Getting Better

It's been five and a half weeks since my surgery (I can't decide if time is flying by or creeping by - it's sort of a combination). I had a series of doctor appointments this week and things are looking better. Tuesday we saw the kidney specialist, then my primary care doctor; Wednesday we met with my surgeon.

The kidney specialist thought things were looking good but she was hesitant to give a glowing report. A couple of levels were high (like protein) but she assumes that was just a temporary abnormality from the sample that was tested. I had additional lab work done before I left and will see her again in three months to have an ultrasound of my kidneys so she can get better information. What we learned is that kidney damage, to some extent, is permanent. Yes, the kidneys can repair themselves, but that will leave scar tissue which can still inhibit performance. Looks like blood sugar and blood pressure will be something I'll need to keep my eye on from here on out as they both can lead to further kidney damage if the levels get too high.

The visit with my primary care doctor went very well. I've been wearing a pedometer since coming home from the hospital, but my walking has just been around the house, going out to eat, or quick grocery trips with Tony. No walking for exercise yet. But the time has come and Dr S wants me to try some dedicated walking - outside or in the mall. Her recommendation is to try to do a full lap of the mall - if it takes me an hour, it takes me an hour. I'm going to start this today - Tony and I'll head up to the mall later, do some walking, then grab lunch.

Then on Wednesday, we started the morning bright and early at St Joe's where I had an echocardiogram, then a visit with my surgeon - everything related to the surgery looks terrific. Dr K seemed very excited (beyond the valve replacements, he'd made a couple other corrections while he was in there). There's still some fluid around my heart, but it's nothing at all of concern to him. As far as he's concerned, my cardiac recovery is 100% and there's no need to schedule any additional follow-ups (although next week I do check in with my cardiologist).

I'm looking forward to the walking - at first it's going to be hard (just don't feel I have the energy and my legs do get weak if I'm up too long) but I'm hoping after a couple days the activity will start feeding my energy level. I know my body was zapped by the post-surgical complications and the week in ICU, but it's also been over a month since I've asked my muscles to perform beyond the bare minimum. Maybe it is time to start pushing myself a little. I'll let you know how it goes. :-)