Not posting them yet though. First off they are printed out, and second, not sure what the legality of that is. Will scan them and think about it.

Still pretty crazy to see. 2 photos of the heart muscle that they removed, one side completely white from the tendons that had formed to try and keep the valve working. Then 4 surgery shots, where you can really see just how small of an area they were working in. I mean a scalpel looks huge! And you can see where the heart and lung machine attached to my heart. And how the valve had turned white from the damage it was doing to itself. Wow, crazy. And really makes me give even more credit to my surgeon.

I am so glad I didn’t see these images soon after my surgery, but so cool to see now. Amazing what they did.

Overall am doing pretty damn well. Have so much more stamina than before, that it is obvious the condition is better.

Still seem to be overly sweating though. Am taking the subway part of the way to work and it is really hot down there. And between the walk to the station from the lot (damn they need a lot more parking at the lots for the Metro in Los Angeles) and the heat in the station I get really overheated, and when I stop, IE, when I get to the office and set my bags down (I am carrying 3 bads, one with 2 big things of water and ice, another with my iPad and Kindle and a third with my lunch, a towel and spare shirt) I really sweet for a bit before I can cool down. That is why I have the spare shirt and towel, and of course extra deodorant. Not getting out of breath, but certainly overheating.

And I am still pretty sore. Have been walking on the treadmill 30 minutes each morning, and doing some with my kettle bell, though only a 10 pounder for now, but that has left me pretty damn sore.

And yes, still having memory issues. Making sure to write everything down (not that I always didn’t), so that I don’t forget anything. Really seems to be more at the end of the day, and by the end of the week. I am not getting much done on weekends or in the evenings (not that I have much evenings), as I am resting from the week, as my body is obviously still tired and recovering, and 50 hour work weeks seem to be a lot when I am still recovering, and I am not sure the 2 and a half hours of driving each day helps much either.

Still so glad to be back at work and making money again. So glad we had insurance, but still expensive overall, and even worse was having a full 3 months down where I could not be making money. Need that income!

So I want to talk more about the post surgery brain fog. I talked to my friend who is a surgeon about it, and he said that yes it should wear off in a year, and that they thing it may even be mico strokes (very scary).

I found an entry on it in Wikipedia, Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction. And I for sure have it.

Strangely it doesn’t seem to affect my ability to edit at all, as long as I take notes (as it seems to be more of a memory thing), I edit just as quickly. And that is a very good thing. In fact it seems to clear up while I have editing to concentrate on!

The worst is the end of the day. When I get home from work, and if I want to get anything personal and creative done, I don’t have the brain power. And overall my memory recall seems a bit slow. Even on the weekends trying to write or do art, or even play video games seems a mostly futile effort.

The other thing I have noticed lately is sweating.

I have always been a person who sweats my whole life (likely tied to the hypertrophic I would assume), but lately I have been noticing something interesting, if annoying. While I do sweat while exercising, not super excessively, but as soon as stop my body starts sweating incredibly for a little while, and really have to stop and cool down. This isn’t so bad when I am working out, as I can stop and sit in front of a fan to cool down quickly, but right now I am taking the subway for part of my trip to work, which means a walk and lots of stairs, and standing in a very hot subway for 10-15 minutes, and basically by the time I get to work I am drenched in sweat and it takes me a bit to cool down. So I have to bring an extra shirt and a towel to clean up as soon as I get to work. This is annoying, and I hope I not bothering the people I work with! Lots of deodorant is being used, and hopefully helps.

As for the soreness, I am still really sore, but it is getting better, or not bothering me as much. I still feel it, especially at the end of the day, but it is improving. And I think it helps that I have been doing some light Kettle bell exercises at least a few times a week (using a 10 pound Kettle bell) after my morning walk.

My back is still out, and I can see another trip to the chiropractor soon, though I wish I could get a full adjustment instead of using just the activator.

So my dream has come true for my surgery entries, and I have gotten a few e-mails from people having a septal myectomy soon, saying that my blog has helped them out, and wanted to update on my condition and also talk about some of the things they talked about.

First off I want to say I am doing great. I have so much more energy. I don’t get out of breath at all like I used to all. I still get out of breath, but not nearly as quick. I mean I can walk a 2.1 mile walk near my house, and only get tired because of a huge hill, that makes me stop to take my breath once. Still incredibly better than before my surgery. The thing is, I was in such bad shape before, so of course i still have some exercise issues now, but still I have SO MUCH MORE ENERGY! It is really amazing!

And that brings me to my next thing. I had someone write me who is having surgery soon, and is having so much trouble exercising, and the man says he has very similar build to me. Meaning being my height, and weight, with a very big belly, just like I have, as you have seen from all my photos. He asked if he though it was from the condition, and I have to say I absolutely think it is. And unfortunately it isn’t like the weight or belly will just melt off, because my body is in so much worse shape than it should be, even with my at least walking every day. I just never had the energy to get my body to be doing well. Heck, I was told I had asthma as a kid and even was given an inhaler, which never worked. Obviously that is because of my condition. And i think my obesity is a lot to do with the condition (though my love of food does not help). Still I hope to lose 50 pounds and hopefully I can now, and will continue to blog about it as I do or don’t lose weight.

And I want to the people who have contacted me, thank you!!!! I am so glad that my not only could my blog help you (because that was literally the whole point), but thank you for contacting me and asking questions. I love to be able to help people in any way I can, and I love to be able to add more to the this blog about and hopefully help more people in the future!

And her is another entry about how i am doing now, and a photo of the scar.

The scar is easily not as sore as it was. I have been using not only an anti-scar pen, but also wheat germ pills, which I have punctured with a needle and rubbed on it (advise from my homeopathic chiropractor) and honestly it feels much better. I don’t freak out having a shirt on it all day any more. It still gets sore, and especially itchy, but is incredibly better than it was. It still looks awful, but overall the skin itself is way better even than a few weeks ago.

Of course the muscle soreness is still there, and feels something like I have been lifting too many weights all the time. And I don’t think my job and the drive is helping much on that. I live in Los Angeles, but have had an hour drive in the morning and 2 hours home, and at least 10 hours of work sitting at a computer all day, almost every week day. And that make me so damn sore, and I think the drive is a big part of it, especially the stop and go traffic! It isn’t debilitating, but it hurts! And my back is still out and I haven’t been able to have a full chiropractic adjustment, except with an activator, which helps a little, but no completely (though the full neck adjustment is awesome).

I have also been taking some homeopathic medicine my chiropractor recommended, to help with muscle and bone healing. Also one that is pig heart material so my immune system attacks that instead my heart itself, since they never did any stitches inside my heart and let it heal itself, and bleed all it could.

Anyway, so overall I am so much better than I was before my surgery, but overall I am still sore as can be, and still recovering. And my brain is still very foggy. If I don’t do something when I think about it I tend to forget it, and that never used to happen. And I hope it improves. And I hope it improves and so does my creativity, so that I can start writing again, and I am sure it will. It just can’t happen faster.

Still I am so much improved physically, even if I am a bit under mentally.

At least my job, video editing, seems to be completely unaffected. I am still as fast as I ever was, and my technical school are as good as they every were. It is my personal life that is a bit effected.

Thanks anyone who is reading. I always thought I would be happy if I could help one person, and after a few have written me, I could not feel better.

Thank you!

It has been a while since I did an update on my surgery, so I though it was about time.

I am back to work, and finally making money again, which is great. The drive to work though is not so great. The problem is that my chest is really sore, and I don’t think driving in Los Angeles rush hour traffic helps much. Neither does doing household things like, like mowing the lawn, or cleaning or carrying laundry even. I am just sore.

And the scar is sore too. Some times it itches, but mostly it is sore, and doesn’t like having a shirt on it.

And as you can see it is still red as can be. I have been alternating with ScarAway and Wheat Germ which my chiropractor got me to use, but overall the scar is still pretty inflamed.

And it seems the whole having been put under thing has taken it’s tole. My editing, graphics and computer skills are fine, but my memory is shot. I have to write everything down or it will be forgotten. And if I think of something, I had better do it then or I won’t remember, and I have NEVER had that problem before. They say it could take a year for that to clear up, but I hope it is a lot faster than that!

Am exercising, though need to do more, but I get up at 4:30 AM so I can do the treadmill for 30 minutes before work. I was trying to do some kettle bell for a while, but not now with my chest so sore. And while I am still doing pretty low salt, mostly under 2000 mg (except once a month with a reuben) and still doing my soy sauce substitute and making bread if I want any (I know I need to quite eating bread), but have basically gone back to my weight before surgery and I need to lose 50 pounds!

Overall feeling pretty good, and so nice to not get out of breath (though I still sweat like a stuck pick when it is hot, which has been all the time lately).

My lovely wife Kelly was worried about how incredibly sore I am. So she called the cardiologist about it, and I had her ask if i could start taking Advil again (as I have only been allowed to take Tylenol).

My Cardiologist said the soreness is completely normal, and I am allowed to take ADVIL or ibuprofens again. Just took two and am hoping it will help with the soreness soon, as my muscles ache. Just not used to driving in traffic or holding my arms up all day at a computer! Youch!

Looking forward to seeing how ADVIL does on my soreness!

UPDATE: My chest does feel much better after taking Ibuprofen, though now I feel how badly my back is out again. Youch, can’t wait for a full adjustment this Saturday.

SECOND UPDATE: Well the effects of ADVIL are nothing a little jaunt through rush hour traffic can’t cure. And it is only monday. Still ADVIL is a miracle compared to Tylenol.

13 Weeks out tomorrow, which means I can finally go to the chiropractor soon.

Also am back to work and am suffering for it. I can tell you the drive from North Hills to Downtown, Los Angeles is not pleasant right now. Not only does the surface of the wound hurt, even with a t-shirt, but the muscles are so sore from the drive that I feel maimed. I was lucky enough to be able to work from home for a couple of days, but no longer. Back to Downtown tomorrow and my soreness will only get worse from driving in the traffic.

As you can see the main incision has stretched out and is a brutal red right now. Youch!

And even turning funny is really not feeling good for the sore muscles right now. My back still hurts, and my chest just feels awful. The worst the muscles have felt since the surgery honestly. I didn’t do anything on last Saturday because of it, but edging the lawn on Sunday certainly did help things.

Lets hope it starts to feel better from constant use, as it should be fairly healed at the 3 months mark. Wish I could take some more time off, but we need the money too much (am even missing a vacation my wife and her family are going on because of the job I am on).

Lets hope this starts feeling better really soon!

Can I just say that not only is insurance totally messed up, but honestly it is the hospital billing that is even worse.

Basically we had to pay for the surgery before the surgery or they would not give me surgery. We paid what we thought was the rest of the of the out of pocket maximum (though it seems we are off by about $80).

And now we are getting bill after bill from the hospital. It seems that UCLA Billing has not bothered to talk to the insurance or figure out how the insurance is relegating the money. They just put our payment wherever they pleased, and didn’t tell the insurance that we had made they payment.

And they are billing us for all the bills where we pay 60% and the insurance pays 40% instead of talking to insurance and seeing that after another $80 payment from us, we have hit our out of pocket maximum and the rest of covered by the insurance. And we are talking thousands of dollars in additional bills they are trying to get us to pay.

No AETNA is being helpful and is even trying to talk to UCLA to try to get it cleared up, but meanwhile we are getting robocalls from UCLA saying they are going to take action unless we pay these bills! WTF! It is there mistake.

They have applied the money incorrectly, and are trying to get more money out of us because of it.

Yuch, that is pretty nasty. The bottom part of the main incisision, the small circular hole also seems to have developed a pimple, that keeps popping and I clean it, and it fills again. It doesn’t seem infected, seems like a pimple, so I am going to assume it is probably another ingrown hair, right on the wound.

Rather nasty if I do say so myself.

Looks a little better once I squeeze it out.

Main incision is overall looking pretty good though. With the top part pretty flat and healed, the bump at the top as gone as I think it will be, and above the top wound the skin is starting to look good.

And the chest tube wounds are looking pretty good. No longer any scab, just divots and very red skin. No longer have to keep them dry in the shower, which is wonderful.

Still having to use a pillow when I drive though. We bought a small travel pillow to make it easier. And while it does help, since the scar doesn’t like things rubbing on it, especially a seatbelt (and really not even a shirt). And it has actually gotten a lot more sore. Mainly I think because all the nerves were severed, but they have grown back. Went and got a soft travel pillow and it works pretty well.

Of course it doesn’t help how incredibly hot is of late in Los Angeles! Driving with a pillow on your chest when it is close to 100 degrees outside certainly could be more pleasant!

Still doing pretty well, and just about ready to get back to work. Need to start making some money!

Wow, 7 weeks out. Didn’t seem like this point would every come, but I am recovering very well overall. Lost the scabs for my two chest tube wounds, and no scabs are coming back, so now they are just red and divots a bit. They will be worse than the main wound for sure.

They may not look great, but they are so much better. No more gaping wound.

The main wound now that is weird. I guess the skin is really healing as it is pretty sore now, where it was not before, and not internally, but on the surface. It really doesn’t like anything touching it right now. On the good front, part of it is looking pretty white in the middle, so I guess that part is healing.

You can see how the skin is getting white in the middle of the scar.

And here is a wide shot of the whole thing.

Of course there is even more weirdness as there is what seems to be a pimple on the wound, though it could very well be an ingrown hair.

That is the pimple or whatever it is near the top of the frame.

Other than that I am doing well. Still walking, though I seem to be hotter on the treadmill than walking outside, maybe since it is has a slight incline (and it has been too hot outside to walk much), but I have also started doing kettle bells again. Only a little bit, as not to make the wound any worse, but it doesn’t seem to bother me, at least with a 10 pound bell (vs a 20 I was doing before surgery). Even more surprising is how much less tired after doing it I am, though I can still feel it in my thighs, that is for sure.

Still coughing every day, though not as bad. Hopefully it is getting better.

My back is much better after the chiropractor, though he could only adjust my neck and use the activator on my back. It is better, but really needs a full adjustment, and is still pretty sore. Am icing it and heating it, to try and make it better. Have to wait till 12 weeks for a full adjustment though, but will probably be back for some more activator in the next couple of weeks.

Blood pressure has been good, though my heart beat has been up a bit in the evening, in the 90’s and even 100’s, though it does seem to calm down once I lay down.

One more week till I am cleared to go back to work. And I am up for it. And we really do need the money. Still nice to have one more week!

So I am 6 weeks out from Surgery and my sternum should be mostly healed, so I am going to the chiropractor today to get my back adjusted and see if I can get a bit out of the pain I have been in since the surgery. The back has been the worst part.

Sure the Chest is sore, but mainly because the muscles have been cut, and sowed back together. So it is week and I have to take it easy, though I did get a couple of Kettle bells so I can start exercising again (though with less weight) and really get my chest back up to speed.

And of course now we have the fun of getting additional hospital bills after we thought we had paid everything off! We hit the max out of pocket on insurance, and here they go charging us a lot more! WTF! Hopefully it is a mistake, but we shall see.

Now for the scab update.

The top of the main wound seems to have pretty much healed. No more scab, just red. I thought I would have a divot there, but it seems my body has healed over.

The chest tube wounds have been causing trouble. I lost both scabs, and though the one on my right looks pretty good and clean, the left one is forming another dark scab, which will likely come off again before too long. And I still have the weird little bruise with the knot under it next to that one. It hurts and even bothers me when I am sleeping, though it is getting better.

Overall the scars are still pretty red, and the big one is still sore, especially when I use my chest to lift anything or do much with my arms besides watch movies or play video games. Need to get my chest in better shape so I can get back to work, but that is what the kettle bells are for!

Overall doing pretty damn well, but looking forward to seeing what the chiropractor can do today! I am sure it will take a few visits, especially if he can only use his tool and not do a full adjustment, but we shall see, and I will report on it.