Open Heart/Bypass Surgery

Great to hear from you again @John292 .
Just hang on… be patient… everything comes back to normal slowly… as your sleep.
No appetite? No problem, just remember to drink a lot… I mean A LOT !

:crossed_fingers:

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Prayers up for your mom!!

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Resurrecting this thread with an update.

I met with my Cardiologist a couple weeks ago and despite the first Cardiothoracic surgeon saying I am not operable, my Cardiologist disagrees. He referred me to another surgeon, and I met with him at the end of last week. He said I have looked at your images and I believe I can help you. The surgery will not be “ideal”, but it will be better than what you have today. That’s about all he got to say as his emergency alarm went off and he had to go. My wife and I spent close to an hour discussing the proposed procedure with his assistant that is actually the person performing surgery “harvesting” a vein from the leg while the cardiothoracic surgeon is opening up the chest. The procedure is to graft a mammary artery as well as the leg vein as far down the LAD (aka widow maker) as possible. The other end of the vein will be grafted into the aorta. The reason it is not ideal is because my LAD is diseased the entire length. Surgery is scheduled for November 16.

Many people that know me are shocked this is the condition I am in. They are shocked because I have never been overweight, I have lifted weights and run my entire adult life (I have a few weight lifting trophies), never smoked, ate a healthy diet, and do not drink excessively. It all comes down to genetics – some have good ones, I don’t. BTW, I am 65.

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@Gary_H,
I will be praying for you brother and will be declaring a supernatural healing from this condition and you will have a successful surgery and a quick recovery. In Jesus name. Amen

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Hold hard my friend. We’re all pulling for you!

Cheers,

Craig6

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So what you’re saying is there’s no upside to living a healthy life and I should start just eating steaks and burgers covered in butter?

Seriously though, I most sincerely hope you come through it OK and are back on the range quickly! 65 is too damn young.

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Hey @Gary_H thanks for the update! An important lesson in life is you can do everything right and still get the wrong outcome. I’m glad there is new hope though and will be sending prayers and positive thoughts your way!

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I had the same thing happen to me on the second triple bypass. The first surgeon would not do the procedure and we went to another and he says there was no problem. Number one heart hospital in South Carolina at the time and also in the top 4 % in the nation. This was in 2012. The first triple lasted 16 years. This was also genetics.

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Gary- H,
Last year in April 2020 My wife made me go because I had heart burn and being a stubborn old Marine I agreed. Five days later after a Quad Bi-pass I feel great now back to doing pushups and working out. But the first few weeks were hard. lots of TV time and holding chest while coughing. The doc did say if you had not listen to your wife I would have been dead in a few days. So get it done if needed.
Semper Fi

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Glad to hear it all worked out for you @Richard396 !

I’m looking forward to making it past the chest hugging stage! They gave me a heart shaped pillow to hug while coughing just so I can look extra pathetic;) But the pillow does help a little.

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Got six bypasses on Tuesday. Moved out of the ICU into the step-down this afternoon. It was great to get a shower, but still feel like a truck ran over me!

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Rest now and wait, it gets better. I had 6 bypasses at age 39 and I decided maybe I wasn’t invulnerable. Of course its 16 years later and maybe I am.:joy::joy: I have always worked hard and never had weight issues, no bad cholesterol, no problems with BP. Bad genes and I have talked with my grandmother, who immediately said it was my grandfathers fault.:thinking: Unfortunately I have chronic issues that are kicking my @$$, but all you can do is press on. If you don’t decide to have good days, you might not have many, so be positive and know your not alone.

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Congrats on the move to step down! One step closer to home! Wishing you a smooth and speedy recovery!

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I don’t know how you kept posting as much as you did through recovery :+1:

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My fingers were the only part of me that didn’t hurt😉

Just take it slow and don’t let the bumps in the road get you down. Since you avoided the added complication of being dead for 25 minutes before your procedure I suspect your recovery will go a little smoother then mine has!

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@Shamrock I am glad you are recovering and doing better. God bless you brother.

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Glad you’re doing better. Rest, rest and more rest.
We are the old guard, God help those that live on fast food.
Since my release 11/11/21 from four blocked arteries, I haven’t had a meat based meal. Or a good cup of coffee. Didn’t know they still made
image
In cardio rehab now.

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Seven weeks out and my physical therapy/cardio rehab clinic cut me loose :slightly_frowning_face:
Left on my own I’m up to 20 minute sessions on the recumbent stationary bike at the gym, plus a mile and a half walk. Onward!

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Prayers up for your health. Hang in there :us:

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Thank you everyone for your prayers and support :+1:

Open heart 6 coronary artery bypass surgery was 3 weeks ago today. I am currently walking a couple of miles every day (2-3 combined sessions) and pulling up to 2250 milliliters on the Incentive Spirometer. I was able to pull up to 3000 prior to the surgery, so getting pretty close …

I have begun minimal dry-fire practice, but have not carried anything beyond pepper spray since the surgery. I cannot physically rack my 10mm pistol against the 23 pound recoil spring, but have figured out how to overcome 9mm recoil spring for chamber “empty” inspection. I am able to place my hands between my knees and use hand grip combined with pulling my knees together without flagging myself :sunglasses:

The chest was somewhat numb for several weeks. I didn’t know what a blessing that was until the feeling started coming back. The ankle on the vein donor leg is still numb – I’m really looking forward to getting feeling back in it :frowning_face:

Edit: I had lost almost 20 pounds, but have gained a couple back for a net loss of 15. I have always fought for every pound of muscle I could get and always lose weight when I cannot lift weights. I have been told I am about 6 months away from safely getting back into weight lifting. I am sure the old “muscle has memory” will kick back in, but until then I barely recognize myself in a mirror right now.

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