Tomorrow Fall semester starts and I’m back to nursing classes. I hit the 4 month post op mark this weekend…hold on..let me read that again. Y’all 4 MONTHS?! In another 4 months I will be half way through my nursing program. 😱

Raegan started school last Wednesday and is a Second Grader! How is that even possible?! My not so little, sassy little firecracker is actually excited for school (well, now). I was a bit worried because this Summer she informed me she knew everything and didn’t need to go to school except for recess to see her friends. I was like, hmm…if you don’t need school because you know EVERYTHING, I guess you will have to move out and get a job. School wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

I have been super blessed with this recovery, I’m still dealing with the body image aspect, but in time my scar will fade and it won’t bother me as much. My scar does look really good compared to previous surgeries. A few minor complications have popped up, but that’s to be expected with any major surgery. Overall I am doing a lot better than I thought I would be.

I am so glad I had surgery when I did. I was going to wait until December and boy, I would have missed out on so many opportunities and feeling like shit for 8 more months would have been awful! I know my workplace doesn’t feel that way, but hey, if you don’t put your health first, no one else is going to.

Am I ready for the late night study sessions, carrying around 40lbs of textbooks (to dry all those tears with😂), living on coffee (also prayers and dry shampoo)? You bet! I am pumped to be on this journey and super excited to see where it takes us. So friends, if you call or text and I don’t respond right away, I’m either studying, crying in my books, or studying. Nursing school is not going to be easy, but oh will it be worth it.

Thanks for all of your prayers and positive vibes throughout this journey. It means so much to have a great support system!

 

I am roughly 9 weeks post op and am feeling pretty good. Back to regular working hours and ready to see what Summer has in store for me…mostly work, but hopefully a little fun too. Ha! Anyone up for floating down the Niobrara?!?!

I am still getting used to having so much energy. I don’t think I have ever been so energetic! My strength isn’t quite 100%, but I am working on that daily. I got the all clear to see the chiropractor and utilize massage therapy to help with the pain. I don’t remember having this much pain with my previous surgeries, but staying active has helped a lot. I have noticed quite a difference in my arm since going to the chiro. I’m still dealing with neuropathy in my left arm and hand, but it’s not nearly as sensitive as it was. My muscles are pretty much non-existent in my left arm and it makes day to day tasks interesting at times, but it will get better. This weekend we put up our rhubarb and peaches. I made a couple rhubarb pies, frozen peach custard, and stocked the freezer. I was super impressed with myself for not cutting my left hand. Not having much feeling in my hand made for a slow and entertaining weekend of me cutting fruit and making pie crust. Ha! Thank goodness Raegan was willing to help me. She was the best little sous chef!

The countdown to school has begun in our house (8 weeks and counting). One of us is excited and the other one…well not so much.  I am looking forward to getting my LPN finished and working towards my BSN. Raegy will be a 2nd grader and has already mastered knowing everything. She tries to convince me on a weekly basis she doesn’t need to go to school because she is already so smart. #prayforme #sendcoffee #sassyandsmartassy #getsitfromhermama

Raegy plans to spend as much time as possible in the pool for the remainder of her Summer break. As much as I love being outside and floating in the pool, I have to be super careful with my scar. The less sun on it the better. Fresh scars are highly vulnerable to UV rays. Too much sun exposure can cause hyperpigmentation. My scar is already very noticeable, no need to make it worse. SPF 50+ has been my best friend while outdoors. I’m still on the hunt for a decent high neck swimsuit, if you see any, let me know! 😀

It has been 4 weeks since surgery and I am slowly feeling better. Last week was rough, I struggled with allergic reactions to the medication I was on. The doctors think Enalapril was the culprit. My upper extremities and chest were covered in hives. After several visits to the ER and clinic, we finally found some relief. Thank goodness! I’m back on track to feeling normal again.

The next stage in the recovery process is cardiac rehab and building back my strength. I look forward to the day I can put in a full day’s work! But for now I will settle for what I can do. Every little bit is progress. Overall, I am farther along than I thought I would be at 4 weeks Post Op. My left hand is still bothering me (not working properly) and very painful, but hopefully the neuropathy will subside in the near future. I’m getting tired of being one handed and not sleeping. If you have neuropathy you know that nights can be rough. I look forward to someday getting a full night’s sleep again!

 

If you would like to donate/help with medical bills, please visit my go fund me page at https://www.gofundme.com/3kgyn-helping-chelsea?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fb_co_campmgmt_m

Now that I have been home for a couple weeks, I am starting to slowly feel normal again. I’m still super slow with walking and other tasks, but making progress. My incisions are healing nicely and my chest pain is diminishing. My left hand is still numb and not fully functioning, but it’s hurting, so hopefully that means it’s on the mend. I meet with my cardiologist this week for my post-op follow up and will hopefully get the all clear to drive and go back to work.

My blood pressure has been staying low which is a good thing right now while everything heals. Having it stay low does make it challenging to have energy to do anything though. All I want to do is sleep, but I have been making myself get up and walk. Walking is the key to a speedy recovery.

It has been quite a week. Surgery was one week ago on Wednesday and couldn’t have gone any better. My team is very pleased with how quickly I’m healing and will be heading home this weekend. So let’s do a little recap of the events of the week.

Wednesday April  24th was surgery day. The procedure lasted approximately 12 hours and was a success. One mild complication was left hand neuropathy. I’m still dealing with that and could take a few months to get back to normal. A lot of post op nausea followed and the first few days after surgery are a blur. Monday was an evenftul day. The stroke team was called and the morning was spent figuring out what drug was causing me to have left-sided weakness and face droopiness. It became difficult for me to speak and swallow. After a good dose of Benadryl, everything started getting better. Thank goodness!  Tramadol and Zofran are no longer my friends though.

Wednesday May 1st, my pacemaker was permanently placed. Unfortunately, after surgery, my top and bottom chambers of the heart have not  been communicating like they should be, so I was temporarily placed on a pacemaker during surgery. The doctors made the decision to permanently place one since it has been one week without much improvement.

I am feeling great and ready to bust out of here! Sorry for any major typos, this neuropathy is kicking my ass!

I have my bag packed and am ready to stroll into the operating room. I have to check in at 6:30am for and 8:45am procedure. I will be under for 10-12 hours, if you are wanting to get ahold of me, Thursday will be the earliest. Any and all prayers/good vibes are always welcomed.

The surgeon did a great job of walking through the procedure and answered all of my questions yesterday. He did let me know that there is a possibility that I could end up with a mechanical valve if things don’t look right once opened. He was fairly confident that the Ross procedure will go as planned and will have a successful surgery. I will be here for about 10 days to start the recovery process.

Today we took the day to relax and mentally prepare for tomorrow. Madison has a beautiful zoo that we spent most of the morning at. Then we headed down to State Street and wandered around checking out different eateries and super cool buildings. Here are a few more pictures from our day.

Quick Update:

Yesterday was supposed to be THE day, but due to my doctor having to tend to a family emergency in Greece, I am home until Easter. Surgery has been rescheduled to one week from today. Things happen that are out of our control and we just have to take it as it comes. Now I get to spend an extra weekend with my daughter!! I have a big surprise for her after school on Thursday. She is going to freak! Stay tuned for the Adventures with Sassy Pants blog post.

 

These past couple of days I have taken the time to do a little extra mental health prep and make sure all of my ducks are in a row too, or at least try to keep them in the same pond. Ha!

All of the icky (but necessary) stuff that no one likes to talk about: wills, guardianship, advance directives, etc. have all been taken care of. Letters have been written to those that mean the most to me and any last wishes have been expressed in the event that surgery doesn’t quite go as planned. At 29, I never thought I would be thinking about what I need to get taken care of in case I die, but if I have learned anything from this past year it is this: Be sure and finalize any last wishes and for the love of all things holy make a damn will and be sure it’s signed!

T-5 days and I will be on my way to surgery sporting an oh so sexy hospital gown, getting prepped to lay on the narrowest block of ice that my ass will barely fit on, I’m thrilled. In all seriousness, I am ready to tackle this next big step in life and get back to feeling better. To say I am a bit anxious is an understatement, but humor helps ease my anxiety. So feel free to send me your lamest jokes while I am in the hospital. Please!!

I don’t have an exact topic that I want to write about today. My brain has about 12 million tabs open at the moment, so bare with me as you read this. Ha! I am home today (thanks Mother Nature!) packing my bag, cleaning my house, doing laundry and getting one last baking session in. Baking is so therapeutic for me and the guys at work enjoy it too! The last couple of weeks have been a bit stressful. I feel like there is not enough time to get everything done! Tomorrow is my last day at the office for awhile.  I did find an awesome gal to fill in for me while I am gone, but not having steady income for the next six weeks is going to suck! It will all work out and in a few months everything will be back on track. My awesome friends have set up a Go Fund Me page to help with medical expenses and lost income. If you are unable to donate, know that I appreciate all of your good vibes and prayers. I am truly blessed to have such great friends!

I was reminded this past week that negative people can cause a lot of unnecessary stress. I know not everyone is a big fan of change. For me though, I welcome the opportunity to grow. Being able to learn from the past and know that if you continue down that same path nothing is every going to change. I have also learned in the last decade, that holding onto negative baggage and surrounding yourself with negative people not only wears on you emotionally, but physically too. Mental health is just as important as physical health. Surround yourself with people who want the best for you and have your best interest at heart. Find friends that see your potential when you don’t and help push you to be your best. Don’t settle because it’s easier. If it’s easy, your doing it wrong.

As far as my feelings about the surgery, I honestly feel everything is going to go as planned.  I am far more apprehensive about how the recovery is going to go. I’m not ready to feel like shit for the next few weeks, but do know it is just a short part of my life and I will get through it. I will be pretty limited on what I will be able to do for the first 4 weeks home. So if you want to come visit or call/text, please do! I won’t be able to drive a vehicle for 4 weeks and something as simple as washing my hair will likely wear me out the first few times. So if you are great at washing hair in the sink or willing to drive me down to the hair salon, I would greatly appreciate it! Being able to get out and walk will be the best thing for me, so with that being said, you are cordially invited to come walk with me! I will need all the encouragement I can get.

“Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Mark 11:24

 

I thought I would share with you what I have been doing so far to make sure I am as physically and emotionally prepared as I can be for surgery. I don’t have a method to my madness and use a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Having a positive outlook makes all the difference in life.

Let’s start with the easy “physical” stuff…

A couple years ago, my good friend Evelyn introduced me to essential oils. I am all about using natural products whenever possible and was excited to replace my harsh chemicals with something better for us. I have been consistently using oils ever since. We use the Young Living line and I am super impressed by their quality. My products that I use daily are shown below. I have not been sick with a cold or the flu in over 2 years. Before oils and giving much thought to immune support, I caught every sickness floating around. My immune system was non-existent. I just figured if I washed my hands frequently and stayed away from sick people, that’s all I could do. Then I took it to next level adulting…aka researched the interwebs which lead me to good old YouTube. I learned so many fascinating things like what I’m eating and drinking has a huge impact on my immune system. Pizza and beer quickly moved down the list, well if I’m being totally honest pizza did move down the list quite a bit. Beer on the other hand is super nutritious. I mean beer is plant based and plants have nutritional properties and making sure you get the recommended fruits and veggies is imperative for heart health therefore beer is practically medicinal. Right?? Ok, maybe that’s stretching it a bit…

I have really trying to focusing on gut health the last few months and staying on top of immune support. Hospitals are pretty gross and I don’t want to come home with more than I went there with. I drink kombucha daily, try to eat healthy and drink lots of water every day.  I read somewhere (or heard on YouTube) that about 80% of our immune system lives in our GI tract. So being sure I have the right balance of probiotics and prebiotics is vital to a healthy immune system.

Right now I am restricted on my activities and am suppose to “rest” and “take it easy” as fun as that isn’t…it’s what I will try and do. Yay naps! I get fatigued very easily. I miss not being able to take my dog for a walk and play at the park with Raegan. Some days just walking from my vehicle to my house is a workout! I am looking forward to being active again!!

Now for the super hard part. How am I preparing emotionally? That is a very good question. I feel most days I am very good at compartmentalizing, changing the subject, or my favorite answering a question with a question. Ha!

In all seriousness though, reading my favorite bible verses and journaling have been super helpful and grounding. Being able to have open conversations about difficult topics has really changed my perspective on life and has really prepared me for my upcoming surgery. Life advice: Find a true friend you can confide in and that will give you sound advice, even if it is difficult to hear. I have so many worries and what ifs in my mind, but in order to not completely go crazy and lose my shit, I stop and remind myself of what is said in Isaiah 43:2. God will see me through. Prayer is powerful.

March has been anything but uneventful! The weather and my emotions are all over the place. Crazy snowstorms and flooding to beautiful Spring weather. Mother Nature can be a bit unpredictable! I am ready for sunny and 75 with a light breeze.

It finally happened! I got THE call. I am tentatively scheduled for open heart surgery on April 16th. In less than a month, I will be on my way to Madison, Wisconsin for surgery. I am actually looking forward to it. I haven’t been feeling too great and it’s time to get this heart in tip top shape! I am working on finalizing transportation and getting a few last minute tests done in the next couple of weeks and then off to Wisconsin. Let’s chat a little bit about what the amazing surgeons in Madison will be doing. The procedure I will be having is called the Ross procedure. It involves removing my aortic valve and putting my pulmonary valve in it’s place. Once that happens, I will then get a donor pulmonary valve. This means I will (fingers crossed) never have to have another open heart surgery. If/when my pulmonary valve stops working, I will be able to have a valve replacement done transcatheter. It is amazing what doctors are able to do today.  Here is the link from Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin with more details. We decided on this procedure over a mechanical valve replacement due to the high risk involved with being on blood thinners long term.