3 graduations, 3 weddings - 6 blankets

 This Summer is full of celebrations.  There were 3 graduations: 

The college patch quilts are deconstructed sweatshirts with a fleece backing.

Lauren Krueger my children's 2nd cousin.  She graduated from UWM.

 Sean is Matthew's best friend.  His alma mater is MSOE.

My niece Tiera graduated from Germantown High School.  The quill-o is in Germantown Blue.

Sophia and Tyler married June 16. The quilt below is tied in a double loft for extra warmth.

Cassie and Matthew married August 4.  This is the memory quilt with 36 patches.  There are a variety of methods used.  The backing is primarily fabrics left from sewing projects of Cassie's childhood.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amanda and Brett will marry September 1. Above is the quilt for their wedding gift.

Pulmonary Heart Valve Replacement 1 year out

May 31 2012 I realized the next day was the one year anniversary of my pulmonary heart valve replacement surgery.  It hit me a like a two by four to the back of my head.  Totally out of the blue. There was the line in the sand for healing.   I was told it would take a year to see the results from the surgery.  I was no where near where I anticipated being when I left the hospital.  My one year goal was to run a 5 K.  This was not possible.

So, I did what any rational 56 year old woman would do.  I asked my husband if he knew what tomorrow was.  He did what any man working months of OT would do.  He said Friday.

I packed a gym bag on my way out the door Friday am.  There was  a note left on the kitchen table saying I would be back on Sunday.  After work I headed to Crystal Falls.  Larry called at 9 pm and to find out where I was.  He thought there was some in-patient hospital testing to be done.  After I explained I was hiding out for the weekend he told me to do what I needed to do and was looking forward to my return on Sunday.

The weekend gave me an opportunity to think through why I had not met my goal.  It was because I had 3 cases of bronchitis since last Summer.  I tried to do too much and injured myself: hip bursitis, blisters, shin splints, knee strain, heal pain... Notice, none of these limitations had anything to do with my heart.  

 My Summer weekly activities include ~ 3 miles of walking a day.  1 - 2 weekly yoga classes and I joined one of the company volley ball teams.  I am limited with the volley ball because it is hard to gage the location of the ball wearing bifocals.  Now I know.  Again, these are the activities of a healthy person.

4th of July shut down time off was spent in Crystal Falls putting together a memory quilt for my daughter and her new husband (more about that in a later post).  No air conditioning.  90°F+ and humid.  My time was spent at the sewing machine and on the floor laying out what developed into 36 patches and ~ 90" X 90" textile art project.  This was the first time in my life I was hot and drippy and functional.  I was even able to plant all the transplants my sister filled the back seat of my car with.  (So far the deer have not deemed them worthy of browsing.)

The medical pros did not understand why I was not happy with my physical progress when I saw them for a 1 year check up.   The cardiologist was so thrilled he called in an additional Fellow to view my one year test results.  My EKG went from a bump with a small spike to a line with a razor sharp spike with each heart beat.  Such things of athletes.  

The right atrium expansion caused by overworking to keep the blood on the other side of the failed pulmonary valve had reduced by 50%.  Think expanded balloon and the result when air is let out.  It never returns to it's original size.  More reduction is anticipated.  The most reduction occurs during the first year post surgery. 

This is my last posting on this topic.  My hope it has given the people who have read it a perspective of what can be anticipated should they face this physical challenge.  

May God bless you with the care, skill and love I was surrounded with.

Crystal Falls Weekend

This is the first weekend I have been back to the Crystal Falls house since Christmas. Much snow, moved by Larry's brothers before we arrived.

Cassie is walking back from the mailbox on the other side of the snow bank in the first few pictures, before she headed up the path to the house.

Sunday we took Aunt Mary out to dinner and celebrated Cassie and Matthew's engagement with her cousin Jenny and her parents. This is right after Jenny agreed to be a bridesmaid. (Matthew did not join us this weekend.)

The photo below is all the ladies, Kathy, me, Jenny, Cassie and Aunt Mary is seated.

Monday morning we woke up to below zero temperature. It was a bit nippy. The view is to the West from the kitchen. The Goose thermometer marks the temperature and I can see some of last week's snow hanging off the edge of the roof. The orange topped stake in the distance is from the survey done on the property last Fall.
There is floor space at this house for the time being. This makes it a great place to tied down quilt tops. We did almost 2 tops, and watched chick flicks all weekend. My fingers were to the point of blisters.

Marquette Marthon 2011

The 2011 Marquette Marathon / 1/2 Marathon began just before sunrise on Presque Isle. It ended much later on Presque Isle. Larry and I waited out the start of the race about 2 miles from the beginning. It was a gorgeous beginning to a gorgeous day!!

The goal was to have corresponding photos of both Matthew and Cassie at the same or similar locations along the route. This plan ended when Cassie found her wall at 18 miles and needed on the spot training from Larry. Regrettably, we missed Matthew's finish. We caught up with him at the end, after we were sure Cassie was OK. Then Larry joined Cassie a second time, around the mile 11 (21 for the marathon finish) marker and ran in with her until the chutes were visible.

The photos and videos are in chronological order so further explanation is not needed.























The end.

Pulmonary Heart Valve Replacement : 2011 - 24

Yippeee !! Cardio Rehab is over. Good job ladies who monitored me as I pushed my limits test driving my new heart valve!!!

My graduation cardio limits were impressive from contrasted to what was possible before June 1. Walking was possible at 3.4 mph (until my shins screamed). This was topped off by jogging at 4.8 mph for a full minute. The goal is to expand the jogging to a full 5K in the next 6 months and give my shins a rest.

I was in the early stages of an upper respiratory infection/allergy on my last day of rehab. I went any way and did my best to avoid the others.

Since then I have been on my own to include cardio workouts in my week and continued my established schedule substituting a workout after work at a local gym. Starting 6 days later I was not up to my normal self. I pushed through the gym anyway with 40 minutes on the treadmill at 2.8 mph. I thought it was just my muscles and blisters being babies.

The next day was yoga. The first time since June 1 it was just yoga and not cardio with yoga to follow.

Friday I was wiped to the point of needing a 3 hour nap after work and then I could not walk a flight of steps without having problems breathing. The breaths did not feel effective. Anything snug around my chest felt too constricting. I was thinking the upper respiratory infection had developed into pneumonia or bronchitis.

In essence, all the physical challenges that went away with the surgery were back. I drank a large Wendy's root beer to see if it would clear any mucus. It is rare that I drink soda. This much sugar at once should have given me a major burst of enery. I took a hot shower to see if there was any mucus to clear. It made the symptoms worse. I was still out of breath and fatigued to the point of tears.

I called the office of my general practitioner. Her service contacted a nurse who contacted my doctor who directed me to go to the emergency room of the hospital where the surgery was done. Phil was the driver at 10:30 pm.

The result was I am physically fine based on the tests run. My X-ray was improved over the last one taken June 7. I would hope so. The 'fatique' could probably/possibly be the result of the upper respiratory infection and I was to reframe from extra activity for the weekend to allow myself to heal. This is to be followed up by a call to my general practitioner on Monday.

Lots of napping yesterday between weekend cleaning. Stripped the bed and moved it to clean the floor. Took a nap on the porch swing. Moved the kitchen table and swept the floor. Took a nap on the sofa. Cleaned the bedroom floor. Took a nap on the porch swing. Made the bed and scrubbed 1/2 the kitchen floor. Back to the sofa. Finished the kitchen. Ran local errands. One more nap on the porch swing.

Today are the weekly bills to pay and more naps to take.

Last night was a blast from my past. It was one extra beat in my heart. Just one. I thought everything was going well and it was just a matter of bringing the rest of my body up to the same level of health as my heart. This begs some further investigation and a better job of reading my body.

Pulmonary Heart Valve Replacement : 2011 - 23

Good Morning!!

It is now 11+ weeks post surgery. I am over half way through cardio rehab and one week into wearing the heart monitor sent by the rhythm cardiologist.

Things are happening, very subtle things. It is no longer the drama of immediate post surgery. I have not been writing because of that. The thought process led me to post because the focus of this blog was/is to walk someone through what it is like to go through the pulmonary heart valve replacement. That includes 11 + weeks out.

Last week I had a 20 second melt down while mourning the people I never met with the same valve that needed replacing and never received the proper diagnosis to treat it. It is frustrating to realize a diagnosis is all that stands between living and dieing. The doctors I have had conversations with outside of cardiology do not know the symptoms of pulmonary heart valve failure. Two of my prior cardiologists missed the diagnosis. It is so fixable. It is so missed by those who should be the first line of discovery.

Cardio rehab is an interesting melting pot of people recovering from more forms of cardiac trauma than I knew existed. It is interesting to listen to how each person got to the program. No two stories are alike.

Cardio rehab has me discovering what it is like to use muscles that have been dormant because my heart was not able to support activity. My one advantage is the yoga: balance, strength and muscles. The major challenge I am having with cadio rehab is skeletal below my waist. The worst of it is between my toes and ball of foot and shin (shin splints). Today I will go to a local running shoe store to see if there is a cross training / walking shoe that will help me through the rebuilding of these muscle groups. On the positive side, years of non use means the wear and tear expected on someone of my age is not there.

Cardio rehab is an hour of monitored execise. 35 minutes split between 2 pieces of cardio equipment. These are tread mill with elevation changes, stationary bike, recumbant bike with handles and a stair climber. This is followed with stretching, free weights and cool down. All is documented via electrodes and a portable heart monitor.

The heart monitor arrived last week I have been wearing it 24 / 7 for a week. I will have to wear it until September 10. It is to verify if I have any atrial fibulation, now that I have been off Amiodorone for a while. So far the only time the monitor has gone off I have had an electrode malfunction.

There are 3 kinds of electrodes. Two kinds came with the monitor. The kind I was started out with slips off when I exercise. It is supposed to be good to use for up to 3 days. That is not happening if I am to continue cardio exercise. The other kind 'red dot' is for active people. It sticks really well.

The location of one of the electrodes is on the left side of my chest on the lowest rib. This is also new skin based on last year's radiation. The 'red dot' electrode is too sticky for this area. It became raw.

So.. a telephone call to the monitor people to ask if I could change the location of the electrode while my skin healed. (They will also be sending me a supply of hypo-alergetic electrodes.) I was told dropping the electrode location an inch below my rib was fine. I did that and the monitor went off every time I stood up or sat down because I wear the monitor clipped to my waistband, right over the recently dropped electrode. This was discovered at work and the only back up electrodes I had with me were the 'red dot's.

The plan is to wear the blue electrodes, replace when they slip off and only use the waist clip during the day. At night I will sleep with the monitor on the lariete around my neck and the monitor semi immobilized with a snug tank top.

The new electrodes just arrived. Now I have to figure out a new plan. 'Will let you know how this goes.

Pulmonary Heart Valve Replacement : 2011 - 22

Friday July 15, 2011:

The company nurse responded to my email to return to work. I have to be checked out by the company doctor. He is not available until Tuesday afternoon, next week. That puts me returning to work on the following day. They also want a list of the medicines I am taking. That has been sent via email.

I saw my cardiology rhythm doctor on Wednesday. Great news. I went into the appointment with the intention of coming out of the appointment with a plan for reducing/eliminating Amiodorone from my morning Rx list. There were a number of options presented by the doctor. I chose the option to stop taking it immediately. It is to de-tox from my system over the next month. A heart monitor will be sent via mail to wear for the subsequent 30 days with a followup appointment in mid September to determine if the elimination is to be permament.

Amiodorone is used to over-ride atrial fibulation. This is a common side effect of the surgery I had. The doctor said for ~70% of the people who have this after surgery it goes away. I hope I am one of the 70%.

Amiodorone has side effects that warrant a size 14 font - 3 page explanation of side effects. Lliver damage, heart damage, eye damage, skin discoloration into the blue/grey spectrum. It is a drug used when NEEDED and stopped ASAP.

I am now physically beyond where I have been for a long time. It is amazing what I can do. Yesterday I did a triple event in the afternoon after a full day. Cardiac rehab., where I went beyond the limit of Wednesday. I am now mid-aim for cardiac rate..... Rehab. was immediately followed by yoga in a nearby town. This was the first time since before the surgery. I have to go carefully while my breast bone is healing. Everything else is where I left it. In fact.... my core muscles and breathing are stronger than before. (Could it be that spiro-blah-blah-blah-ometer?) Then on to the church league softball game.

The photo is a dry run for a cooking contest in late September. Red and green can come across as Christmas-y. I think it works.

My recipe has been chosen as a finalist. The theme is 'add cranberries, add zing'. I put together the display for the contest on a day there were no cranberries in the house. The photo will be printed off so I have something to go by on the day of the contest. A red fork will be used for consistency in the competition.

The crackers were made from whole wheat tortillas cut with cookie cutters and toasted in a dry fry pan. I'm thinking cranberries frozen in ice cubes, floating in a cup of 7-up. The recipe is to be guarded until after the competition.

The plan is to post a follow-up to the September medical checks.

Updated 9/25/11
The cooking contest came and went on Friday September 23. I actually placed!!! 3rd place earned a $50 savings bond donated by the local bank and a sauce pan donated by the local distributor.

Here is the recipe:
15 oz can of white beans rinsed and drained
4.5 -5oz can of tuna in olive oil.... DO NOT DRAIN
1 1/2 C chopped celery
1/2 C dried cranberries
1/2 C chopped onion (Medium)
1/8 t black pepper
1/4 - 1/2 t salt
juice of 1 lemon
Toss all ingredients together and serve immediately, or refrigerate until ready to serve. Best eaten the same day made.