Did October actually happen? I feel as if the entire month came and went like a ninja (I mean, it WAS Halloween, so…). Since I was in the hospital, I could have easily gone as someone from the Walking Dead without even trying to dress up! LOL! Back up… let me explain…

As I mentioned earlier, I needed to get a triple bypass surgery. Well, I had the surgery and my heart so far is doing GREAT! However, in typical Berta-style, I couldn’t have done it the easy way. Right from the beginning there were complications. They changed the time of the surgery without letting me know, so we had to reschedule, the surgeon said my surgery was a “tough one” but he “did the best with what I gave him” (what??), and then there was the aftermath. After my surgery, somehow my dialysis port got pulled out, I suffered a collapsed lung, I had several doctors that were HORRIBLE (and whom I “had it out” with), and a nutrition team that didn’t know how to feed anyone with Celiac disease (read: I had NOTHING to eat). So, without going in to too many details, I’d say it was definitely a ride! One thing that saved it all was the staff on my floor. They were amazing! The cleaning lady always came in laughing and giving out hugs, the techs went out of their way to help find me food that I could eat (usually string cheese and cereal) and bathing issues, and the nurses were top-notch! They did an amazing job keeping me as comfortable as possible with each new complication and they did so professionally and with a smile. I’m totally convinced that it takes a very special person to be a nurse! Bravo to any of you out there who might be reading this who is in the medical field! The staff almost felt like family, and it was almost sad to leave them when I went home. However, four surgeries and three weeks later, I’m finally home!

What interested me the most during this whole thing was how much more painful the lung surgery was than the heart! The recovery for the bypass surgery so far has gone by like a breeze! There hasn’t been much pain, the scars aren’t going to be as bad as I thought they’d be, and my blood pressure readings have been great! However, this lung thing… damn! When the surgeon said the lung surgery was going to be painful, he wasn’t joking! I like to think that I have a pretty high tolerance for pain, but that really tested my limits. Every single breath I took, every cough, every sneeze, laugh…each time felt like I was getting stabbed in the side with a knife! Even after I got home, the pain still persisted. I also learned that pain meds get dialyzed out of my system when I go in for dialysis. So, several times I’ve had to stop the process because I couldn’t make it through. Ugh. I have figured out a system, though that seems to work, and with the very very slow healing process, the pain is going away! FINALLY!! The silver lining to this is that I’ve learned so much about the lung (I didn’t really know much about it before this), I have grown HUGE empathy for anyone who suffers from a collapsed lung, and I’ve learned how to expand the limits of my strength when fighting through a situation like this. It’s not fun to go through struggles initially, but afterwards, it absolutely helps to reflect and think, “well, I made it through xyz situation, I can do this!”

As for the walking dead, I planned on being in the hospital for about 5 days, not 3 weeks, so I wasn’t prepared for no showers for that long! At times, I seriously felt like I stepped out of the Thriller video! LOL! They had these interesting “shower cap showers” for your hair, that had no-rinse shampoo in it. I used it a few times, and it definitely helped, but nothing felt more refreshing than finally getting a REAL shower when I got home! I seriously could have stayed in that shower for an hour it felt so good!

Joking aside, I’m doing well. I realize that the healing process on this one is going to be slow, but I’ve got nothing but time, so that is not a problem. I still can’t lift things, I can’t drive, I can’t go up stairs, and my breathing is still a bit labored, but in time, I’ll be back to normal again. I am incredibly lucky to have an amazing family to help me out with all this too! I can’t put into words how grateful I am to have them with me. They have sacrificed so much to help me in every way they can and I realize that not everyone has that kind of dedication and love in their lives. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Update: I have now had follow-up appts with three of my doctors, and all ended up with very positive results! My lung is definitely getting better and the heart looks great. One very cool piece of info – my cardiologist said she was very impressed with how well I looked and how well things were going. She wants me to get an Angiogram in Feb, and if all looks good, she’ll approve of me to move forward with getting a kidney! That’s several months earlier than we were expecting! So, fingers crossed that this bypass solves all the problems we’ve been running into and all goes well moving forward!

Links to donate:

Baylor Dallas – https://www.livingdonordallas.org/

Medical City Dallas – https://www.onemedicalpassport.com/?fid=978

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Things I’m thankful for today:

1. All of my friends and family. For all of you who checked in on me, came to visit me in the hospital and mostly just kept me smiling…thank you SOOOOO much! You all give me something to fight for! Plus, you kept me from feeling like Rapunzel stuck up in her tower by herself. haha

2. Snuck-in food. As I mentioned earlier, the hospital gluten free food issue was bad. So, the few times you guys snuck in the occasional tacos or hamburger, you literally saved me! A girl can only eat so many Cheerios before she cracks!

3. Amazing surgeons. Despite all the complications we dealt with, I have to give a proud shout out to the surgical teams that helped me with my issues. I was told they were the best at what they did, and knowing that I’m not an “easy case”, they did a fantastic job! I mean, I’m alive and doing much better than I was, so they must be doing something right! 😀

4. Sleep.

5. Fur babies. I missed them so much while in the hospital, however once I got home, they have not left my side. Whether it’s because they missed me, or they know that I’m healing, it feels good when they curl up next to me for cuddles.