Clean bill of health (finally)!

It dawns on me that I haven't made a general post about my health and post-op recovery in quite a while. So here goes...

I'm back to working full-time (as of this week) and I definitely feel up to it. The last few weeks have found me feeling better and better, having more energy, and starting to establish (and maintain this time) a regular exercise routine. I'm walking a mile on my treadmill three times a week (with a dab of jogging thrown in here and there) and swimming for 40 minutes once a week. Both activities are enjoyable for me and I feel good just getting back to them. I think my biggest obstacle right now is that I'm out of shape from four months of not being up for a regular exercise routine.

Over the last couple weeks I had several doctor appts (kidney specialist, cardiac echo, and my primary care doc). Just routine follow-ups that were scheduled three months ago; I've been having no difficulties. The word from all three docs is WONDERFUL! The kidney specialist (after reviewing all my current test results) kept asking why I was even there to see him since everything looked so good. Apparently my type of kidney failure generally recovers completely (assuming you make it through the event that caused the kidney failure in the first place).

So you can all hold onto your kidneys, as I won't be having to hit anyone up for a kidney any time soon. I already told my brother he's off the hook. Isn't it siblings that you generally hear about as being donors?

My primary care doc and I had a nice little chat during my visit - again, strictly a routine follow-up so nothing too heavy was discussed. She LOVES my new patchwork purse by the way! If I'd have been thinking I would have asked her to write me a note for Tony indicating that the purse(s) purchase was medically necessitated - "Please excuse Christine for buying two Coach purses. She's been ill following surgery and deserved to treat herself".

The echo was just this week and seemed to go very well. The tech was young (mid to late 20's I'd say) and chatty, but overall the best tech I've had for an echo. We talked about my surgery and complications (she was duly impressed). She was also impressed with the amount of work Dr K had done on my heart during the surgery. I told her that he had planned on doing what he could while he was in there (he ended up replacing the two valves (Ross Procedure), fixing my tricuspid valve and repairing my aorta). She looked at my chart and nodded saying "well, they definitely did 'while we're in here'!".

So everything has worked itself out for the better. My blood sugar results continue to indicate that I am not diabetic (not even close) and I've been told to put my glucometer in the closet. My iron is continuing to increase. Dr S is starting to wean me off one of my blood pressure medications. Any lingering concerns I had have pretty much been eliminated after these recent appts. It's good to have such encouraging news and a clean bill of health just four months after my surgery. :-)