Deb's Back Surgery - Day 2

Well, Deb won't be getting out of the hospital today. She is really having a lot of pain and has a ways to go yet before they will green light her to blow this pop stand.

She has been sitting up in a chair and she did go for a walk earlier. However, she went a bit too far and almost passed out getting back to the room. The PT tech had to check her blood pressure and everything to see what happened. We think she just had too much pain and her body decided to start shutting down unnecessary functions, like standing and walking, to save itself. Anyway, we got her back to bed and she took a little siesta. So did I.

She is sitting in the spine chair again and just finished dinner. Now, she is waiting to go for another walk - not so long perhaps and not without a nurse or aide in tow. After that she will be back to bed and I'll be heading home for the evening so we can both get some sleep.

Tomorrow she has to work on climbing a few stairs and more walking. She bet Dad five dollars that she would be out of here tomorrow -- so she is worried about the $5. I told her I'd cover her losses :-) She will either be heading home tomorrow or Saturday. Hard to tell at this point.

Keep wishing her the best and send her good vibes for resolving this nerve pain she continues to have!

Jon

Deb's Day in Surgery

Here is a rundown of Deb's day in surgery:

• Woken at 3:45 AM by the alarm clock.
• Arrived at Fairview Riverside Hospital in Minneapolis at 5:15 AM.
• Checked in for surgery at 5:40.
• Deb went back for pre-op prep at 6:00.
• Deb is nervous and her pain has been stronger lately. It is probably time to have had this done. We are hoping for some real relief.
• I got to go back to the pre-op room Deb was in at 6:30. She had acquired some new wrist bands and a snazzy new gown with built-in heating bladders heated by blown hot air -- very cozy and comfy for her.
• Surgery is scheduled from 7:30-9:40.
• Dr. Schwender stopped to see Deb at 7:20. He says the actual surgery takes about an hour or so.
• Deb leaves for the operating room at 7:30, right on time.
• At 9:16, I spoke to Dr. Schwender. Surgery is over, everything went well. Rods and screws came out without complication. We have them in the room. You need to see the size of these screws sometime when you are visiting -- I suspect you will be surprised at how large they are! Dr. says the nerve was being pressured and he was able to relieve the pressure. I hope this helps relieve her pain.
• Deb went to recovery and then on to her room on the 10th floor of the East building.
• Mom and Dad arrived at about 10:30.
• We all got to visit Deb in her new room at about 11:30. She was in a lot of pain when we arrived and they were trying to get her pain pump adjusted and get caught up with the pain.
• Mom, Dad, and I went to lunch at Davanni's. Deb had lunch delivered to her while we were away and she actually ate a fair amount of it. Goulash and peas and a chocolate chip cookie -- yum, yum! No nausea, just pain so far.
• Mom and Dad headed home, Deb trying to nap and relax -- she didn't get much sleep last night for some reason :-)
• Deb is scheduled to dangle her legs over the bed tonight and hopefully stand up by the bed for a while. Pain is blocking her from doing it right now, but hopefully later. I'm sure the nurses will keep after her.

All in all, in spite of the pain, Deb had a pretty good surgical outcome and is well on her way to recovery. She has some significant hurdles to get over, but she is motivated to get out of here as soon as she can -- no offense to the hospital or the staff!

Deb says "Hi everybody and my back hurts like heck."

More later,

Jon

Deb's Turn In The Surgery Barrel :-(

Here we are preparing for another surgery in the family - this time it is Deb's turn. Not fun for either of us, but definitely harder on her than on me this time (maybe last time as well!)

Deb is having back surgery tomorrow (June 2) at Fairview Riverside in Minneapolis. She is having a nerve coming from her L5 vertebrae area decompressed to hopefully relieve some serious and unrelenting pain she has been living with. While he is in there, Dr. Schwender will also remove the rods and screws from her fusion which is fully healed and looks like a total success, structurally. Recovery is expected to be much easier than the fusion -- we sure hope so! Her doctor's current plan is for her to be off work for six weeks this time (it was 3 hard months last time).

I will be posting periodic updates here and links to them on Facebook so that you can keep up with what is happening.

Wish Deb the best - she needs it! She already has one pain in her posterior (me!) and I think one ought to be more than enough for anyone, don't you :-)

Jon

Six Months Post Surgery

March 18, marks sixth months since I had open-heart surgery to replace a congenitally defective bicuspid aortic valve and a portion of defective and bulging aorta. I wanted to update everyone on how I am doing. Executive summary is that I don’t know how I could be doing any better. I have more energy today than I had before I was diagnosed last July. My color is so good that I can’t count the number of people who have commented on it - enthusiastically (I wonder just how pale I looked before surgery!). I continue to exercise, more than I have in a long time. Ia primarily walk outdoors when weather permits. I am surprised by how much my condition affected me and amazed at how much better I feel these days!

Medically, I’m on beta blockers twice a day to control blood pressure (was once a day prior to surgery). I’m also on Coumadin (Warfarin) permanently. My Coumadin dosage stabilized very rapidly after returning to Minnesota after surgery. I think I’ve been on the same dose since mid-October and my INR is typically in the 2.1-2.3 range (my goal is 1.5-2.5). I have to go to the clinic about every six weeks for a 10 minute blood test. My sternum healed without complication and I’m able to do anything I need to without significant pain or deficit. I do occasionally feel a slight twinge or pull when I overdo things.

Now, a few more “frequently asked questions” and their answers.

Where did you go for your surgery? Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, California.

Why did you go to Stanford? Long-story short, Medtronic’s senior vice president of Medicine and Technology, Dr. Stephen Oesterle, M.D., became aware of my diagnosis and offered to help us find the right surgeon for the job. He highly recommended Dr. D. Craig Miller at Stanford. I talked to Dr. Miller by phone and read excellent reviews of his work. With Dr. Oesterle’s high recommendation how could I go wrong so Stanford became the place to go. Dr. Miller made all of us, including my mom and dad, feel at home in his office at Stanford. Our confidence in Dr. Miller was high going in, higher after meeting with him before surgery, and my outcome has cemented our confidence in his skills and the care he took with my case. Dr. Miller is an outstanding surgeon and a genuinely caring human being. We clearly made the right choice for our situation!

How long were you out of work? I returned to work 3/4 time 8 weeks after surgery and returned full-time just after Thanksgiving (10 weeks).

What type of valve did you pick? Going into surgery, I was torn between tissue or mechanical valve. Medtronic does not have a competitive mechanical valve offering and tissue valves were only expected to last from 8-12 years in someone of my age and activity level. In the end, I picked a mechanical valve so there would be a low likelihood of future open heart surgery. I expected to wake up with a St. Jude valve, but due to anatomy and other factors, Dr. Miller selected a Carbomedics TopHat for my case.

Can you hear your mechanical valve? Yes, I can when it is quiet around me. There is an interesting combination of a higher pitched tick and a lower pitched thunk. It does not disturb my sleep or keep me from falling to sleep, nor does it disturb Deb’s sleep. The clicking provides me a built-in audible bio-feedback mechanism I use to tell if my heart rate is slowing or speeding up.

Are you on a restricted diet? I was on a modified salt diet after surgery and I have to be careful with certain green vegetables (they can interfere with Coumadin). The problem is not so much green vegetables as an inconsistent diet of them. I’ve never added much salt to my meals, so my daily salt intake didn’t really require much modification. Otherwise, my diet is essentially the same as it was pre-surgery. My condition was not diet or lifestyle related and, while I am taking better care of myself post-surgery, that is simply a bonus outcome not dictated by my disease -- thank goodness.

How much younger do you feel now than before surgery (Dr. Miller asked me to answer this question for him)? I’d have to say for sure I feel at least five years younger than I did on September 17 (probably at least 10 years younger than I felt on Sept 19th :-) We moved into our current house in July 2005 and I’m probably feeling as good as I did then, if not even better. It is surprising just how poorly I was feeling.

I am thankful to have discovered this heart defect and found a wonderful surgeon who could so skillfully correct the defect and put me not just back on my feet, but back on my feet much improved. I am thankful to all of you who sent your good thoughts and prayers our way as we went through everything. I am thankful to my mom and dad who travelled to Stanford with us and who made sure Deb had a support system while I was down and out. And, of course, my wife Deb is simply the best -- she kept all of you up to date on what I was going through, she kept me positive and sane, and she handled much of our household load for the eight weeks when I couldn’t lift anything, drive, or work. She made recovery as pleasant an experience as it possibly could have been. There is a special place in heaven, and my heart for my wonderful wife!

Thank you everyone!

Jon

Christmas 2009

I've posted several photos from the Christmas 2009 celebration with our children and grandchildren. We had a marvelous time. Deb outdid herself on everything and she made sure we all had just a wonderful day, especially me! We all received many gifts, not the least of which was the time we spent together enjoying each other's company.

Here is a link to the photos on my Facebook page: Christmas 2009

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas 2009 and a Happy New Year 2010!

Jon

Merry Christmas from the Spence's!

As we get older and older the years seem to speed by faster and faster; 2009 is no exception. This year has been a year of strengthening for Jon and me. This past Summer Jon found that he was born with a birth defect in his heart. His aortic valve which when normal is tricuspid (3 flaps), Jon's was bicuspid, only having 2 flaps and they were extremely calcified. So in September we (along with Jon's parents), flew to Stanford University in Palo Alto California and Jon underwent open heart surgery. Jon's recovery has gone extremely well. He does tend to get tired more easily but that in time should pass. I think for the rest of my life I will be watchful over Jon as he is my life and sole mate. I don't ever think I can thank Jon's parents for coming California to help Jon and I through this wrenching time in our lives. On the day of surgery, Mom, Dad and I sat together in the ICU waiting room. I drew strength from the both of them and cannot imagine what it would have been like if they had not been there. I also want to mention how touched are to have the family, friends, co-workers and neighbors we have. During Jon's surgery and recovery, everyone in our neighborhood and all of our friends, family and co-workers reached out in one way or another to help. We both feel very blessed.

We are bursting at the seams with pride as another grandson has joined the family. Henry Heiken was born 2:01 am on June 26, 2009 to his proud mom and dad, Jessi and Luke. I've said it before and I will say it again, grandkids are the best gig in the world. Henry has this incredible full body smile and when he smiles at me I am overjoyed. Jacob continues to bring joy to our lives as well and seems to be growing like a weed and smarter every time we see him. A few weeks ago Jon and I, Jessi, Luke and Henry, and Nikki and Jacob went to the annual Medtronic Children's Christmas party. What a great day it was. So much fun and we were so proud when familiar co-workers passed by to point out to them that these two fine boys were our grandsons. I really do believe that we have the cutest and smartest grandsons in the world.

Out yearly home improvement project this year was to put in a bar in the game room. A shout out to Kelly for her hand in this endeavor. In April we broke in the bar with a bar christening. What a great time was had by all. The bar is something Jon and I both wanted and we think that it adds some fun to our home. We love to have our friends over for cocktails and to chat.

This past year we lost our dear pet Sophie. She was a beautiful cat with a sweet disposition. She is dearly missed. We have added a new member to our family and have adopted Nikki and Jacob's cat Dakota. We love him very much; he is all male and brings a lot of love and laughter to our home.

Mom and Dad went back to Marco Island Florida in October and will be coming back to Minnesota in May. I find it very strange that the time between May and October goes so quickly and the time between October to May goes so slowly. We both miss Mom and Dad when they are in Florida. This year however, Jon and I will be visiting them in January which will make the time till May much shorter this year.

I have spent many, many hours this year working on canning and crafting and managed to make all of our christmas gifts for our family this year. Jon himself has taken up a new hobby or at least he's giving it a try. Last week he took his first electric guitar lesson. I always knew Jon was a rocker but I didn't know he wanted to learn how to play until a long car ride several months ago to Iowa. Searching my mind for something to say and keep a conversation going during the long ride, I asked Jon if he could do any profession in the world what would it be. He said, he wanted to be a guitar player in a rock and roll band. So, he's taking lessons. Good for him. Never stop learning and using your brain muscle.

As I draw this letter to a close, I am in my craft room looking out on the lake where a snowmobile is racing across the lake. I can't help be in wonder as I know that in about 3 1/2 months we will be putting the pontoon back in the water.

In closing, Jon and I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year!

Jon and Deb Spence

Back to Work in the Ninth Week of Recovery

I started back to work on Monday of this week for the first time since Sep 14. I'm working six hour days until Thanksgiving, and then I'll start full time work again on Nov 30. I worked Mon-Thu this week, took Friday as a vacation day, and felt pretty good all week. However, as the week wore on, I wore down a bit and by Thursday afternoon I was feeling the burn. Guess I'm not quite back to full speed yet, but nobody (except maybe me :-) expected me to be.

It was sure good to see old friends I haven't seen in so long and to reconnect with colleagues again. I'm slowly catching up with where my work team has gone since I left. Several changes and many new plans to absorb. I feel like I'm starting to get the hang of things again, but a lot has happened in the two months I've been on the sidelines.

I've fallen off the wagon a bit with my walking, but I got back on track with a 45 minute walk this morning. It felt good to be walking again with some of my aches and pains healed up.

Yesterday was a rough day for me. For some reason I woke up with a nasty pain in my back and my left arm. Don't know if I slept on my side wrong or what, but I was feeling pretty crappy. Spent some time on the heating pad and by mid-afternoon the pain was pretty much gone. Since I can't take aspirin or ibuprofen any more, I've had to find new and creative ways to deal with aches and pains. Tylenol has never been an effective pain reliever for me, so I can't really count on that for much. After the pain was gone, I was feeling pretty tired so I spent the rest of the day horizontal on the couch watching college football.

Deb made up a dinner for a friend of ours from the lake who had surgery this week. We delivered it to Charlie and his wife at around dinner time. Charlie looks like he is doing pretty well, though he and I both recognize that feel of being "lost" during our recovery. We were his third group of visitors for the day, so we didn't stay long, but we are glad to see him doing well.

I wanted to do some Christmas decorating and maybe even get the monster Christmas tree up in the great room this weekend because the weather was so nice. However, didn't turn out to be a good idea, so I'll have to do it later when I'm feeling up to it a bit more.

I did get out for one event this weekend. Deb and I and Matt and Theresa P. had planned to attend a meat raffle at the Stacy Bar the week I started back to work, so we lived up to our plan this week. We were joined by our friend John E. and we all had a good time. Matt and Theresa won three times, and Deb and I won twice. Before we left, Gene H. from work stopped by and we found out he lives near Stacy, so we consider him one of our neighbors as well. We plan to all get together and do this again soon. On the way home, we stopped at Dave's and Barb's house to say hi and visit for a short time. After that it was home, some supper, and then to bed.

Looking forward to the short work week ahead and then Thanksgiving. We are having our Thanksgiving with our daughters and their families on Saturday. Looking forward to the full house, playing with grandsons, and the good food everyone is bringing!

Working to return to full speed.

Jon