Check-up

When receiving an open heart surgery, there are certain milestones that are essential to recovery.  For me, the five-week-check-up with my surgeon was the biggest milestone I was looking forward to.  For the first five weeks after surgery, I had many restrictions: I could not drive, swim, bike, or lift more than 10lbs, to name a few.  This appointment was so important to me because I knew that some of these restrictions would finally be lifted.

As I sat down with Doctor Miler, I was excited.  I knew that I would finally start working back toward my usual activities.  The first good news was that I had made big steps in the healing process of my sternum. According to my doc, at week five, I was 90% healed and could no longer do much to injure my chest.  This was great to hear.  After surgery, I had been walking around in a very guarded manner, as if my chest could break apart with the slightest impact.  I could finally relax.

With this great news, I could now start to drive my car.  Right after surgery, the sternum is too unstable to support the motion of holding a steering wheel.  This means that I had become very familiar with the bus system in Denver and that my total money spent on Lyft was becoming concerning.  Being able to drive was a huge relief.
Back behind the wheel!
Other restrictions were also lifted:  I could now submerge my scar underwater; so I could swim, I could start lifting more than 10lbs, I stopped taking my blood pressure medicine, and I could start to use my arms to help myself out of a seated position.  Basically, there is no science to exactly how quickly I can return to normal activity.  Our plan was to continue adding 10lbs/week to exercises that I do.  I had no restriction to cardio output, except that I should stop working-out if I become lightheaded, numb, or tingly.  The best part of this meeting was discussing my road back to rock climbing.  Dr. Miller knew this was my motive and he had a solution: Marisa would be in charge of deciding when I am ready to climb...  His thought process was that I might go too quickly back into my passion for climbing and that Marisa would be my voice of reason.

Then, there was the bitter sweet ending to my appointment.  Over the last few months, Marisa and I had come to admire Dr. Miller.  We think he did an amazing job of communicating with me and keeping me safe during this process.  As the meeting wound down, he informed me that, although he would continue to be a resource for me, he was no longer my doctor, since I no longer had a heart problem.  His exact words were, "this will be the last time we have to meet, but I like to tell my patients that once I touch your heart, you are mine fore life."  I thought this was a great way to put it.

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