Update: getting close to discharge

Generally, things are going going great, especially for just 4 days post-op. I'm doing a ton of walking (including off the assigned floor and to different, interesting bits of the hospital, with doctors' OK). Here's the bullet point update.

• Pain: Frequent and bothersome, but not agonizing. It's mostly controlled with a prescription anti-inflammatory (Toradol; I'm off the narcotics and Percocet, and should be for good). The last 2 hours before the dosing window reopens are predictably bad. Unlike Laurie, the spot that gets me is the top of the incision, whereas my chest tube sites and extraction were a piece of cake, pain-wise. They had me hooked up to a "Q-ball", a continous infusion of lidocaine wired into the chest tube sites, to ease pain, and it really did wonders.
• Rhythms: Much better today with improved monitoring of electrolytes and potassium and magnesium supplementation, and an appropriate dosage of beta-blocker. The beta-blocker will be weaned when the time comes - but now isn't it. I haven't had PVCs since before 9:00 last evening. They were really bothering me because they were so frequent.
• Fatigue: Comes and goes. I'm not sleeping well at all, thanks to gas pains, unfamiliar environment, and frequent visits from nurses who would like nothing more than 2 tubes of A-positive and a BP measurement at 4:00 a.m. This is not unexpected and should resolve when we get home and I can figure out a way to sleep in peace.
• Heart function: An echocardiogram this morning estimated a resting gradient of 21-22, going up to 28-29 with administration of amyl nitrate. This is a terrific improvement over pre-op.
• Food: Still hit-or-miss on the orders. If medication management were handled this way, no one would survive. Naturally this morning's omission was the banana (think potassium!) to go with my oatmeal. Jenn gave up and squirreled away 2 from the hospital cafeteria for me. And yes, the food is bland - I'm OK with that, I'd expected absolutely no salt whatsoever - but I get graham crackers with just about everything. And graham crackers make everything better.
• Pump-head: going away fast, thank goodness. Wooziness and unable to concentrate has generally correlated with electrolyte or rhythm problems, and go away with supplements. Walking helps too. I still haven't received all the surgical details (such as total pump time), but it may be moot. I'm going to keep trying, if only because I'm curious.
• Discharge: almost certainly will be tomorrow (Tuesday). We're staying here through the week, and will take advantage of an offered repeat consultation at the CC outpatient clinic on Thursday. We won't be at Brigham again until March, so this will get us going with recovery plans.

Both my parents and Jenn's parents departed Cleveland yesterday. My parents had to drive back to Philadelphia from Cleveland in the rental car, since Hopkins Airport was shut down by a power outage. They made good time and were home by early evening. I don't know how it was for them, but it was nice having them here even if I wasn't always hospitable, and they helped a lot.

One man deserves props for visiting Jenn and me twice, offering his support in any way imaginable. His name is Michael Manos, and he leads the Pediatric Behavioral Health department at the Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital (he's a child psychologist). I've known him for years through work. He is a genuinely wonderful man (as well as a fellow Northwestern Wildcat with a history of pranks), and he deserves a plug here.

Finally, I got pneumococcal and H1N1 vaccines. Step right up to the head of the line, young man!

Take care,

Michael