and haunting, and you can see more of his work at solderkong. I'm still working through all of the emotions. Don't have the words yet.

Hurricane Isaac - LaPlace and Reserve - we believe

There are no words right now to explain the emotions surrounding the flooding of Reserve and LaPlace of St. John the Baptist Parish in south Louisiana after Hurricane Isaac. I made this video to celebrate the strength of our parish!