Good News

My cardiologist warned me that it would take a while to get approval for my heart catheterization procedure since we were requesting that it be done by a heart surgeon in Sacramento who is outside of our medical group. Well, it has been just over two weeks now and I have been busy pestering Utilization Management about the status of our request and have been blessed by many friends who have been in prayer about this issue, and guess what? I received two phone calls today. The first call was from my cardiologist's office saying that we had gotten insurance approval for the procedure. The second was a call from the surgeon's office in Sacramento wanting to schedule the procedure. Wow!

The procedure to close the hole in my heart is now scheduled for the morning of Tuesday (yes, TUESDAY), March 25 at Sutter Memorial Hospital in Sacramento. The nurse scheduling the procedure read through the preparation instructions that she would be mailing to me and answered a few of my questions. It sounds like I will be attended by three doctors during the procedure. This will include the surgeon, my cardiologist and another heart specialist. I also found out that it will require an overnight stay in the hospital and probably about a week's worth of recovery before I am back on my feet and at work. That doesn't sound too bad, and I sure am eager to get that hole taken care of.

Heidi posted some of my frustrations about 10 days ago with my lack of progress and even regression as I continued plugging away at my therapy. That was a pretty down day and I think it was an important turning point in my recovery battle. I think that it was that day that really helped me come to terms with the realization of what some of my long term limitations may be. It appears that I may never get full function of my left hand and all of the sensation that I used to enjoy there. It also appears that my left leg and foot may continue to function at a limited capacity. As I have gained more and more mobility in my leg, I continue to have a tight pull and pain in that leg as I straighten it fully. This is most noticeable in the night as I turn onto my back and straighten the leg. It wakes me up each time it goes through that motion. The other very obvious ramification is noticed when I attempt to run. I can do something that looks quite a bit like jogging or runnung, but every time that left leg reaches forward in its runnung stride, it kicks back before it is fully extended and pounds the ground. It looks pretty funny and makes a lot of noise on the pavement. It also is pretty hard on the joints. So, when I do attempt to run, I go to a park and run on the grass where I have a pretty good cushion. I was hoping to see the motion improve over time, but am not seeing that happen so far.

So, I am going to keep working at my rehab goals and praying for continued improvement (I am still planning on that marathon on December 7), but at he same time am going to do my best to accept the fact that some things may never return to "normal".

Once again I want to say "thank you" to all of you who have been thinking of me, praying for me, and encouraging me with your kind words and notes. What a blessing to be surrounded by so many wonderful people! You are such a blessing to me and my family.