Another Day, another dog!!

Tess was so happy to see me when I came home…..she did the butt wiggle dance. She was very cautious near me and made sure she was not on my chest but laid off to my side and put her head in my lap. She keeps staring at my face and licking me and giving the heavy Border Collie sighs….

But obviously I must have turned the tide in her eyes as she is now devoted to my Mom. Tess shadows her every step and some times even get to take her outside and toss the ball for a few hours.

I do manage to get Tess to cuddle next to me at night. And she will slide up next to me for a bit but you can see her ears swirls around to see where “Grandma” was in the house. Grandma makes sure is the “food taste control dog” and gives her pieces of food all the time. You never know, someone might try to slip me a poisoned meal!!

She looks well fed from the extra food but don’t worry, we have adjusted her dinner to reflect that.

Nana wants to be Grandma’s best friend but Tess glares at her and makes sure that Nan is not to close to her Grandma. Tess is no doubt going to have some major Grandma withdrawals on Sunday. Grandma will be going home for a bit.

As for me, I am doing much better now. I only woke up once last night and had to take a pain pill. The first two nights I woke several times and had a hard time sleeping. I slept on the couch last night and it was great. We believe the lack of sleep was due to the bed.

One of the many goals was to drop my water weight from 135 to 118 lbs. I am at about 123 right now and the progress is good.

My Blood pressure and heart rate are still good. A real bonus is that my heart has not gone into the arrhythmia or flutter state.

Mom has been cooking delicious meals for me. I just gobble up her food. I love her cooking…I wish I was as good as a chef as she is.

So, each day I have to go for 4 walks, each day it increases one minute. The first night I was home, I had a hard time and my mom had to be backup next to me (Mom grabbing my elbow or back) Today I was able to cruse for my walks at a brisk rate and my chest doesn’t hurt as much.

We had to go back to Dr Austin for a check-up after the operation and he was pleased with what I have done so far. There is a little water in my left lung and we hope it will be re-absorbed. I am losing the weight he wants me too, the walks are good and I am keeping my air flow 1000-1500. Each day it is easier to blow in it. Jeff was the driver while I took a nap. He even got me a Almond Latte Breve- Decaf while I waiting for the Dr appointment

My grass hay arrived today and I got about 370 or so bales….it was cut from a local field. George Magnoci, a local dairy farmer took on the task of cutting/baling/stacking my hay. That took a huge load off my chest (no pun intended). George is a well known person that is a local icon known for his generosity.

Thank you George, Diane (his wife) and hay crew. You made me feel much better

I am glad I am feeling much better and soon I hope to be painless.

Thanks again to everyone for the flowers, gifts, candy and cards. No to mention your ph or emails of support.

Surgery Update

Hi y’all,

I am home and glad to be here. It was a tough week at the hospital.

I went in Wed and at 2/3:00 they had prepped me and then they opened me up (open heart and not via the leg vein) and cut a patch from the lining of my heart. They sewed it between the two upper right and left atrium. The hole was so large they couldn’t have a upper wall to attach so they attached it to the top part of the heart. The closed me up and were checking the vital and they saw there was a problem with one of my major veins so they told Jeff that I had to be rushed in and they opened me up again, EXCPET this time they open the entire chest area (with a bone saw) and then found the problem.

When they had stitched in the patch they went over a vein they and had looped that patch over it. So they had to remove and re-stitch me. When they went in they had no idea what was wrong and Jeff was upset…..he heard they had problems and that was not good news.

I was on the bypass machine for 8 hours and normally it should have only been three hours. Plus I was bleeding and they had to fix that.

I don’t remember hardly anything except the nurses refilling me with plasm/platelets? A lot in fact .

Kathy Davis, a DR friend of mine came up and stayed with us…she talked to Jeff and got him less worried, She also called the hospital trying to find out what was wrong. She couldn’t find out until after the surgery.

Kathy spent most of the week in the room with me, making sure I was ok, working with me to do the exercises and eating and great support. It really means a lot when someone is in the room with you. She was able to take the Doctor’s Speech and translate to laymen’s words for me, my mom, Jeff, brother Nelson and other folks.

Each day was really rough as I have never been is so much pain. You are very helpless and can’t use your arms….try getting off the couch, bed or anywhere without using your arms. You can not use them to push, pull or hold yourself steady.

I was not healing as fast as they wanted, I threw up 3 meals and had no appetite and felt weak and didn’t care.

I had a air-puffer in which you blow air into and my goal was 1200 and I could barely do 750, no matter how hard I tried.

On Monday, they did a chest x-ray and saw there was fluid in the lungs. They waited until after breakfast and I threw that up, for me to settle down. They did a ultra sound and saw there was fluid in my lungs. It was in the part that does not drain but just builds up.

So they had to do a lung tap….there is some fancy name but what it is that they stick two tubes in your back, one to each lung. They drained 1200 cc of blood from the right lung and 800cc from the other. It hurt like hell and I wept and Kathy held me for support. I had to wait until it was drained before they took the tubes out and it hurt so bad. Then after they pulled the tubes out, my lungs hurts since it was trying to expand. Jeff had not gotten there yet and it was a good thing as it would have freaked him out. Jeff and my mom arrived later when I felt human.

I know a few of you folks came to see me but I was so drugged up that I hardly remember seeing you. I know on a couple of your folks I just fell ASLEEP in the middle of our conversation!! Don’t take offense. And thanks for the cards and flowers….they sure brighten my room

Mom, Nelson, Jeff, Kathy and Kumiko (mom’s best friend) were pretty much there the entire time. It helps when one wakes up and sees friendly faces. I know Jeff had to limit people on visits as I was very ill and weak. (A lot of it had to do with the 2 liters of blood in my lungs.

So that afternoon on Monday, we decided one more day in the hospital to make sure there were no more nausea and lung issues.

I got the green light on Tuesday and we finally arrived home. The walk from the upper driveway to the couch wiped me out. My mom made a huge spread of food and Jeff, Chuck (herding friend), Nelson, mom and I had dinner….well, I had 2 bites of beef and ½ bowl of soup and then had to go to lie down as I was feeling bad. So they had dinner without me but I heard how tasty it was. Nelson apparently chatted with me and I don’t remember a single word he said. He is a really cool brother and I blessed to have him. I got the best mom in the world….she is staying here and cooking home made Japanese meals for me each day. I can eat her food and trying to make up for lost food time. The food in the hospital was dry, overcooked or quite good. I ate lots of sorbets and fruit pieces. I know they try really hard to make a good meal but being able to have sugar or salt sure narrows your food choices. I know when I got out of surgery I looked like the Pillsbury Dough boy, I had 2 or 3 chins, round face, huge fingers….and had gained over 27 lbs…all water weight which I am trying to lose now.

Each day I have been getting better and better but it will be 8 weeks before I can semi function as a human again. But it is better than being dead!!

I still have a lotta pain in the chest area where the tube was for drainage and the front incision. This is going to take awhile so I can not lift more that 5 lbs or use my arms above my shoulders or below waist.

Tess has been missing me….when I was in the hospital she just moped and refused to get out of her bed. When Kathy shows up, Tess will leap all over and act out of control. However, when Kathy went upstairs to see Tess, she gave a weak wag and didn’t move at all. Then she knew Tess was missing me. Tess barely acknowledged Jeff too. Nana was nervous and trying to figure out what as going on.

Tess was very happy to see me when I came through the door…you would think she would bounce all over me but she stuck to my side and was very serious. She would crawl up on the couch and cuddle and kiss me all the time. She knew that I was hurt and was very careful when she was next to me. Normally, she would flings toys in my lap for me to throw them but she laid next to me and kissed and cuddled me. Nana tried to get on the couch a few times but Tess snarled at her and so Nan only could visit when Tess not next to me.

Jeff has been a wonderful husband. He helps me up and down, sets the med out for me and takes care of the farm. He had a bunch of stuff dumped on him and has very well.

I have wonderful set of friends and you all know who you are. The road to recovery will be a long haul but with good friends like you the road is much smoother. My students and friends took dogs to help with the workload. Sue MacDonald has been keeping informed as well as others. I asked Jeff who called him so I could thank that person and his eyes glazed over…so if I did not acknowledge you, that is why. Tony from work (like my second father) has been keeping people informed and I love the *bit of honey* candy that I got from work. Kathy also kept people up to speed. As well as Monique and Audrey and so forth

I’ll post to the blog daily on what is happening. Each day, I am better and losing the water weight, eating lots more and more energy. But when I am tired, I just pass out to sleep. I am awake more of the day too. Be warned if the words don’t look right it is because I am on heavy pain meds all the time

I had some of the top surgeons who took care of me and the Nursing staff was a 10 plus scale. I don’t remember all of them but the few that stick to my mind are Vita (sp?) Cherise (sp?), and Christina. There was a super Nurse aide (?) named Mariana….she was born with a heart of gold. The staff was just awesome and made me feel like I was a human than a patient with a number. I was really fortune with the great Doctors and nursing staff….it made my stay lots nicer and they care. If you ever are at Overlake, I sure hope you get the great staff I did!!

I am fading now so going to sign off. If you want to come out to the farm, you are welcome anytime after 12:00

Thanks for caring

Diane

Surgery Delay

The surgery got delayed one day. Tomorrow I go in at 9 and it will be in the afternoon and I should be done by 5 or so.

We got there and all checked in, had to take the pre-surgery shower, wear the non-fashionable attire and wait. They drew blood and then I watched CSI.

Then Dr Austin comes in at noon to tell me the surgery has been delayed one day.
His top nurse was ill during the morning surgery and his second nurse was unable to take her place at my surgery. He only wants his top nurses and so do I.

He is a really cool Doctor and I am blessed to have him. On a side note, he used to have livestock. such as horses and sheep. That give him extra bonus points on my book.

He told me the story of when he banded the lambs tails and one day his children grabbed one of the lamb's tail and it fell off and they were horrified.

Not only did I get one of the top surgery but one that talks "sheep"

Tomorrow look at the comments for updates...

Offline for a bit

More than likely I will be offline for a bit.....why?

Heart Surgery.....

Tuesday (as in July 15th) I am going in for major heart surgery at Overlake in Bellevue. They have to repair the wall between the right and left atrium. It is a ASD...a hole in the heart. Most of them are quite small. A lot of children her the *hole in the heart* but most of them close. Those that do not close are about pencil thick. A few, very rare case the holes get bigger. I am one of those chosen ones. The surgeon said it was the largest hole he has seen.

...from a website....."An ASD results in excessive blood flow to the right side of the heart and lungs. The more blood that is diverted to the right side of the heart, the harder the lungs and right ventricle must work to compensate for the problem.

Eventually, the stress on the right ventricle can cause it to enlarge (dilate) to make up for the increased workload. Also, the lungs can become congested upon receiving more blood than is needed, which may lead to high blood pressure in the lungs (pulmonary hypertension). Other problems associated with an ASD include regurgitation of blood into the right atrium, respiratory infections, the formation of blood clots (which could lead to a stroke) and the development of abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias). In some rare cases, an untreated ASD can lead to sudden cardiac death.

No matter when it is noticed, the sooner as ASD is corrected, the better for the patient. Small holes may close on their own in the first years of life without any symptoms or harmful effects. However, they could lead to the production of blood clots that may be carried to the brain and cause a stroke. Larger holes allow more blood to pass through, increasing the risk of symptoms and other harmful effects, including arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythms).

When an ASD is present, some of the oxygen-rich blood that should travel to the left ventricle from the left atrium is diverted (shunted) through the ASD and into the right atrium, where it mixes with oxygen-poor blood from the rest of the body. The right atrium of the heart is thus receiving blood from two different places: from the veins and from the left atrium (through the ASD). This results in too much blood flow to the right side of the heart and lungs. The more blood that is diverted to the right side of the heart, the harder the lungs and right ventricle must work to compensate

Since my ASD is so large they are moving quickly to repair it. They will have to make holes in the left and right side of my chest to so the operation. Prior to this they used to open the chest up so I am lucky they are not doing this . The surgeon will remove a patch from my heart lining and then put it where the hole is and sew it in. This should help with the enlarged right ventricle.
I also have arrhythmia and after after I heal they will have to shock the heart to re-set it. For now, they hope the heart can re-set itself and then they do not have to do it.

The bright side is my heart will be fixed and I will be much better. The asthma that I have had for years is probably NOT asthma but the heart issues. So that should go away. No heart issue and no asthma....what a blessing.

The surgeon in one of the top surgeons in the nation. ( Dr. Joseph Austin at Overlake ) . I will go in on Tuesday and out 4-5 days. I will be in the Coronary Care Unit. No doubt I will be eating the fine cuisine. For the last three weeks off and on, I have been there tasting their fine meals while I went through a bunch of tests. I'll be asking Jeff, Nelson (brother) and my mom to bring me real food when they visit.

I will be off work for 8 weeks and out of trialing for a month. I hope to be running at LaCamas. Prior to then I will be going stir crazy at home with my daily 5 minute walks. My doggie bed warmers during this will be Tess, Nan and Lucy.

I'll be looking forward to getting back at the post again and finally in good health!! WHOO HOOO

Thanks to all who have been supportive in this. I really appreciate it. Also I'll be offline next week more than likely

I'll have some friends post on the blog with updates......

It's my Birthday!!

Birthday by the Beatles

You say it's your birthday
It's my birthday too--yeah
They say it's your birthday
We're gonna have a good time
I'm glad it's your birthday
Happy birthday to you.

Yes we're going to a party party
Yes we're going to a party party
Yes we're going to a party party.

I would like you to dance--Birthday
Take a cha-cha-cha-chance-Birthday
I would like you to dance--Birthday
Dance

You say it's your birthday
Well it's my birthday too--yeahY
ou say it's your birthday
We're gonna have a good time
I'm glad it's your birthday
Happy birthday to you.

Happy Birthday Tess.

You came into our lives and brought us JOY

We began herding so many years ago....

Together we climbed to the top.

You proved yourself to be a top Open dog.

And took care of me along the way.

You worked hard at home. In rain, mud, major floods and heat...nothing stopped you. Your heart never quit. You were true to your heritage.

You showed those who didn't believe. And those who believed.

2001 6th Place Nursery Nationals (Scott Glen)
Qualified for Open Finals several times, ran once and placed.

Earned her ABCA papers on ROM (Registered on Merit)

Your pups had proved themselves on and off the trial field

They have been to the USBCHA Sheepdog and Cattle dog Nursery Finals.

Fearless and willing like you have done. Your legacy lives on.

You made it look easy.

Your courage never wavered.

You changed as needed for the job. Tough rams, ewes and lambs, large flocks, lambs, cattle...you did it all. And did it well.

And that it was never too late to take new challenges on...and not to be afraid

Today you are TEN YEARS OLD and still the love of our lives.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

DELTABLUEZ TESS.