My original surgery date was today. But an emergency case bumped mine to Thursday. I sure hope that patient comes through with flying colors. Waiting a couple of extra days wasn’t that bad. Gave me time to do more stuff, like enjoy a holiday sunset with friends over Maxfield Lake in Hartland, eat yummy angel hair pasta with garlic shrimp and finally watch the popular Netflix series, “Stranger Things.” (That last one could have waited, my dear great-nephew, Michael, who recommended it. Insert scary face emoji here!) So, on May 31 around lunch time, Dr. Steven Bolling will fix my leaky mitral valve at the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center…
-
-
New surgery date
Forget what I said yesterday. My cardiac nurse Marguerite just called to say my surgeon, Dr. Steven Bolling of the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor, has an emergency case he must handle on Tuesday, May 29. So my surgery has been moved to Thursday, May 31. As my big sister said, “Guess the good news is you’re not considered an emergency, kid.” Everything is relative, isn’t it? Where’s that BBQ grill?! (Copyright 2018)
-
Odds
All of my proverbial ducks are in a row. Everything is in order, including my living trust, will and closet. So, what’s a woman to do while awaiting May 29 open-heart surgery? Fly to Las Vegas, of course. A few decadent days in Sin City may be just what the doctor ordered. Can’t hurt. With Maddie safely in our dog sitter’s care, my partner Rebecca and I left on a whirlwind Wednesday-to-Saturday junket, as my parents used to say. It was a long-planned trip to celebrate Rebecca’s milestone birthday. My cardiac care nurse at the University of Michigan urged us not to cancel. Just go and have fun, she said.…
-
Pre-op
After spending the better part of last Friday at the University of Michigan’s Frankel Cardiovascular Center in Ann Arbor, I’m pleased to report that another item has been checked off my to-do list: pre-op visit. It was the usual stuff, including bloodwork, an EKG, chest X-ray and the dreaded “tiny camera down the throat” TEE echocardiogram. Let’s discuss. * * * The shadow knows Funny thing about chest X-ray results, sometimes nipples show up as dark spots and look like something bad when it’s not. It’s just your nipples. And not only in women. Men, too. So, before a chest X-ray, they provide tiny, round plastic things called nipple markers to stick…
-
Woof
She’s always there for me. No matter my mood or if skies are sunny or gray. She greets me with unconditional love – morning, noon and night. No questions asked. She instinctively knows when I’m sad and how to make me feel better. Her saucer-like ebony eyes could melt an iceberg. Plus, she gives the best kisses ever. I must confess, I have two girlfriends. One has two legs, the other four. They both had me at “woof.” The good news is my two-legged partner Rebecca and I share in this canine love fest. Born May 2, 2008, the object of our mutual affection is Madison, a mostly white Havanese…
-
Faith
“Faith wouldn’t be real faith if you only believed when things were good.” I overheard this gem on a recent episode of ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy,” which I normally half-watch between moves of my myriad Words with Friends matches. With respect to faith, I believe no one has ever improved on Emily Dickinson’s quatrain on the subject: “Faith is a fine invention For gentlemen who see. But microscopes are prudent In an emergency.” In April, while vacationing in Fort Lauderdale, I met an affable priest who takes Harley-Davidson road trips and sips Miller Lite by the pool. “Please call me ‘Chip,’” said the Rev. George F. O’Neill, a tanned, 60-something pastor…
-
Scars
Here’s what I know. The thump-thump of a heartbeat is the sound made by the four valves closing. If you’re an adult, your heart is about the same size as two fists. A human heart beats about 100,000 times in one day. It never stops. Like skin, a damaged heart scars. Scarred hearts don’t heal. But over time, scars can change. They can become smoother, softer and sometimes they just fade away. Lately, after nearly 17 years of scar ownership, I see mine differently. It never really bothered me all that much, even when it was fresh in 2001 after open-heart surgery to remove a benign cardiac tumor. Often hidden…
-
Jazzed
A lot can happen in three months: Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, Groundhog Day. (I swear, that shadowy rodent needs his eyes checked.) Oh, and despite feeling like your late-50-ish self, you find out your heart’s mitral valve leaks excess blood and some lifelong Wolverine fan will fix it, but not right away, of course, more like the day after Memorial Day so it sinks in for a couple of months. Good times. But enough about that. I haven’t been to a Jazzercise class since last Veterans Day, and it shows. For those of you not well-versed in the art of sweat, Jazzercise combines dance with exercise, including cardio, free…
-
Booty call?
I knew this was going to be more interesting than most heart catheterizations when the mic’d up voice behind the glass asked about RN Erin’s “booty call.” “What? Was that God?” I asked no one in particular, lying flat on my back in a glorious state of conscious sedation. Turns out while under the influence of fentanyl, I believe God is an eye-rolling, smack-talking hospital technician named Alesha. (She is not.) “Girl, it’s BUDDY call, not booty call,” she laughs. “But you know we’re going to run booty into the ground now.” RN Max concurs, his smiling hazel eyes peering above a teal mask. “Erin’s still in training and needs…
-
Heartache
I don’t want to do this again. The first time nearly killed me. But with matters of the heart, it’s best not to delay. Apparently, I need a valve job. Turns out my already-prolapsed mitral valve is floppy, won’t fully close and spits excess blood backward into my left atrium causing stress on my heart. No question that this – “mitral valve regurgitation” – leads to congestive heart failure, which slowly did in my parents. Upon hearing the news, my old Florida friend put the onus squarely where it belonged. “I think, without question, you can blame Donald Trump for this,” Lorelei emailed. “His existence in the presidency increases the…
