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Hi guys –
medically, this has been a busy year. I had bariatric surgery on January 30 so I could lose enough weight to qualify to get a heart pump (LVAD). I had to show the cardiologist that I could lose the weight and I finally had to give in to having bariatric surgery. In march I had 2 AFIB attacks so I had to have an ablation surgery. At this point the cardiologist made the effort to get the heart pump surgery moved up as much as possible. I checked into the hospital on April 15th and the surgery happened on April 18th. There were a couple complications so my hospital stay was lengthed. They finally sent me to a rehab hospital with a very good staff that got some strength into my legs. I came home on July 14th so I was away from home for 3 months. I am still weak, especially in my legs, I can’t sit in low chairs because it’s hard to get out of them. The LVAD has to be connected to batteries or AC power all the time. There is a drive line from the pump that comes out of my torso and connects to a controller and two lines from the controller that go to AC or batteries. It’s kind of a pain in the ass but I’m learning to live with it. I am surprised that with the LVAD that I don’t have more strength yet, but the heart team advises me to do the PT work and I will get better, but it’s a long haul. After the bariatric surgery I got into a pretty good routine which I lost completely. Now that I’m home it’s still hard to adjust. The upside so far is I have lost about 80 pounds since the bariatric surgery, and I’m still alive after the left side of my heart was failing. can’t write this without mentioning my wife. She has been hard on her and she has been my angel.
I hope at some point when I get into a good routine and can be more active in the Liga. Thank you all for keeping it going and all the good vibes.
James
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