Back Again
Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2023 5:15 pm
An explanation why I haven't been around.
I have Afib (Atrial fibrillation) and have a pacemaker and a defibrillator in my chest. My wife has had severe Alzheimer's for over 10 years and is in a facility in Little Rock, about a hundred miles south of our farm. I spend a couple of days a week in Little Rock, staying with our younger daughter, Carolyn, and visiting (and feeding) Jane.
On August 3d I was in Carolyn's house when my defibrillator went off, BANG, BANG, BANG -- this is bad because it meant my heart went into fibrillation and had to be shocked three times. Carolyn called 911 and they took me to Baptist Hospital, which is about a mile away. After the doctors there conferred with my regular cardiologist, they recommended an ablation -- scraping away the offending cells. This is done by sending an instrument up the groin artery.
Unfortunately, they managed to puncture the wall of my heart. They cut open my chest and did emergency open heart surgery. Fortunately, however, I work out hard four mornings a week at a local gym and was strong enough to survive.
I was discharged from the hospital last Tuesday. On Wednesday I had a slew of visitors and appointments -- surgeon, Occupational Therapist, etc. On Thursday, when she got off work, Carolyn said, "Let's go out to the farm." That's about a hundred mile drive. Carolyn drove -- I'm not cleared to drive yet.
Everything was in great shape. My neighbor who's homesteading up the creek has kept the grass cut and fed the animals. Carolyn and I had business at the bank and Post Office, bought another 250 lbs of sweet feed for the horse and donkey and so on. I can now climb stairs, get in and out of bed without hand holds, and so on. The surgeon attributes my progress to my physical strength.
Helen, our oldest, and Carolyn and my baby sister, Dee Dee, have conspired to decide I'll stay with Carolyn through the winter and not move back to the farm until spring. For my part I'm going get certified to drive so I can make a couple of trips a month.
By spring I plan to be my old self again.
I have Afib (Atrial fibrillation) and have a pacemaker and a defibrillator in my chest. My wife has had severe Alzheimer's for over 10 years and is in a facility in Little Rock, about a hundred miles south of our farm. I spend a couple of days a week in Little Rock, staying with our younger daughter, Carolyn, and visiting (and feeding) Jane.
On August 3d I was in Carolyn's house when my defibrillator went off, BANG, BANG, BANG -- this is bad because it meant my heart went into fibrillation and had to be shocked three times. Carolyn called 911 and they took me to Baptist Hospital, which is about a mile away. After the doctors there conferred with my regular cardiologist, they recommended an ablation -- scraping away the offending cells. This is done by sending an instrument up the groin artery.
Unfortunately, they managed to puncture the wall of my heart. They cut open my chest and did emergency open heart surgery. Fortunately, however, I work out hard four mornings a week at a local gym and was strong enough to survive.
I was discharged from the hospital last Tuesday. On Wednesday I had a slew of visitors and appointments -- surgeon, Occupational Therapist, etc. On Thursday, when she got off work, Carolyn said, "Let's go out to the farm." That's about a hundred mile drive. Carolyn drove -- I'm not cleared to drive yet.
Everything was in great shape. My neighbor who's homesteading up the creek has kept the grass cut and fed the animals. Carolyn and I had business at the bank and Post Office, bought another 250 lbs of sweet feed for the horse and donkey and so on. I can now climb stairs, get in and out of bed without hand holds, and so on. The surgeon attributes my progress to my physical strength.
Helen, our oldest, and Carolyn and my baby sister, Dee Dee, have conspired to decide I'll stay with Carolyn through the winter and not move back to the farm until spring. For my part I'm going get certified to drive so I can make a couple of trips a month.
By spring I plan to be my old self again.
