trainchaser

I'm alive! That was my initial reaction after waking up from having quintuple bypass open heart surgery on July 16th. I now have large scars on my right leg, left arm and down the middle of my chest. They had me up and sitting on the edge of the bed shortly after coming out of the anaesthesia, they want you to be moving as soon as possible in order to get your body fluids moving again. I was still covered with tubes and bandages but was able to move around. The next morning I was moved to a private room in the Cardiac Recovery Ward and one of the first things they do to you there is remove the catheter that was placed before surgery began. Now you can't just lie there and "let it flow", if you got to go you have to get out of bed and walk to the bathroom. The nurses work with you non stop encouraging you to be as mobile as you can be. They show you how to get out of and back in bed because you can't use your arms, try that at home and tell me how that works for you LOL. For the next month I cannot push, pull, lift or carry anything weighing over 5 lbs as the breastbone or sternum must heal first. My nurses were amazed at how well I managed and commented "WOW, you have amazing abs and strong legs!" That is how this all ties in with cycling, my surgeon told me that because of my fitness level due to cycling I would recover much faster than normal, and I was released to go home after only four and a half days. It will be awhile before I can get back on the bike due to the need for the sternum to be fully healed along with the muscles in the chest wall, but by the end of September he says "You'll be leading the pack instead of trailing it"
I'm really looking forward to the day I can mount my bike and head down the road again, life is good!!