Man Set on Fire During Heart Surgery

Here is the headline from a malpractice lawyer's blog: "Man Set on Fire During Heart Surgery Sues Doctor!"

The story is not as good as the headline but the blog itself is quite interesting.

Another interesting story recently making the rounds is this one about a doctor who is using a type of Crazy Glue called Kryptonite, to hold the breastbone together after open heart surgery.

As most of us know who read this blog, having your chest held together with wires and waiting for it to heal is the worst part of the whole heart surgery in most cases.

This new method heals the breastbone in days rather than weeks and you can get back to normal activities in weeks rather than months.

Read the whole story here:

Using glue to mend breastbone after open heart surgery.

Recovery is a Family Affair

Waking up after open heart surgery is a stunning experience. There are all of the physical sensations but there is also a moment, somewhat delayed by the overwhelming immediacy of the physical stuff, when the impact of the event strikes home. "I'm alive. I've made it. Now what?"

It is the "Now What?" that has been my preoccupation for the last eight months and will likely be on my mind for the foreseeable future.

Part of the recovery is the physical rehabilitation. An even larger part is the educational process. In my case, I had to complete a number of classes about living with heart problems, heart healthy life styles and general knowledge about the pharmaceuticals used in treating heart diseases before even being admitted to the physical rehabilitation centre.

The Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Health in Motion Program involved two sessions a week doing exercises under the supervision of a nurse, a physio-therapist and a dietitian as well as one class room session a week.

The classes were spread out over the first eight weeks of the program and covered topics like:

• Risk Factors for Heart Disease and Stages of Change
• Exercise and Goal Setting
• Dietary Risk Factors
• Basics of Heart Healthy Eating
• Super Heart Healthy Foods and Foods to Avoid
• Label Reading
• Eating out and Meal Planning
• Coping with Heart Disease

The smartest thing I did was to take my daughter Nancy with me to the first round of classes. I encourage you to do the same. Take a family member with you to as many classes as they can attend.

There are two reasons for this. First, I was still quite dopey for the first couple so a lot of the information didn't stick. The second reason is that a lot of the life style changes, the mood swings and depression that are the after-effects of open heart surgery require not just co-operation from your family but their active support and understanding.

Even though you are the one feeling the physical pain, your whole family feels the repercussions of your operation.

Steps today: 10,287

Major Leaguer Returns from Heart Surgery

I read today about a Major League ball player, Aaron Boone, who had open heart surgery in March and is returning to play his first game in the Majors this Wednesday.

My hat is off to him.What sheer guts and determination. He was not just getting well enough to function in normal life. He was getting well enough to function as an elite athlete.

Awesome eh? I guess there is hope for we mere mortals as well. What an inspiring story.

On a sadder note, my old cat, Marius has been pretty sick. We took him to the Vet today and his heart and kidneys are failing. The Vet said we should just take him home and make his final days as comfortable as we can. We will know when it is time to bring him back to the clinic.

Although it is his heart that is causing problems, cats almost never have heart attacks. It is more often something else that will bring about the end.

Poor old Marius. What a great cat he has been. I'm sad but philosophical. He is somewhere between 14 and 16 years old, having come to us as a full grown cat. That was more than twelve years ago.

Steps today: 8,987