Heartbeats Rhymes & Life

  One thousand four hundred forty hours / 60 days / 8 weeks / 2 months It still boggles my mind to say those numbers... As of this writing, it's been 2 months since my operation and that has felt like both an eternity as well as a blur during that time. I can't believe time is flying by so fast and yet the day to day seems so slow. It's been a full 4 weeks since I've updated you on where I am at with things and how I'm doing during this recovery, and things couldn't be better. Along with the lifting/weight restrictions being removed at week 6, I was also cleared by my cardiologist to start light riding around the neighborhood and other mellow trails. No singletrack yet and no rowdy riding, but being able to get outside and travel with more than just my two feet or a car has been profound on my mental attitude!  I (almost) forgot how good it feels to ride around with the wind in my face and the smells from all the spring blossoms. It's almost like being a chi

Photo from my friend Colin Rex It's Tuesday morning, April 20th and it's been 4 weeks since I was discharged from the hospital. 4 weeks already?! Crazy. Everyday I wake up wondering what I'm going to fill my day with and then before you know it, it's noon, then 4pm, then dinner time. Time flies and I've been able to get some things done around the house, like selling old bike parts, spending time with family and napping. The first couple of weeks saw some good napping as my energy would be sapped from the slightest effort, but these days I see less and less napping. Atrial Fibrillation or Captain AFib has been haunting me ever since Monday March 5th. I woke up around 3am that morning to take some medications and then it started to happen... Extra high heart rate, irregular beats, shortness of breath and an overwhelming fear came over me. I thought I could 'calm' it down myself (not knowing it was AFib) so I spent the next 45 minutes lying to myself that it w

  Thursday March 25th, 5:30 am - Surgery day The day started just like any other day... HaHa! No way, it was surgery day! The day that I have been planning, prepping, and coordinating for the past 2.5 months was finally here!!! I was able to get some good sleep the night before and I had a relaxing day on Wednesday with Kristen and my mom. A good homemade breakfast, coffee, long chats. It was all about relaxing before the big day. It was actually a relief to have done everything possible that I could and now it was in the hands of the doctors. Open heart surgery meant no food or water after 11:30 the night before and NOTHING the morning of. Ooof an empty stomach and anxiety, that's what's for breakfast... Ooh free grippy socks at check-in! First things first, I had to have one of many IV's placed in my arm. I told the nurse about my Vagel response to IV needles and how there's a good chance I may pass out. I asked for a cold, wet towel for my head before the needle went

  Ain't nothin to it but to do it! 70's and sunny on a perfect Saturday *Lung X-Ray - check *Negative Covid test - check *Mental status - Alert and ready for action *Summary - Cognition grossly intact Summary: Patient appears optimized for the planned surgery. Further testing not required prior to surgery.   It's Monday morning, the 22nd. Snow is gently falling outside, a piping hot cup of coffee sits next to me and the reality of things are coming on strong.  It's not like I'm in denial about all of this, but it has seemed surreal since the first diagnosis. The speed at which all of this information has come about as well as the research, decision making and severity of the situation has made the last 2.5 months absolutely fly by.  Time is such a personal and situational measure of things and my time has felt like a movie in the sense that I walk around and appear to be completely normal to everyone else. I'll never forget what it feels like to appear normal a

  I have a date. A date with a surgeon! As of this writing it's March 1st and 24 days from now I'm scheduled to go under the knife for a Bentall procedure with Dr. Reece at University of Colorado to replace my aortic valve as well as the ascending aortic root with an On-X ascending aortic prothesis. The OnX Aortic prothesis  If you've been following along, you know that making a decision on valves as well as a surgeon has been occupying all of my mental space and has been the most difficult decision in my life to make. I mean, when do you 'get' to choose what type of medical device goes into your chest as well as when to have it done?!  It's been crazy to have caught the deterioration just before things go south and to make this mandatory surgery an 'elective' operation. In talking with my cardiologist last Thursday she said, "only bad things will happen if you don't have the operation sooner than later." She said there's no question yo

  That sweet, sweet Arizona Trail Vacation. That's been a seldom used word in our house over the past twelve months. We've definitely escaped for long weekends and spent time away from the house in 2020 for a variety of biking related escapades, but a 'vacation' was never really had by either of us. Until now. Last week Kristen and I drove down to the Tucson area of Arizona to spend a week with her wonderful mom Pam and partner Rich. We've pushed this vacation off for a number of reasons and changed the original plan multiple times, but we finally penned in some dates and made it happen.  Some riding, some hiking, some shopping, some exploring, lots of eating and most importantly spending time with family. We also got to spend an afternoon riding with my good friend Jay. He's living his best life out of his van, and has been for a couple of years now.  Thanks to a posting on his website/blog/vlog (check it out!):  https://journeyvision.net/ I saw he was outside

  Is there a better spot to propose to my love?! Nope, Georgia Pass for the win! Every day is one day closer to surgery and valve replacement. The anxiety these days is almost worse than the initial diagnosis.  Knowledge and time are power, but they're also a curse. I know I'm better off with all the knowledge I'm gaining and the time I have to make decisions, but it's almost a burden to have so much time to think things over. There are no clear-cut decisions or answers and I'm burdened every day with the fear that I'll make the wrong choice or that I'll regret the decision(s) I've made for replacement. As things sit right now (Feb 10th) I've made another appointment with Dr. Brants at Lutheran Hospital to further discuss replacement valves. *With all of the data I have now there is no disputing the fact that the valve must be replaced and a graft put in for the Aortic root. The sooner the better as I found out after my MRI last Thursday. The regurgi