When I had my last EKG a little more than two weeks ago, the doctors looked at it and rushed me to the nearest hospital. This afternoon, I had my first post-surgery check-up from Dr. Patrick Rowley, my cardiologist and he said he was “thrilled” with this EKG, my heart looked and sounded and acted great.
He said it was so radically different from the first EKG that he saw, my heart was working well, pumping blood evenly and strongly. I can feel that. For the first time, I can hear my heart beating at night, I can hear it in my head, the bells of Bedlam Farm.
Dr. Rowley was the first physician I saw at Glens Falls Hospital before I was transferred by ambulance to the Albany Medical Center and he told me the good news was that I was not dead. Close, though, he suggested. He also seemed to sense that I was heading for open heart surgery, not a stent or any other lesser treatment. He suggested that I spent five or six weeks in solitude, peace and tranquility just taking care of myself after the surgery.
I guess I had to tell him that has not happened, I have resumed work on my book and blog and published my e-book on the carriage horses, already an Amazon bestseller on its first day of publication. I am walking every day, going to movies, eating at the Round House, riding around with Maria, dressing and showering myself and moving forward. And resting too, I tire very easily and just sleep and close my eyes often.
Dr. Rowley is a shy man, a straight-talker, I like him. He said in a month or so, we would have a long talk about the long haul, that is, the changes I would need to consider to keep my newly restored heart healthy. I know what he means. My diet is very good, I think, but I need some new forms of regular exercise, especially in the winter and I want to lose some weight. Diabetics with heart disease have to think ahead, he said, the surgery will take care of things for awhile, but I have to take care of things beyond that.
I hear him. I will not be going to a gym or doing aerobic exercises, but I have always been very active, and I will find something that works for me. I have to do a lot of listening, think differently about my body, I can’t only live in my mind, as I have done. Dr. Rowley thinks we can cut down on some of the medications in a few weeks, but I will be on several for the rest of my life. Arterial heart disease, like diabetes, is not really curable, just sometimes controllable.
The visit to the cardiologist today was a happy one, in stunning contrast to my visits with them a couple of weeks ago. My heart was beating a different drum today, even I could feel it and see it. Dr. Rowley was very pleased with my intense walking protocol, he said I should continue to press myself a bit, but to always keep in mind that it will take me from six months to a year to fully recover from such traumatic surgery.
Another bright spot: he said my chest was good and strong, my scars healing and he said if I braced my camera with one arm, he might well go for my using it in a few weeks. He said he looked at my blog and he wanted to make sure the blog was pleasurable for me, and not tense or hard work. I said I loved my blog, it was nothing but a joy for me, healing and central to my recovery. Okay, he said, keep writing.
Dr. Rowley was thorough, he asked me a hundred questions about my breathing, pain, movement, sleeping, etc., and he liked the answers to every single one of them. Between us, we did not come up with a single problem apart from sleeping poorly and my continuing struggle to get my diabetes under control post-surgery, he said that would happen, but not for a couple of weeks. The staff at the office seemed shocked that my surgery was only a couple of weeks ago, I felt good about that.
Take it easy, he said. Push yourself a bit, rest yourself, you have done great, he said. Keep doing what you are doing. I am not used to good report cards, I might ask my friend George Forss to print this EKG up and I can put it up on my wall for inspiration. Maybe my tell-tale heart has inspired me to learn how to be a good student after all. I guess you do have to nearly kill some people to get their attention.