Lists

The past month has found me drowning in lists of things to do. Mental lists and paper lists, it seems I've been just swimming in details.

List of things to do at work before holiday shutdown
List of things to do for work during holiday shutdown
List of Christmas gifts to buy and wrap
List of Christmas goodies to make
List of groceries to buy in order to make Christmas goodies
List of things to do over holiday shutdown (personal appts as well as yes, some recreation)
List of things to do for Tony Co (aka CompuLogic) before year-end
List of doctor appointments to schedule for January
List of things to do at work the first three weeks in January (closing out 2005, getting 2006 up and running, preparing for my leave of absence)
List of people I want to email - some I get around to, but too many I don't

Some of the lists are now completed, while others remain outstanding. As I work my way through them, I do feel the weight of all the details lessening a little; things start to come into sharper focus as the flow of To Do's subsides a little.

Luckily, it seems that one event has escaped the whirlwind detail frenzy that has been consuming me lately. New Year's Eve is tomorrow and Tony and I are planning our traditional New Year's Extravaganza(!!). Somehow, things are falling into place nicely without me sweating any of the details. I'm glad for this, as the last thing I need right now is another list. Maybe New Year's is going to be the oasis in the middle of these two chaotic months for me. I can definitely handle that!

Have a Happy New Year!!
:-)

Perfect Timing!

My Chocolate-Covered Caramel Corn arrived today!!!!!

:-)

(reference previous post "Chocolate-Covered Caramel Corn", 11/8/05)

D-Day 2006

Okay, not D-Day, more like HVR Day. I've scheduled my heart valve replacement for Monday, January 23. Bright and early - gotta be there at 5:45 and then surgery at 7:30. Tony's not going to like having to get up so early - that's the sort of thing which could really throw his day off. ;-)

Glad I don't have to stay over in the hospital the night before (creepy!) but it seems odd to go into this "cold" without the overnight monitoring (or whatever they'd be doing to me if I were there).

The doctors and staff all seem so casual about open heart surgery... like it's no big deal. Which, to them, it really isn't; they're professionals, this is what they do, and they know that the risks to the patient are low. I'm glad for this confidence, and it doesn't come off as arrogant at all, purely self-assurance in what they do. Which gives me peace of mind to put myself in their hands.

However, I did get the feeling that I was scheduling to take my car in for service -- "Drop her off first thing Monday morning, leave her with us a few days, we'll have her up and running and back on the road by Friday".

Alcohol + Surgery = ????

Two scenarios:

1 - Tony is NOT allowed to be at the bar while I'm in surgery. That's just a non-negotiable, no matter how much he begs.

2 - I will be on blood thinners (aka - no alcohol consumption) for three months after surgery.
Let's see.... surgery late-January, three months will take me to February, March, April....

Mark your calendars now for Cinco de Mayo - 2006!!
Better show up early; once I'm out of the gate, there's no telling how long I'll last.

Alas, my poor heart

I've always had a heart murmur. By definition, my congenital heart defects were present at birth. Chronologically, in order of correction: holes in my heart as a newborn, coarctation (narrowing) of the aorta as a pre-teen, and now stenotic (narrowed) aortic valve. As one of my aunts lovingly described me at a gathering this summer "She was born all messed up." Thanks, Aunt _____, I'm taking that with a grain of salt. ;-)

However, I've been lucky never to have experienced a moment of symptoms or limitations as a result. The holes in my heart at birth corrected themselves (I guess this condition isn't entirely uncommon in newborns and most often the heart can heal itself as it continues to develop in early infancy). The two more permanent defects are related to my aorta and aortic valve.

The aorta is the main artery leaving the heart and feeding the entire body (with oxygen-rich blood straight from the lungs). The aortic valve is the gateway from the left ventricle to the aorta. My narrowed aorta was repaired when I was 12; my aortic valve will be replaced next month. Apparently, these two defects often travel as a couple, which makes sense - they're both in the same general area and if that part of the heart hasn't developed properly it stands to reason they'll both be affected. I was comforted to see that the treatment I've been receiving seems pretty textbook (aorta repaired pre-teen and valve replaced later in adulthood).

Back to the murmur.... I've always known I had a heart murmur, but it wasn't until .. oh, about a year and a half ago, that I really and truly understood the uniqueness of my heartbeat (resulting from my defective valve). At my annual OB/GYN appt (of all places!) last year, I finally heard a side-by-side comparison of my heartbeat and a "normal" heartbeat. Wow! That was an eye-opener!

If a normal heartbeat is ba-bump ba-bump ba-bump, then mine would be more like ba-swoosh ba-swoosh ba-swoosh. Definitely not "normal"!

Well, after the dust from my doctor/surgeon appts this summer settled, and a course of action (valve replacement) was planned, it dawned on me that my heartbeat will be altered as a result. How weird to think of something so elemental to your existence as being changed! Not wanting to miss out on what was happening to my body, I went out and dropped a few bucks and picked myself up a shiny new stethoscope.

Now I (and anyone else with an interest or curiosity) can hear my heartbeat any old time. And then next year listen again and see how it's changed. [enter pig valve oink/squeal joke here]

mmm....Flannels!

I love my flannel sheets!! My husband isn't too crazy about them (he's basically a human furnace, though, so the added warmth isn't welcomed by him). I tend to run a little warm myself but crawling into a cold bed is just not fun. And I do love cozying down under all the covers in the winter.

I'm taking advantage of this week by putting the flannels on the bed. Hey, what he doesn't know won't hurt him.

I love my flannel sheets!!

Bread and water, again?

Thinking ahead to my up-coming stint at St Joe's, do you think they let patients register at the hospital gift shop?

Yesterday I was admiring some of the goodies in the Oakwood Hospital gift shop window (we were visiting Tony's grandma -- she'll be okay, just had some nasty side effects to being taken off her blood pressure medication cold-turkey). As we passed the gift shop window, several things caught my eye - the oversized teddy bear dressed for the holidays, the snack basket (complete with a can of Pringles and a box of Whopper's), along with all the usual hospital gift shop staples (flowers, cards, stuffed animals, etc).

I'm not sure if registering is the way to go, but I expect I'll be extremely appreciative of any edible contraband smuggled in via family and friends as they visit me (once I'm allowed "solids" of course). I'm sure I'll be limited to standard hospital fare while at St Joe's (although I hear hospital cuisine has been making major advancements in the past few years). Double whammy to me, I'll be recuperating in a cardiac care unit so I'm sure I'll be facing more than my fair share of sugar-free, sodium-free, caffeine-free whatever.

Not like I'll feel up for any gourmet multi-course meals those first few post-surgical days, however. But the occasional curly fry, or bite of a roast beef sandwich (complete with Arby's AND Horsey sauces, of course) might just lift my spirits more than low-sodium chicken broth with a sugar-free clear jello chaser.