HAPPY NEW YEAR !

December 24 to 30, 2017

Sunday ; Christmas Eve

Mostly sunny ... although for only three hours between sunrise and sunset.  Brutally cold !

I was quite ill today.  With a flare up of ulcerative colitis.  My own fault.  What a dumbass !  Yesterday I did not take my cholestyramine medication following lunch and dinner.  The medication that I have been taking longer than any other, about twenty-five years now.  Can't digest food without it !  Every few years, when I've been feeling "colon healthy" for a reasonably long period of time, I need to prove to myself that I still need this medication.  That's it's not just " all in my head".  So ... with brilliant timing ... I've made myself sick for Christmas !  What a dumbass !

GEEEEEZZZ ... if I was Merkin ... I'd run for President !  HA HA HA !

Ozzie was much improved today.  Feeling hungry.  First bowel movement after general anaesthesia, always a momentous achievement.  I should know !  HA HA HA !  I am typing this ( at 7:20 PM ) surrounded by the smell of Tourtière ( French Canadian meat pie ) cooking, our Christmas Eve traditional dinner.

Joanne took me to the pool building around noon for the fourth of my seven planned cardiac rehabilitation substitute fitness sessions.  It went well, I enjoy her company and appreciate her encouragement.

< mumbling under my breath > whip cracking Nazi bitch !

HA HA HA !

Monday ;  MERRY CHRISTMAS

Sunny !  Cold !  We had a quiet day together, just the two of us, and the animals.  By choice.

We slept late.  We had our traditional Christmas brunch, waffles slathered with jam and ice cream.  We took Ozzie for a walk.  He's feeling very well, apparently completely recovered from the ordeal of general anaesthesia a few days ago.  I administered his final dosage of analgesic this morning.  Not sure he really needed it.  He's active, and his spirits are high.  Doesn't seem like he's suffering much pain.

We opened our gifts, mostly edibles like chocolates and special snacks.  Ozzie is unimpressed with the gifts Joanne bought him.  Emma is unimpressed with the gifts Joanne bought her.  HA HA HA ... "hard to buy for" pets.  My sister phoned and we had our annual Christmas chat.  Joanne phoned her sister and they had their chat.  Joanne got our turkey into the oven.  We took Ozzie for another walk before it got dark ... around 4:15 PM !

We had a nice Christmas turkey dinner.  As always, Joanne did a good job of feeding us.  We watched some TV, and relaxed.

FIRST CHRISTMAS ;

• with Emma
• with Ozzie
• without Bo
• in Keremeos, British Columbia
• after triple bypass surgery

Tuesday ;  Boxing Day

Sunny and very cold.  We had a slow, lazy Boxing Day.  That's what Boxing Day is for, n'est-ce pas ?

Around noon we headed to our park's pool building for our fifth of seven cardiac rehabilitation substitute fitness sessions.  It went well.  After lunch and a nap
I reassembled the pet steps that Emma uses to get on and off our bed.  Yesterday
I glue repaired them.  Last Saturday, while we were at the symphony ... Ozzie smashed them to smithereens by jumping awkwardly off the bed while still groggy from anaesthetic.  He's not allowed on the bed, but when we're not home he sometimes climbs up on the bed to watch through the bedroom window for our return.  As soon as he sees us returning, he gets off the bed.  Usually he doesn't land on the pet steps like a ton of bricks, but the other day ... !

Wednesday ;  Cloudy and snowing lightly all day.  BUT ... that means it was warmer today than it has been for the last few days.  Ozzie really enjoys romping in fresh snow.  AND ... after being with us for three months, he is beginning to show his "sense of humour".

AND ... for the first time in the three months he has been with us ... he doesn't stink !  He came to us with stinky skin and fur, and very distinct odours from every ...
< ahem > ... orifice.  Infected ears.  Rotten teeth and infected gums.  Impacted anal gland.  And so on !  Yesterday, I cuddled right up to his face for the first time.  And ... he smells like a clean, healthy dog.

With a teensy bit of coaching from Joanne, tonight I baked a batch of peanut butter cookies.

And one year ago today we met Emma for the first time, at the Humane Society of Yuma.  She was emaciated and dehydrated ... near death.  When I finished my regular Tuesday afternoon shift of dog walking, I went into the cat wing to tell Joanne I was ready to go home.  I found her brushing Emma, trying to untangle some mattes from her long hair.  The first thing I saw as I walked into the cat wing was ... Joanne brushing Emma's tummy, and ... < sputter > ... Emma's flesh was tearing like a damp paper
towel ! ! !

She was thirteen years old when she came into the Humane Society of Yuma, a few days before Christmas.  SO ... I am declaring today to be her fourteenth birthday.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EMMA !

Thursday ;  WHEW !  Lots of snow overnight.

Ozzie really enjoyed our late morning long walk.  He loves to romp in fresh, fluffy snow.  Too bad he's the only one of us who enjoys it.  HA HA HA !  This afternoon I clipped all the hair on his face and muzzle very short, to get rid of the long, dirty, slightly stinky hair resulting from his dental surgery.  His face and muzzle look a lot different, slightly odd, but ... clean and not stinky !

When I told Ozzie not to worry, it's just hair, it will grow back, he will only look odd for a brief time, like I did when I had to shave for my surgery three months ago, Joanne said ... "oh ... no ... Ozzie doesn't look anywhere near as bad as you looked immediately after your surgery, with no beard, and grey skin colour".  HA HA HA !  Thanks a lot, my dear !

Friday ;  POST OPERATIVE THREE MONTHS

Three months is a bypass surgery milestone.  “Basic” healing is completed.  Most restrictions are lifted.  ( I’m still not cleared for swimming pool or hot tub use. )  For  patients with employment, return to work on a part time / light duties basis is permissible.  Ten pound limit weight lifting restrictions are removed, common sense ... and sternum pain ... dictate lifting limits.  Lifting arms above the head and shampooing were previously approved.  Driving and sex were previously approved.  Travel by aircraft is approved.  Piloting an aircraft is not !  Sadly, my wings are clipped.  My flying days are over.

< sigh >  Heavy snowfall today.  Ceiling zero.  Visibility zero.  DARN ... should have gone into town to refill our five gallon water jug yesterday.

Late this morning we went ( by car ) to the swimming pool building to do my sixth of seven planned cardiac rehabilitation substitute fitness sessions.  Afterwards we drove to town ( Keremeos ) to refill our five gallon water jug.  YIKES !  Atrocious driving conditions !  Especially for someone who hasn't done any winter driving in fourteen years.  We were back home about 2:30 PM.  We had a late lunch, and I went for a long nap.

It seemed as if every time we used the car today we spent more time cleaning snow and ice off the car than actually driving it.  And the snowplow blade on our park's truck is broken, so we have had no snow clearing service in our park for the last two days of heavy snowfall !

BUT ... evidently my heart works just fine ! ! !  No high blood pressure !  No angina
pain !  And ... < insert drum roll here > ... no blocked arteries !  Well ... actually ... the blocked arteries are still blocked ... they're just bypassed !  HA HA HA !

Saturday ;

We spent a lot of today shovelling out from yesterday's snowfall.  Well ... Joanne spent a lot of today shovelling.  I mostly stood around somewhat uselessly.  I cleaned snow off the car.  I scraped ice off the car's windows.  I broke the car window scraper / snow brush.  < sigh >  I actually did some of the shovelling.  Perhaps 20%.  The final "clean up" part.  Joanne did all the heavy lifting, no doubt about that !

And while doing that, she informed me ... "never again !"  She wants to begin shopping next summer for an apartment style condominium unit.

DSK

MERRY CHRISTMAS !

December 17 to 23, 2017

Sunday ;  Snowing !  Ozzie enjoys long walks in fresh snow.

At lunch time our neighbour / friend Jeanine came over with her little dog so I could examine and clean Charlie's ears.  No problems !  Well ... except for his bulging little eyes.  I think Charlie may have glaucoma.  This afternoon Joanne did laundry.  I did a bit of routine maintenance on the minivan.  In the evening ... < sigh > ... I wrapped Christmas gifts.

Monday ;  Cloudy.

With Joanne as my coach and cheerleader, I went to our RV park's fitness room to walk on the treadmill for half an hour, then use other fitness equipment to substitute for my cardiac rehabilitation fitness session.  The cardiopulmonary rehabilitation program is closed for the next two and a half weeks, so I will do some exercising here at home to try to "keep up the good work", so to speak.

After exercising, and a late lunch, I had a long nap.  We picked up our mail while walking Ozzie late in the afternoon.  I received a "get well' card from our winter home at Kofa Ko-op RV Park in Yuma, Arizona.  The card was signed by many of our neighbours and friends down there.

Tuesday ;  Cloudy and windy.

We drove into town this morning to refill our five gallon water jug, using the truck for the first time since September 22.  Back at home I exercised our little generator, and we took Ozzie for a walk in the fresh snow.  He loves romping in fresh snow.  In the evening Joanne baked Christmas sugar cookies.  I was the decorator, with little coloured sprinkles, and chocolate sprinkles, and little icing Christmas trees.

Wednesday ;  Mostly cloudy, partially sunny, very cold.  As we approach the winter solstice, the sun rises above the mountain across the road at 9:30 AM, and sets behind the mountain across the river at 12:30 PM.  < sigh >

This afternoon we went for the second time ( of seven ) to our RV park's fitness centre for my "substitute" cardiac rehab fitness session.  It seems to be getting more difficult rather than easier.  Thank you again to Joanne for being my "coach" and "cheerleader".

< mumbling under my breath > whip cracking Nazi bitch !

HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA !

In the evening we watched the three hour season finale of Survivor.

Thursday ;  Cloudy.  Cold.

The roadway behind our home has become icy and treacherous.  Today I sent a letter of complaint to our Board of Directors, but it seems to have been ignored.

We cleaned and treated Ozzie's ears today.  Same as always, it seems.  One ear remains perfectly fine, one ear is about 98% okay, but slight traces of fungal infection remain.  When we went for our afternoon walk, after checking our mailbox, I went to the park's library in the clubhouse to look for books to read, while Joanne continued walking Ozzie.

Joanne tried a new recipe tonight, a Chicken Mole ( pronounced "molay" ) dish.  Mole is a Mexican recipe for a savoury chocolate based sauce.  Sounds weird, but it works.

Friday ;  post operative 12 weeks

Mostly cloudy, cold.

Joanne was up early this morning preparing for her 8 AM departure with Ozzie, heading for Penticton, and Ozzie's 9 AM appointment with the veterinarian for dental cleaning and extractions.  After dropping Ozzie off at the veterinarian Joanne spent the day in Penticton, shopping and running errands, and waiting for Ozzie's 4 PM pick up time.

< sigh >  The veterinarian did $3500 worth of work on Ozzie's teeth, cleaning ten teeth and extracting twenty five teeth !  Poor little dog !  Two and a half hours of oral surgery.  His teeth were atrocious.  With lots of infection in the gums and down to the roots of the teeth.  Since the estimate was for ( only ! ) $1200 worth of work, and / or perhaps because Ozzie was the veterinarian's last patient before Christmas, and / or perhaps because Ozzie was the veterinarian's last patient before maternity leave, she reduced the bill by 50% !  With an examination and blood tests two weeks ago, his "dental work" cost over $2000 ! ! ! ! !  I surely hope his quality of life will be improved as a result.

Showing brilliant time management, after Joanne left at 8 AM I went back to sleep with Emma.  And ... < sputter > ... we slept until noon !  This afternoon I went to our RV park's fitness room and did the third ( of seven ) substitute cardiac rehab fitness sessions.  I was a little bit afraid to do a fitness regimen alone, with no one there to help me if a medical emergency arose.  And I was a little bit afraid to walk alone to the pool building and back on this park's treacherous icy roads.  I used my walking stick with the little spike on the bottom.  The one I use to walk in the river when I go fly fishing.

Joanne and Ozzie arrived back home shortly after 5 PM.  Ozzie was groggy from anaesthetic, and obviously in pain.  The veterinarian provided three days worth of analgesic for us to administer to him.  And ... his dry kibble days are over !  Hope you like canned food, Ozzie !

After supper we watched ... HA HA HA ... the season finale of "The Guest Book".

Saturday ;  Penticton

Sunny !  Finally !  But cold.

We left home around 12:30 PM heading for Penticton, and an afternoon matinee performance by the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra.  The Christmas concert, entitled "Ringing In The Season" was the full symphony orchestra performing with the Okanagan Handbell Chorus and special guest, a harmonica virtuoso from Hong Kong.  Seated a couple of seats over from us were neighbours from Riverside RV Park Resort.

It was an interesting and enjoyable concert of Christmas music.  It reminded me that
I miss attending symphony orchestra concerts.  Joanne enjoyed the concert.  Which is unusual, she's not a fan of most symphony orchestra performances.  At her urging,
I purchased an expensive raffle ticket for the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra's fund raiser spring raffle.

After the concert we went to London Drugs to buy an item I needed.  And ... feeling a bit guilty about spending that much money on a raffle ticket to raise funds for a symphony orchestra ... providing expensive entertainment for affluent people ... I decided to be generous to the Salvation Army's bell ringer outside the London Drugs store.  Merry Christmas !  The Salvation Army does great work !

We were back home about 6 PM.  Ozzie is doing okay.  His pain level seems to be not too much of a problem for him.  Or ... he's very stoic, which he has proven to be, so maybe the pain is worse than he lets on.  In any case, by tonight his appetite was returning, so I guess that's a very good sign.

DSK

December 10 to 16, 2017

Sunday ;  Penticton

Mostly cloudy, cold.

Around noon we headed to Penticton.  We stopped at Staples and bought a new office chair, and printer ink cartridge, then drove to the Shatford Centre, a performing arts facility.  We attended the 2:30 PM afternoon Christmas concert of the Penticton
Tune-Agers, a choir that our neighbour / friend Jeanine is a member of, along with two other residents of our RV park.  After the afternoon concert of Christmas music, we stayed to partake of the choir's Christmas fund raiser dinner at 4:30 PM.  We had a pleasant Christmas turkey dinner with all the fixin's, then ... < sigh > ... the Christmas carol sing-along.  Jeanine was at our eight person dinner table and accepted our offer of a ride home.

We arrived home about 8:15 PM.  Yes, yes ... Ozzie had peed in the kitchen by then !  At least he is considerate enough to go in the room with vinyl flooring, and not on carpet.

Monday ;  Penticton

Partially sunny, cold, windy.  BRRRRR !

We left home about noon, heading for Penticton.  First stop was Home Hardware where I bought a couple of advertised specials.  Then Canadian Tire, for canned cat food on sale, some sidewalk sand, and a couple of drill bits.  Then ... I went to the first of my thirty sessions at the Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Program.  Joanne went grocery shopping at Superstore while I was at the supervised fitness program from 2 PM to
4 PM.  This being my first day, I was there longer than I will be on future trips.

A physiotherapist guided me through thirty minutes on a treadmill followed by work on each of a dozen fitness machines, along with warm up exercises, cool down exercises, stretching exercises, and ... frequent blood pressure checks.  As expected, I found no joy in this program.  I will grind through the thirty sessions because of the cardiac rehabilitation health benefit they will bring, but ... I don't have to like it !

Joanne picked me up at 4 PM and we were back home around 5 PM.  In the evening
I assembled my office chair.  Good thing ... because Joanne completely broke the old chair while talking on the phone to her sister tonight.

Tuesday ;  Gloomy.  Cold.  Again !  Still !

All my muscles from the chest upwards hurt today.  The pectoral muscles in my upper chest, my shoulders, my biceps.  I guess I have not used my upper body muscles since surgery over ten weeks ago.  Until yesterday !

Long walk, nap, short walk.  Bought tickets to a Christmas concert by the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra.  Despite having lived here for more than ten years, we have never seen the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra perform.  All of their concerts are performed three times ; once in Vernon, once in Kelowna, once in Penticton.  The upcoming Christmas concert features the Okanagan Handbell Ringers.

< sigh >  < whispering >  I miss the National Arts Centre in Ottawa !

Wednesday ;  Penticton

Snow overnight.  < sigh >

I started my day by knocking over a large glass of orange juice.  < sigh >  Juice went everywhere !  Including through the split in the middle of the table and into the "expansion" mechanism underneath that allows the table to be expanded and a leaf put in.  And onto the chairs and chair cushions.  And all over the floor.  And the Christmas placemats on the table.  And the Christmas basket on the table.  And the drill and box of drill bits and other tools that were on the table awaiting return to the shed.  < deep sigh >

Around lunch time we left for Penticton.  I went to my second ( of thirty ) cardiac rehabilitation session, from 2 PM to 3:45 PM.  Joanne went shopping at Wal-Mart.  When she returned to pick me up, we went to BG Fuels and refilled the minivan's fuel tank, then I dropped her off at Superstore to do some grocery shopping while I went to do some Christmas gift shopping.  When I was finished I picked Joanne up at Superstore and we returned home, arriving back home around 6 PM.

Joanne prepared an artichoke as an appetizer, then pizza for supper which we ate while watching Survivor.  Gee ... artichokes sold here are certainly different ... < cough cough > ... than artichokes we buy in Yuma, where we buy them at the farmer's market within a day of them being picked.

After two cardiac rehabilitation sessions ... I ache all over !

Thursday ;  Gloomy, cold, a bit windy.

Short walk, nap, shorter walk.  On cold, windy days I'm not inclined to take long walks.  And I'm not inclined to take long walks on the days following my cardiac rehabilitation sessions, when I'm nursing sore muscles.  But ... after only two sessions I can already feel improvement in my breathing ability.

Friday ;  post operative 11 weeks ;  Penticton

Light snow falling all day, temperature warm enough to melt the falling snow enough to make the roads "greasy".  And windows and headlights filthy.  YUCK !

We left home at 11 AM heading for Penticton.  I had an appointment at noon at Health Source Specialty Medical Supplies to be fit with a new compression sleeve for my left arm.  The arm from which the radial artery was harvested to be used as a coronary artery bypass graft.  When finished there we went to Value Village and I bought a couple of pairs of exercise pants to be worn during my cardiac rehabilitation sessions.  The first two sessions I attended wearing pyjama sweat pants.

We went to McDonald's for a quick, light lunch before I had to be at my 2 PM cardiac rehabilitation fitness class.  At McDonald's we shared a hamburger and a muffin.  While I was at the gym from 2 PM until 3:45 PM Joanne went shopping to three "Dollar" stores.  She picked me up at the gym when I was finished and we were back home around 5 PM.  Most of the drive home was in darkness !

As much as I hate these cardiac rehabilitation fitness sessions I must admit ... after only three sessions ... there is improvement !  My breathing is improved, some cut / damaged and "dead" nerves in my upper chest are regaining feeling, and my upper body strength is beginning to recover.

Saturday ;  Gloomy.  Warm enough to melt most of Wednesday's and yesterday's snow.

When we took Ozzie for our regular late morning walk we bumped into our neighbour / friend Jeanine on her way to the laundromat ( in our RV park's swimming pool
building ).  She invited us into her home to have a cup of tea.  This afternoon I did some preventive maintenance on the truck and minivan.  Joanne baked shortbread cookies. 
I paid some bills online.

Late in the afternoon, while sitting at my desk ... I sneezed.  Oh my goodness !  My sternum made a "click" sound, as the sawn apart two halves pulled apart and came back together.  OUCH !  I guess I still need to "splint" it ( press my hands against it ) more heavily when I sneeze or cough !

DSK

December 3 to 9, 2017

Sunday ;  Mostly sunny, cold.  I enjoyed the sunshine.

Long walk, lunch, nap, long walk.  I updated some investment data.  I posted my weekly journal to my blog.  We experimented with changing Ozzie's feeding schedule and quantity.  He wasn't pleased !  I administered hairball medication to Emma.  She wasn't pleased !

Monday ;  Sunny and cold.

Joanne went to Penticton today for a day of running errands by herself.  I stayed at home with the animals.  I walked twice with Ozzie.  I napped with Emma.  I did some minor preventive maintenance work on Lanoire the truck and Elsie the camper.  I made phone calls, setting up appointments.

Tuesday ;  Penticton

Sunny and cold.

Drove to Penticton this morning.  Brought Ozzie with us.  I had an appointment at
12:15 PM at the cardiac rehabilitation gym for a physical assessment and orientation.  Joanne went to Value Village.  Afterwards we went to the food court at Cherry Lane Mall for lunch.  We refilled the minivan with fuel, bought some cat food at Total Pet, then took Ozzie to Anderson Animal Hospital for a dental assessment.  As we had expected, his teeth and gums are in atrocious condition, and he needs extensive work.  Today's examination and blood tests cost $260, and his dental work will be a minimum of a thousand dollars ! ! !  We arrived back home about 4:00 PM, and immediately went for a long walk with Ozzie.  By the time we were finished our walk around 4:30 PM it was already dark outside.

Wednesday ;  Mostly sunny and cold.

Long walk, nap, long walk.  Phone calls.  Spoke to Ozzie's veterinarian.  She phoned with the results of his blood tests.  He is healthy enough to tolerate general anaesthesia.  SO ... he will be receiving a Christmas present of $1200 worth of dental work, plus the $260 paid yesterday, for a total of around $1500 !  His long life of no health care leaves me angry at our former next door neighbours / his previous caregivers.

MMMMM ... my favourite recipe for dinner tonight.  Survivor afterwards.

Thursday ;  Kelowna

Gloomy !  We were up early this morning in order to be able to leave home at 8:45 AM heading for Kelowna, and my appointment with my cardiothoracic surgeon for a "two months after surgery" check up.  We arrived in Kelowna a bit quicker than expected, so before going to see the doctor we found our way to Summit Tools to buy me a couple of advertised specials as Christmas gifts.  Thank you, Santa !

We returned to Kelowna General Hospital and at 11:30 AM we met with the cardiothoracic surgeon who performed my triple bypass surgery almost ten weeks ago.  He examined me, and asked me a lot of questions, and gave me adequate time and attention to ask my many questions.  Except for a bit of a fluid retention issue, my healing and recuperation are progressing very well, in his opinion.  That's reassuring.  He ended our appointment by stating that he hopes never to see me again.  HA HA
HA !

He cleared me to resume driving, so I drove home from Kelowna.  The last time I drove was when we drove to Kelowna for my angiogram more than ten weeks ago !  I am grateful to Joanne for bearing the burden of doing all the driving for the last ten weeks.  BUT ... I am also very glad to not be her passenger any more !  No offence, my dear.

We stopped at Superstore in West Kelowna / WestBank.  While Joanne went into the store to buy a couple of grocery items I went to the fuel bar and refilled the minivan with fuel.  Back at home at 2:30 PM we had a very late lunch, then I napped for awhile before we went for a walk with Ozzie, with a stop at the home of our neighbour / friend Jeanine for a brief visit.

Friday ;  post-operative 10 weeks

Gloomy.  Cold.  < sigh >

This morning I headed into Keremeos, driving myself.  WOO-HOO !  I stopped at Similkameen Pharmacy to drop off some new prescriptions to be filled, then drove to Autumn Rain Hair Design for a haircut and beard trim.  After my haircut and beard trim ... and telling Sarah all about my heart and dog drama of late September / early October ... I returned to the pharmacy, picked up my prescriptions and drove back home.

Lunch.  Nap.  Visit from neighbour / friend Jeanine.  We visited with Jeanine over a cup of tea, then I and Ozzie walked her back home at dusk ( 4:30 PM ) while Joanne went to deal with laundry.

Saturday ;  Gloomy.  Very cold.

So cold that my two long walks became a short walk and a shorter walk !  I took some books back to the library.  We cleaned and treated Ozzie's ears.  One ear is 100% good, and the other is about 99% okay.  It's a constant battle to keep his chronic ear infections at bay.  I did some prescription records keeping and accounting.  I trimmed my moustache and eyebrows, something my Canadian hair stylist doesn't do.  My Mexican hair stylist does !  I did some research on an online program designed by the University of Regina for cardiac patients with depression and/or anxiety.  I don't qualify.  HMPH !

DSK

November 26 to December 2, 2017

Sunday ;  Mostly cloudy, cool, very windy.

This afternoon I watched the Grey Cup, Canada's football championship game, for the first time in fourteen years.  Before the game we drained Ozzie's anal glands, then gave him a bath.  I updated some investment data, and posted my weekly journal to my blog.  AND ... baked some Bits & Bites mix to eat during the game.  AHHHHH ... nostalgia !  Too bad the Argonauts won the game.

Late in the evening we watched "A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas".  HA HA HA
< SNORT > HA HA !

Monday ;  Sunny and cold.  But most importantly ... sunny !

My two walks today were long, quick paced, no rest stops.  I felt strong.

I cleaned and polished shoes today.  I made a veterinarian appointment for Ozzie to have a dental assessment.  I cancelled our Home Exchange listing and account.  I think I would rather try an RV exchange website.  I updated some financial data.  After 13½ years of unemployment ... we're doing pretty well !

Tuesday ;  Cloudy and cold, intermittent drizzle.

We left home at noon, heading for Penticton, and my early afternoon appointment to have my first of two assessments for admission to the cardiac rehabilitation program in Penticton.  Joanne dropped me off at the medical building then went grocery shopping.  Today's meeting with a nurse struck me as mostly a waste of time.  She took a bit of a medical history, reviewed my medications, and assessed my recuperation to date.  She discovered that the bottom of my left lung is not inflating as it should.  HMPH !  After all that hard work !  I suppose I will have to increase my deep breathing exercises.  My blood pressure certainly has lowered since my bypass surgery !  We were finished in Penticton at 2:30 PM.  On the way back home we stopped in Keremeos to refill our five gallon water jug.  As soon as we got back home, about 4 PM, we went for a long walk with Ozzie.  My goodness, it certainly is getting dark early, especially on cloudy, gloomy days.

Wednesday ;  Cloudy, cold, windy.

Long walk, nap, long walk ... squabble, bicker, squabble.

Thursday ;  Cloudy, cold.

Long walk, nap, long walk.  AND ... download month end bank statements and investment updates.  AND ... reconcile bank statements and investment updates.
I have increased my deep breathing exercises.  Which has made it obvious that ...
I need to increase my deep breathing exercises !

Friday ;  post operative 9 weeks

Cloudy and cold.  I guess that's what winter is here !

Changed all the calendars, did some first of the month accounting and bill paying, long walk, nap, another long walk.  After an early supper we drove to Penticton for an evening performance by Many Hats Theatre Company of the play "A Nice Family Gathering".  Good play ... well done !  We arrived back home at 11:20 PM.

Saturday ;  Cloudy ... low ceiling ... gloomy ... cold ... big, wet snowflakes falling in the evening.

This morning we headed into town ( Keremeos ) to run some errands.  As always ... PharmaSave was sold out of the weekend Vancouver Sun before noon.  I suppose
I should give up on the idea of buying the weekend Vancouver Sun.  Joanne bought some coinage at Valley First Credit Union.  Then some produce at Sanderson Farms before heading home.

Long walk, lunch, nap, long walk.  Beef Stroganoff for dinner.  MMMMM !  Well done, my dear.  Saturday Night Live in the evening.

DSK

November 19 to 25, 2017

Sunday ;  Cloudy and cool.

Late this morning we headed to Penticton to attend a choral concert.  We ran errands before and after the concert.  The concert was in a large church, and was a performance by six choirs, from all over the Okanagan Valley, each performing a few songs, and then all of them together at the end for a finale.  We attended because our neighbour / friend Jeanine is a member of one of the choirs, along with two other residents of our RV park.  We accept her invitations to attend her choir's concerts to be supportive of a friend, but ... we really didn't like today's performance.  It was two hours of religious music, not at all to our tastes.  In hindsight, perhaps we should have realized that it would be all religious music, since it was being presented in a large church.  In our naiveté we thought it was simply because the large church had good acoustics.  DUH !

After the concert we ran more errands, then went for an early supper at a Chinese buffet restaurant.  We arrived back home around 7:30 PM, and both felt so tired that we went to sleep extremely early, around 9:30 PM.

Monday ;  Raining !

Last week Joanne bought a little Christmas tree at Value Village.  It needed a replacement halogen bulb to illuminate its fiber optics.  I bought a replacement bulb yesterday at Rona and installed it this morning.  WOW !  What a cool little tree !  Changing colour fiber optic lights all over !  After getting the tree lights working we went for a long walk with Ozzie ( in the rain ... YUCK ! ) and retrieved from our "going to Yuma" tote box in the shed the only Christmas tree ornament we have.  A tiny pair of beaded deerskin moccasins I bought in the Northwest Territories last summer.  I bought the tiny Christmas tree ornament version of the moccasins because I thought that
I couldn't afford the life size version.  HA HA HA !  I later changed my mind and bought myself a pair, which I'm wearing now.  HEY ... you can't take it with you !

Tuesday ;  Gloomy.  Light rain.

Joanne spent the day in Penticton running errands.  I stayed home, walking with Ozzie a couple of times, and, of course, having a long nap in the afternoon.

Wednesday ;  Gloomy.  Light rain.  Again.

Long walk.  Nap.  Long walk.  Repaired our door bell.  Mounted Emma's new Christmas stocking on the fireplace mantel ... < rolling eyes >.

Thursday ;  Raining all day.

With all the rain there has been in the last few days, the Similkameen River has changed from its regular late fall / early winter, knee deep, trickling stream into a raging torrent, threatening to overflow its banks, much like it is in April and May.

Today I removed the side rail on my side of the bed, the last piece of health aid equipment I obtained from the Red Cross following my triple bypass surgery.  We will return it to the Red Cross in Penticton tomorrow.  I searched online for, found, and downloaded the manual for our Canadian cell phone today, allowing me to make some modifications to the phone's more annoying features.  We cleaned and treated Ozzie's ears, trimmed his claws, and gave him a bit of a hair trim in ... < ahem > ... strategic locations.  Tomorrow he is going to Penticton for a no anaesthetic dental cleaning.  I did monthly backup procedures on my laptop this afternoon.

And ... of course ... long walk, nap, long walk.

Friday ;  post-operative 8 weeks

Cloudy.  This morning we headed to Penticton.  With Ozzie.  First stop was Pauline's Pet Grooming where we had an appointment with a "doggie dental hygienist" woman from Kelowna who does dog dental cleanings without the use of anaesthetics.  She examined Ozzie's teeth and ... advised that his dental needs were beyond her capabilities ... < sigh >.  Next stop was the Red Cross to return the last piece of borrowed health aid equipment, the bed side rail.  We refilled the minivan with fuel then the final stop was Dollarama for ... I don't know.  I stayed in the car with Ozzie.  We were home by 2 PM.

Short walk ... late lunch ... nap ... long walk.  We worked together to make Eggs Benedict ( with French Fries ) for supper.  MMMMM ... great Hollandaise sauce, my dear !

Eight weeks of recuperation after triple bypass surgery.  Two thirds of the way there !  Four more weeks to "healed".  Hopefully !  At this eight week point, should be able to resume having sex.  Okay ! ! !

Saturday ;  Cloudy and cool.

We slept late this morning ... < snicker >.  On my late morning walk ... which became my early afternoon walk ... we chatted with neighbours Barb and Gil who recommended we give frozen turkey necks to Ozzie to chew on to clean his teeth, as they do with their dog.  Afterwards Barb brought over a frozen turkey neck, which we gave to Ozzie to chew.  He chewed on it enthusiastically until it was consumed.  He seemed to quite like it.  Maybe we'll get more for him from the local butcher.

Our neighbour / friend Jeanine came over to visit this afternoon, with her little dog Charlie.  Around 4 PM we went for our afternoon walk, walking with Jeanine and Charlie back to their home.  While Joanne prepared supper I paid some bills, and reconciled our November MasterCard statement.

DSK

November 12 to 18, 2017

Sunday ;  Cloudy, warm enough to melt most of the snow that fell last week.

Long walk, long nap, long walk, some household chores.  Currently the story of my life !

When I woke this morning my chest incision was bleeding.  It does that every few days, but today it bled / oozed a bit more than it usually does.  It seems that pockets of pus and blood form, and when they get large enough, they bust through the healing incision.

Monday ;  Partially sunny, cool.

We drove into town this morning to run some errands.  First stop was Westland Insurance where we renewed the minivan's registration and insurance.  Second stop was the Post Office.  HMPH ... closed today !  Then ... the grocery store, the pharmacy, and the Esso station, looking for the weekend Vancouver newspaper at all three businesses.  None had it.  HMPH !

Back at home we went for a long walk, I returned a book to the library, had a long nap after lunch, we went for another long walk before it got dark.  I spent the evening online exploring the concept of home exchange vacations.  HMMM ... interesting idea !

Tuesday ;  Cloudy, temperature in the low 40's.

In addition to my long walk, long nap, and second long walk ... I took a series of photos of the exterior of our home, and posted them to my new Home Exchange listing.

Wednesday ;  Cloudy, temperature in the low 40's again.

Long walk, nap, long walk.  Returned a book to the library and picked up a couple of books to read.  Made phone calls and sent e-mails.  Watched Survivor while having dinner.

Thursday ;  Sunny, temperature in the 40's.

This morning our neighbour / friend Jeanine came over for a visit.  Afterwards Joanne helped me take photos of the interior of our home, for me to post to our Home Exchange listing.  I did some preventive maintenance on the minivan and truck.

We drove into town ( Keremeos ) to buy a shipping box at the Post Office.  Ozzie and
I waited in the car while Joanne went into the grocery store.  Back at home, while Joanne did laundry, I napped with the animals.  Late in the afternoon and after supper
I worked on the computer, loading photos to our Home Exchange listing, paying bills, updating some medication records, reconciling bank statements.

Friday ;  post-operative 7 weeks

Mix of sun and clouds, cool.

We were up multiple times during the night to deal with Emma, who was sick and vomiting repeatedly.  Poor baby Emma.  She remained ill until this afternoon when she began to improve.  Hopefully she'll be fine by tomorrow.

The first time she vomited, I woke to the sound of her being sick beside my side of our bed.  I woke startled, and quickly leaned over the side of the bed to tend to Emma. 
I forgot that I now have a side rail on my side of the bed to assist me in getting in and out of bed.  I slammed my face into the side rail, smashing the bridge of my nose against the rail.  OUCH !  My nose is now swollen and bruised.

We took photos of our home's bedroom and bathroom.  I uploaded them to our Home Exchange listing, which is now ( more or less ) complete.  I prepared a package of Canada Day stuff to send to a neighbour at Kofa Ko-op, our RV park in Yuma, Arizona, for the first annual Canada Day at Kofa Ko-op in February.

My morning long walk set a new distance record, and ... with no rest stops.  I felt the need to achieve something more than before ... a new level of achievement.  Come to think of it ... that need has been a driving force throughout my life, I think.

Saturday ;  Sunny, cold, windy.

Late this morning we headed into Keremeos.  First stop was the Post Office to mail a package to Yuma.  CLOSED !  Next was Pharmasave to buy a weekend Vancouver newspaper.  SOLD OUT !  What a wasted trip to town !  On the way back home we stopped at Sanderson Farms so that Joanne could buy some produce.

Partially due to the weather both of my walks today were shorter than yesterday. 
I checked our home's propane tank level, so now I know when I need to order a refill. 
I exercised our little generator.  I am unable to yank the generator's starter rope, and Joanne had a lot of difficulty yanking it hard and fast enough to start the generator, but finally got it done.  Thank you, my dear.  Good team work !

DSK

November 5 to 11, 2017

Sunday ;  Overcast and cold.

This morning I finished resetting clocks, then went outside for my morning walk. 
I started the truck, to "exercise" it, reset the clock in the truck, then walked to the clubhouse to return a book to the library.  When I returned home from the library,
I turned off the truck.  Enough "exercise" for now, for both me and the truck.  PEUW ! 
In cold weather diesel engines stink even worse than usual.

At 4:30 PM we departed for Oliver.  We stopped at Sanderson Farms in Keremeos to buy some produce, then continued east on Hwy. 3 to Osoyoos, then north on Hwy. 97 to Oliver.  We had an early Chinese buffet dinner at Oliver Garden Restaurant, then headed a few blocks to Frank Venables Theatre for a performance by "The Contenders"; Valdy and Gary Fjellgaard.  We have been fans of, and attending performances by Valdy for over forty years.  This is the first time we have seen him perform with Gary Fjellgaard as The Contenders.  Old folkie meets old cowboy.  Very interesting blend.  Great harmonies !  Long show, from 7:30 PM until 10:10 PM.  We did not arrive back home until 11:30 PM.

I felt ill.  The outing was too much / too long for me.

Monday ;  Sunny and cold.  I appreciate the sunshine.

Long walk.  Long nap.  Another long walk.  That's what my days currently are.

Tuesday ;  Cloudy and cold.

For the first time since my surgery ( 39 days ago ) I slept uninterrupted for the entire night, and awoke feeling refreshed.

This morning I made pancakes for brunch before we left for Penticton.  First stop was BG Fuel Bar to refill the minivan's empty fuel tank.  Then the Red Cross to return two pieces of borrowed health care equipment. Then downtown to Front Street Jewellers to pick up my ( father's ) repaired Canada Post gold watch.  And then ... what good would a trip to Penticton be without a stop at Value Village ? !  < sigh >

Primary reason for the trip to Penticton was my 3:30 PM appointment with my cardiologist.  It went well.  He reviewed all the heart related medications I was prescribed by the hospital doctors.  He examined my arm and chest incisions.  He listened to my lungs to ensure there was no recurrence of fluid build up.  And finally ... he decided I was ready to be referred to the cardiac rehabilitation program.

Our final stop was Wal-Mart.  When I walked in carrying my heart shaped pillow ( which is with me all the time, to "splint" my sternum when I cough or sneeze ) the Wal-Mart greeter approached me to tell me that he recognized the pillow ( which is given to all heart surgery patients upon discharge from the hospital ).  He had triple bypass surgery last February, and we chatted for awhile.  I hope I can avoid his largest impediment to recuperation ; the broken ribs he suffered when he slipped and fell.  OUCH !

We left Penticton about 4:30 PM and were back home about 5:30 PM.  Half of the drive home was in the dark !

Wednesday ;  Overcast and cold.  Winter gloomy !

This morning we examined a lump on Ozzie's neck that I discovered last night.  It was soft, and filled with fluid.  Looked like a cyst or small abscess.  So ... I punctured it with a dental tool.  It drained a lot of clear fluid, then a teensy bit of blood, then ... sort of disappeared.  I guess that problem is solved !

Long walk ... long nap ... another long walk.  I also downloaded and reconciled October's investment statements.  I set up 2018's trailer towing files and archived 2017's trailer towing files.  This was a very good year for Similkameen Trailer Towing !

Thursday ;  Overcast ... ceiling about fifty feet above ground ... heavy snow !  Big snowflakes, falling slowly, very pretty, looks like Christmas Eve in a Disney movie.

Long walk ... long nap ... long walk !  I mounted a Christmas wreath on our entry door.  Thank you, Value Village.  I installed two new bulbs in my therapy light.  Thank you, Amazon.  I trimmed my beard.  WOO-HOO !  Six weeks after shaving it off it has grown long enough to need trimming and sculpting.  I look "normal" again.  Well ... at least my face looks normal again.  HA HA HA !

Friday ;  post-operative 6 weeks

Sunny and warm enough to slowly melt the snow.

Joanne spent the day in Penticton running errands by herself.  I walked ... napped ... and walked some more.  I made an appointment for a cardiac rehabilitation program initial evaluation.  Earliest available appointment was in a couple of weeks.

Saturday ;  Remembrance Day ; LEST WE FORGET !

Cloudy, temperature a bit above freezing, gloomy.

This morning we were up a little earlier than usual so that we could head into town for the Remembrance Day ceremony / service.  It has been fourteen years since we have attended a Remembrance Day service in Canada.  How very different than Veteran's Day services we have attended in the United States.  Canadian Remembrance Day services are more sombre and ... focused on "remembering" our nation's military who gave their lives in the service of their country.

When the service ... at Keremeos Memorial Park ... was completed, I walked to the grocery store, as my long morning walk.  Joanne drove the minivan there to pick me up.  Back at home I did a bit of "home improvement" work before having lunch followed by a long nap.  Joanne and Ozzie joined me on my late afternoon walk.  We stopped at our neighbour / friend Jeanine's for a visit.  After a late supper we watched Saturday Night Live.

DSK

October 29 to November 4, 2017

Sunday ;  post-operative day 30

Sunny and mild.

We took a long walk around the RV park late this morning, stopping to chat with neighbours as we walked.  I did a repair to the hose connecting our new large propane tank to the regulator on the house.  The hose is leaking, and will have to be replaced.

Joanne pulled out our tomato plants this afternoon, completing our fall yard work.  We combined her trip to the burn pile / compost pile to discard the tomato plant waste with my long afternoon walk.

Since my recent thoracentesis ( removal of fluid from around the lung ) I have been coughing a lot less, and am finally able to breathe while lying down.  I'm sleeping
better !

Monday ;  Sunny and cool.

I spent the morning making many phone calls.  This afternoon Joanne went to Penticton to run errands.  She wasn't back home until 7 PM.  I napped with the animals.  I went for a couple of long walks, the second one with Ozzie.

Tuesday ;  Hallowe'en ;  Sunny and cool.

A couple of long walks.  A couple of long naps.  Some month end online work.

Wednesday ;  Cloudy and cool.

This morning we loaded two of the three "health aides" borrowed from the Penticton Red Cross into the minivan.  I haven't needed the raised toilet seat since a few days after returning home from the hospital, and I no longer need the shower seat.  Both can be returned to the Red Cross next time we go to Penticton.  I'm still using the bed rail to get in and out of bed, in order to protect my sternum.

The other day Joanne bought a "light kaleidoscope" as Christmas lighting on our home.  Today I mounted it on the edge of our picnic table.  Joanne went to the burn pile, then we both went to the woodworking shop, to scrounge some scrap material to use to build a barrier to prevent Ozzie from getting at Emma's litter box.

I took two long walks, first one longer than any previous.  That's my job !  Self-care and exercise to facilitate recuperation.  One month done, two more to go, to ( almost ) full recuperation.  If all goes well, and I work at it hard enough.  And I have been working hard at it !

I ordered tickets for a theatre play in Oliver on Saturday afternoon.  And I ordered tickets to a music concert in Oliver on Sunday evening.  I ordered two ( expensive ! ) replacement bulbs for my new / old therapy light.  We went into Keremeos at suppertime for our annual dinner at Benja Thai Restaurant.  It was my way of consoling myself for being here on the day that we would normally depart for the south.  I am extremely unhappy about being stuck here for the winter.

When we returned home after a wonderful dinner we watched Survivor, then
I reconciled our monthly bank statements.

Thursday ;  Sunny and cool in the morning, snow blizzard in the afternoon !

I have just finished ( at 6:15 PM ) reading my journal for this date last year.  We drove from Omak, Washington to Memaloose Rest Area along the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon.  < sigh >  Have I mentioned how disgusted I am with having to spend this winter here ? ! ?  Especially so after my afternoon walk of about an hour ago, in blizzard conditions !

My morning walk set a new record for distance.  I'm working hard and proud of myself for doing so.  My daily walking, five weeks after surgery, is at about the goal for twelve weeks after surgery.  After my morning walk Joanne helped me to fabricate a litter box barrier wall to prevent Ozzie from getting at Emma's litter box,  The "wall" has a small opening for Emma to pass through.  We were worried that she might be resistant to passing through the small "hole in the wall", but ... she's not.  Good girl, Emma.

Marcie and her son were at her home next door to us today to pick up some stuff.  Marcie came over to visit with Ozzie briefly.  Ozzie was happy to see her, but after a brief visit was more than happy to come back into our house.  He seems to clearly know where he lives now, and who his caregivers are now.  Marcie's son came over later to ask questions about winterizing the park model home.  I was napping and ... Joanne doesn't know the specifics of the process.  AND ... both of us are fed up with Marcie's and her son's manipulative style of getting other people to do their work for them.  Our generosity towards her / them has ended.  We are giving Ozzie a home and care for the rest of his life.  Marcie and her family are on their own for everything else ! ! !

By 9:30 PM there was a significant amount of snow on the ground !  < heavy sigh >

Friday ;  Post-operative 5 weeks

Cloudy and cold !  Very winter !

This afternoon the gas fitter we had hired to connect the new large propane tank to our home returned for his second attempt to get the job done properly.  Just because someone is certified to do a job, doesn't seem to mean that they are capable of doing that job.  After countless missed appointments ... < fume > ... and two attempts, the job is now finished ... I hope !  And it looks like it was done by a retarded eight year old ! ! !  What atrocious workmanship !  Trades people should be ashamed to do work that
badly !  And charge that much money !  And fail to show for that many appointments ! 
I agreed to pay for materials used today, but refused to pay for a second service call.

It was so cold today that I only walked once.  And it was not a long walk.  The roads in the park were icy today.  Joanne and I cleared all the snow and ice off the minivan.  HMPH !  Now that was a sound I had hoped to never hear again ; the sound of scraping ice off the car windows.  I also removed a small solar panel from the roof of the gazebo, to prevent it from being broken by the weight of snow build up.  As it has been in the past.

Saturday ;  Overcast and cold.

I cooked a ( beef ) bacon and eggs brunch, then shortly after noon we headed for Oliver.  East on Hwy. 3 to Osoyoos, then north on Hwy. 97 to Oliver, about an hour and a quarter of driving time.  At 2 PM we attended a theater performance by South Okanagan Amateur Players, at the Frank Venables Theatre, a play entitled "The Games Afoot ... or ... Holmes For The Holidays".  It was a murder mystery comedy.  Joanne liked it.  I didn't.  But ... that may be more a function of my state of mind than whether or not the play was any good.  The play ended about 4:30 PM.  We were back home by 6 PM, just as it turned dark.

We had supper, then watched Saturday Night Live.

DSK

October 22 to 28, 2017

Sunday ;  post-operative day 23

Sunny and mild, a nice fall day.

This morning I did the credit card accounting for Joanne's day of errands in Penticton yesterday.  Gee, that girl surely can spend money, can't she ? ! ?  HA HA HA !  Just before having lunch I went for a log walk, adding some distance to my previous longest route.  I have found that my ability to walk / my stamina is greater before a meal rather than after.

This afternoon I did some regular weekly investment analysis, and posted my weekly journal to my blog.  While Joanne had a phone chat with her sister I tried to nap. 
I wasn't successful.  HMPH !  Who would have ever thought that I might be a failure at napping ?  HA HA HA !  We went for another walk late in the afternoon.  While I walk my "circuit" for exercise, Joanne walks Ozzie nearby and sort of keeps an eye on me.  After our walk I sat at our picnic table and repaired a crack in our five gallon water jug, with a lot of "fetch" assistance by Joanne.

Monday ;  Sunny and mild.

After lunch we headed to Penticton.  First stop, and primary reason for the trip, was Integra Tire where we had studded winter tires installed on the minivan.  While the minivan was being worked on we borrowed Integra Tire's courtesy car and drove to "downtown" Penticton, to a jeweller, to drop off my Canada Post gold watch to have the crystal replaced.  < sigh >  Closed on Mondays !  After the new studded winter tires were finished being installed we went to a water purification place and bought a new five gallon water jug.  Final errand stop was Rona to buy a new light switch.  After our errands were done and we were ready to return home we drove to Skaha Lake Beach Park so that I could do my second long walk of the day.  It was a nice change of scenery from walking around Riverside RV Park Resort, but ... BRRRRR ... what a cold wind blowing in off Skaha Lake !

Tuesday ;  Sunny and mild, another nice fall day.

This morning I felt strong so ... my late morning walk was longer and more challenging than previous walks.  By a long shot !

This afternoon we put away some outdoor furniture.  And working as a team, we replaced the light switch in the bedroom.  That's the third light switch in our home that has needed to be replaced within the last couple of months.  Designed obsolescence,
I suppose.  My late afternoon walk included some play time for Ozzie in the dog park.

In the evening I paid some bills online, and did monthly computer backup procedures.

Wednesday ;  Raining and chilly.  An entire day lost to negativity and resultant bickering.

Thursday ;  Sunny and cool.

Today was a long, difficult, very tiring, but productive day in Penticton.  We left home at 11 AM and drove to Penticton.  First stop was a downtown jeweller where I dropped off my Canada Post gold watch, inherited from my father, to have the broken crystal replaced.  Next stop was Integra Tire to have all the wheel's lug nuts tightened /
re-torqued.  On the way to my cardiologist's office we refilled the minivan with fuel.

At 1 PM I had my ( almost ) one month post-operative appointment with my cardiologist.  It was enlightening, and helped explain some of the problems / frustrations I have been experiencing.  The doctor pointed out to me that not only am I experiencing pain from the chest incision ( obviously ) and sternum "opening" and "closing" ( even more obvious ), but ... there is a great deal of internal trauma in my chest caused by the harvesting of both mammary arteries.  Oh, yeah ... kind of forgot about that !  The mammary arteries are extremely useful as bypass grafts, but ... harvesting them results in a lot of short term pain ... for long term gain.

In response to my complaints abut fluid build up around the lungs, and after listening to my lungs with his stethoscope, he suggested that the problem is probably a build up of fluid around the left lung, which is deflated during surgery to facilitate access to the heart.  He sent me to Penticton Hospital next door to get a chest x-ray done.  While in the x-ray waiting room I had an encouraging chat with an old man who had quintuple bypass surgery twenty-four years ago ... and has been doing well ever since.  Until
now !  Now he is battling prostate cancer.

I got my chest x-ray done, and by the time I walked back to my cardiologist’s office, about five minutes away, my chest x-ray was displayed on the computer on his desk.  It confirmed his diagnosis of fluid build up around the left lung.  After a brief discussion about thoracentesis, he arranged for me to have a thoracentesis procedure performed tomorrow morning at Penticton Hospital.  It involves insertion of a long, thick, hollow needle and thin tube into the chest cavity, between the ribs, underneath the lung, and draining the fluid out.  The x-ray also allowed us to view the cut ends of the wires holding my sternum together.  The uppermost wire ends are left in a "V" shape after being twisted around themselves, and that is what is causing the problematic lump at the top of my chest incision.  I will discuss that with my cardiothoracic surgeon when
I meet with him in about a month.

We went to Cherry Lane Mall for a late ( 3 PM ) lunch before driving home.  By the time we arrived back home around 5 PM I was feeling totally drained, and ill.  I felt better after napping for an hour.

For my American friends who are critical and sceptical of Canada’s universal health care system ( “free” health care for everyone )  please note ; my triple bypass surgery took place 2½ days after an angiogram indicated the need for it, and this thoracentesis procedure will take place about nineteen hours after the doctor determined it was needed.

Friday ;  Sunny and cool.

We left home relatively early this morning ( at 8:30 AM ... about 15 minutes late ! ) heading for Penticton Hospital where I had a 9:30 AM appointment for thoracentesis, the draining of fluid from around my lung.  A large hollow needle was inserted into my lower back, threaded through my ribs, and into the fluid filled space beneath my left lung.  Gravity did the rest, and 600 cc. of bloody fluid drained out through the thin tube attached to the needle.  When the procedure was finished I was sent for another chest x-ray which confirmed that all the fluid was gone.  AHHHHH ... finally ... relief !  Maybe now I will be able to breathe when I lie down !

We were leaving the hospital around 11 AM.  We arrived back in Keremeos around noon.  First stop was the Post Office to pick up a parcel and buy a stamp.  Next was the pharmacy to pick up some prescription refills and ... get a flu shot.  I waited in the car while Joanne went to the credit union to buy some rolls of quarters.  We were back home by 1 PM.

After lunch I went to nap for awhile.  An hour later I woke up and ... UNGH ... the "freezing" / local anaesthetic in my lower back had worn off.  What tremendous pain ! ! !  I was a bit scared, and worried that I might have to return to the hospital.  But ... after getting out of bed and sitting in the living room to visit with our friend Jeanine the pain began to slowly subside.  By supper time it had diminished quite a bit, and then after supper it became worse again.  HMPH !  Must be time for another pain killer !

Late this afternoon the certified gas fitter that I hired arrived to connect our new large propane tank to our park model home.  HMPH !  Too bad I have to pay that much money to have someone "certified" do work that is that simple !  It was work that I am quite capable of doing myself !

We cleaned and treated Ozzie's ears today.  One ear was perfectly fine, one ear was slightly infected, but no worse than the last time we cleaned and treated his ears. 
I know from previous experience that we will eventually eliminate the infection, and keep it under control.  We discovered when we returned home today that ...
< SPUTTER > ... Ozzie has been raiding the cat litter box for "munchies" / "snacks" while we are away.  OZZIE ! ! ! ! !  BAD DOG ! ! ! ! !

Saturday ;  post-operative day 29

Sunny and mild.

Because of the pain of the thoracentesis I was unable to sleep lying down last night, so spent the night trying to sleep in a chair in the living room.  I was able to sleep for about an hour at a time.  The pain today was a lot less than yesterday.  I'm hopeful it will be gone by tomorrow.

We moved some furniture around to uncover floor registers, in anticipation of using the furnace in our home.  And we cleaned some of the registers.  HMPH ... lots of cat hair.  Not Emma's, must be Sully's.  We went for a long walk around the RV park, on a new route, with more hills.  WHEW ... tough !  But ... as a result of yesterday's thoracentesis / removal of fluid from around my left lung, I have much less urge / need to cough.  We drained and stored our garden hose, easier said than done.

While Joanne went into town to buy some groceries and fresh produce, I unwrapped the package from my sister that we picked up at the Post Office yesterday.  It was my old "artificial sunlight" therapy light that I gave to my brother-in-law thirteen years ago when we began travelling full time.  Now ... he has returned it to me for my use this winter, to combat S.A.D. ... seasonal affective disorder / winter depression caused by short days / lack of sunlight.  Two of the three bulbs inside did not survive the journey.  Darn !

I did some medications records keeping.  I wrote a letter to our travel medical insurer regarding the cancellation of our travel medical insurance.  I am awaiting a letter from my cardiologist to enclose with this letter.

DSK

October 15 to 21, 2017

Sunday ;  post-operative day 16

Sunny and cool.

The main problem I have had, ever since surgery, has been an inability to effectively get rid of the fluid build up around my lungs.  My deep breathing exercises are not accomplishing that.  My coughing exercises are not accomplishing that.  Every day since surgery my breathing becomes more difficult, more shallow, more rapid.  It is especially a problem at night.  As soon as I lie down, it becomes more difficult to breathe.  I experience a drowning / suffocating sensation, and become unable to breathe unless I sit up and / or get out of bed.

Last night I tried sleeping in an upholstered chair in the living room.  That helped a small amount, but not enough.  Eventually, and out of utter desperation with discomfort, I discovered that extremely gentle fingertip "massage" on my chest moves fluid away.  HALLELEUJAH !  I caressed / massaged my chest with my fingertips, and as I did so, my breathing difficulty diminished.  Eventually I fell asleep, and slept comfortably.

To monitor fluid retention, the hospital doctors instructed me to weigh myself daily, and present those findings at each subsequent doctor's appointment I have.  Okay ! 
WELL !  This morning I weigh 3.5 pounds less than yesterday, and 5 pounds less than three days ago ! ! !  I certainly hope that indicates I have "turned a corner" on fluid retention.

This afternoon our neighbour Bob came over to help me winterize Elsie the truck camper.  Following my instructions, and with some assistance from Joanne, Bob got the job done quickly and efficiently.  And a big load has been lifted from me.  Thank you, Bob.  Joanne worked on removing our vegetable garden.  We went over to our friend / neighbour Jeanine's where we completed the threshold installation project.  I coached, Joanne did the little bit of work remaining, filling and staining an errant nail hole on the quarter round trim.

I posted this week's journal entry to my blog.  I did some investment analysis.  I set up on my desk the S.A.D. ( seasonal affective disorder ) therapy light Joanne bought for me on Thursday in Penticton.  < BLINK BLINK >  OUCH !  Take that back and get a refund ... please.

Monday ;  Mix of sun and clouds, cool.

I think that my physical "improvement" both yesterday and today was noticeable.  Both days I walked further than the day before.  And both days my "fluids around the lungs" problem has diminished a bit.  I think.  I hope.

Joanne worked very hard today on yard work.  The biggest job was cutting down the plants and shrubs on our rock slope front yard, then hauling all the debris to the "burn pile".  Most years I help, but ... not this year !  She was on her own.

I made vehicle service appointments.  I made medical appointments.  I walked twice, both times further than before.  Walking outdoors still is a very painful process, but must be done.  Our neighbour / friend Jeanine visited.  Joanne did laundry.  She was a very busy girl today !  I installed a new identity tag on Ozzie's collar, displaying his name and our phone number.  I guess that means he's ours now !  I installed a new battery in my
( father's ) Canada Post gold watch.  And because I don't have the physical strength right now to snap the back case back into place after replacing the battery, I used pliers to help.  And ... shattered the crystal !  < sigh >  With a lot of help from Joanne I stored my bicycle in the shed for the winter.  I paid utility bills.  I reconciled our Bank of America monthly statement.

Tuesday ;  The morning was cold, with steady rain.  BRRRRR ... winter !  In the early afternoon, the rain stopped, the sky cleared, and it became extremely windy for awhile.  Later in the afternoon, the wind stopped, the temperature rose, and the day became pleasant.

I slept better last night.  Not well, but better.  I slept for four hours, was up for half an hour early in the morning, then slept for another three and a half hours.

I went outside to walk twice today.  The first attempt was thwarted when the wind picked up and it hurt my chest / sternum to walk facing into the wind.

Joanne barbecued steak, potatoes, and our own garden grown beets for supper tonight.  Very good !

Wednesday ;  Mix of sun and clouds, a few drops of rain, cool temperature.

I spent much of the morning on the phone, making medical appointments, trying to get answers to medical questions, checking on the delivery of our large propane tank, shopping for a gas fitter to connect the propane tank.  I took some photos of Ozzie, then downloaded them from my camera to my computer, and "processed" them.

I walked a new route for exercise today.  It included down hill and up hill.  I was very proud of my achievement.  However, when I went around 5:30 PM to do it for the second time, I was unable, and had to ask Joanne to go home, get the car, and pick me up.  < sigh >  I felt like such a failure.  Since surgery, my emotions have been raw and fragile.

We packaged some stuff that we will have taken to our Yuma home for us by friends. 
I did an annual review and purge of our kitchen's "junk" drawer, and my desk's "junk" drawer.  I sent photos of Ozzie to our sisters, then posted a photo of Ozzie to my blog template.

OUCH !  Gee, my sternum hurts tonight !

Thursday ;  Cloudy and cool.

My days are becoming routine.  Morning clean up routines, showering, etc.  Takes me a couple of hours to plod through that !  Phone calls to medical people, delivery people, trades people.  Two walks.  That's two slow / long walks.  That's two slow / long excruciating walks.  A nap in between the walks.  Usually unsatisfactory because of breathing difficulties.  A series of exercises done while sitting.

Tonight's second walk was very ambitious.  And I accomplished it !  Well done, Daniel.

And Joanne "officially" declared that my beard is fully re-grown, twenty-one days after
I had to shave it off.

Friday ;  Sunny and cool.

This morning we had a large propane tank installed beside our home.  When that was done I went for my first long walk of the day.  This afternoon we went into Keremeos. 
I ordered some prescription refills at the pharmacy, then went for a compression sleeve fitting.  The woman who supplies and fits Joanne's breast prostheses suggested a compression sleeve to help my left arm incision heal better.  Today she fit me with an appropriate compression sleeve, and taught Joanne and me how to put it on, take it off, and care for it.

Over dinner and afterwards we watched the Tragically Hip / Gord Downie tribute documentary.

Saturday ;  post-operative day 22

Cloudy, cold, windy ... feels like it's about to snow.  Joanne has just left ( at noon ) for an afternoon of running errands in Penticton.  She has taken Ozzie with her because
I am not able to walk him.  I am "prohibited" from walking dogs for at least three months after bypass surgery.

The fluid build up around my lungs has diminished.  Finally !  And as a result, I am able to sleep a bit better.  Last night I slept for three hours, then three more hours, then two and a half hours.  And all three periods of sleep were in our bed, lying flat.  Finally ! ! !

The one remaining significant problem is the lump at the top of my sternum.  At the top of my chest incision is a lump, surrounded by inflamed tissue.  Joanne thinks the lump is getting larger.  I can see that the skin inflammation is increasing.  The lump is sore and tender.  And I think that lump "shifts" ever so slightly when I lie flat, and the result is my airway gets blocked.  I have no idea whether the lump is wires at the top of my sternum holding it together, or a clamp of some sort holding my cut sternum together, or maybe misaligned cut bones, or ... ? ? ?  I am hoping that it will not require medical attention in the next few days, and that it can wait until Thursday when I see my cardiologist.

< HUGE SNEEZE >

AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH ! ! ! ! !  < cough cough >  OUCH !  Sneeze number four since surgery.  Those sneezes are not becoming any less painful yet !  My eyes are watering from the pain of that sneeze !

DSK

October 8 to 14, 2017

Sunday ; Post-Operative Day 9

Mostly sunny and mild.

While Joanne did outdoor work today, I tried to do outdoor "exercise".  I was not as successful as I would have liked.  I have been struggling with extreme shortness of breath when outside in cold air, and when lying down in bed.  This afternoon and evening I continued slowly reviewing the large amount of heart surgery information provided to me upon discharge.  And I discovered that I may have been using my respirometer incorrectly.

I think the problem has been that there is a build up of fluids around my lungs, and I am not doing my deep breathing exercises correctly, or as frequently as I should.  Tonight
I tried to correct that.  I hope I didn't "overdo" it.  The fluids around my lungs seems to have diminished a bit tonight, easing my breathing ability, but ... my lungs and chest muscles and sternum are all sore from the increased exercising.

This afternoon Joanne changed my dressings.  I think things look good.  Still some "oozing" from both the chest incision and arm incision.  But the "oozing" does not appear to be infected.

Monday ;  Thanksgiving ( Canada )

Sunny and cool.

I am exhausted by ongoing insomnia, and disruption to my body's rhythms.  And I have decided to discontinue taking pain killer medication as of today.  I have always felt that my body functions more poorly the more medications I subject it to.  And this coronary bypass surgery has resulted in the addition of an enormous amount of new drugs being put into my body on a daily basis.  It seems that most of them will be permanent additions to my medications, and I'm worried about that.

I accomplished more outdoor exercise today.  I walked about a thousand feet outdoors, with two brief rest stops.  When I was done Jeanine came over to visit for the first time since I have returned home from the hospital.  < sigh >  The last time I saw Bo alive was two weeks ago when I dropped him off at Jeanine's to be dog sat while we went to Kelowna for my angiogram.

Tuesday ;  Daniel's 63rd Birthday

Sunny and cool..

My dysfunctional sleep pattern continues.  I sleep for an hour and a half, then I'm up for about an hour.  I go through that cycle about three times each night.  The problem is fluid build up around my lungs.  I have been quite unsuccessful in breaking down and getting rid of the fluids / mucous that collect around the lungs following surgery.  I can't remain lying on my back because I experience burning around my lungs and a sensation of drowning, an inability to breathe.

This morning I phoned Medipac, our travel medical insurer to "officially" advise them of a change in my health since I purchased our travel medical insurance from them last summer for this winter's travel.  Of course, our travel medical insurance policies were cancelled as a result of my triple bypass surgery, but ... the news was not as bad as
I expected it might be.  I am disqualified for travel medical insurance for one year from the date ( October 4 ) that I was discharged from the hospital following my surgery.  SO ... I should be eligible to purchase travel medical insurance as of October 5, 2018 !

I made some phone calls to obtain delivery and installation of a large propane tank for our home.  We have never been here for the winter, so the furnace has never been used, and we've never needed a large propane tank.  Five years ago I purchased and installed a sixty pound propane tank to provide propane for the oven during the summer.  A full sixty pound tank lasts almost a full six month summer season.

Around lunch time we headed into Keremeos.  I had a meeting with the manager of Similkameen Pharmacy to discuss all the new medications I am taking.  Then we went to the Keremeos Diagnostic & Treatment Center to have my incisions examined and dressings changed.  We went to the local insurance agency and renewed the registration of Harvey the fifth wheel trailer.  Then ... I sent Joanne to the nearby water jug refill machine, and told her I would walk over there and meet her,  The roads in town are flat and asphalt, and I thought it would be a good opportunity to do some walking exercise.  By the time I reached the water jug refill machine, Joanne was not yet finished refilling our five gallon water jug, so ... I kept walking.  She picked me up about fifteen hundred feet down the road.

When we returned to Riverside RV Park Resort, she parked our minivan beside our park's woodworking shop.  While I got a bit more walking exercise there, again on flat asphalt, Joanne harvested wild Shaggy Mane Mushrooms, which had sprouted this morning.  She had promised to make me my favourite spaghetti and meat sauce recipe for my birthday dinner tonight and now ... WOO-HOO ... it was going to have freshly picked, wild Shaggy Mane Mushrooms in it.  MMMMM ... it was great !  Thank you, my love !

My sister phoned to wish me Happy Birthday.  And find out how my recovery is progressing.  We chatted for a very long time.  Then our friends Laszlo and Gail in Kamloops phoned.  I had asked them to phone tonight, to discuss their upcoming "migration" trip to Yuma, Arizona.  I wanted to ask them to make an overnight stop here, then transport some small items for us to our winter home in Yuma.

Wednesday ;  Sunny and cool.

I spent the morning on the phone, making medical appointments and shopping for snow tires for our minivan.  I cleaned and treated Ozzie's ears, and decided to brush his teeth for the first time.  I failed !  His teeth are in horrible condition.  And it was obviously painful for him when I attempted to brush his teeth.  Poor Ozzie !  He is about 13½ years old, and it appears to me as if he has never had any dental care ; no brushings, no cleanings.

This afternoon we all piled into the minivan, and Joanne drove us a very short distance ... to park in front of our RV park's woodworking shop.  That gave me a nice, long, straight, flat stretch of road to walk on, from the park's front gate to the stop sign at the end of the main entrance road.  While I slowly walked for exercise, Joanne took Ozzie for a long walk.  I could walk from the front gate to our minivan, or the stop sign to our minivan, then sit on the tailgate and rest for as long as I needed.

This afternoon I supervised Joanne's efforts to prepare a location for a large propane tank we are having delivered.  We decided that the best location for the tank will be in a corner of Joanne's herb garden.  SO ... the rock border had to be removed, chives and thyme had to be relocated, and a thirty inch square section had to be levelled and gravelled.  My inability to do anything physical, and my care giving needs, makes me a full time job ... with heavy lifting ... for Joanne.

For supper Joanne cooked a couple of Rainbow Trout I caught in the Similkameen River a few weeks ago.  MMMMM !

Thursday ;  our 43rd Anniversary

Sunny and chilly.

Around 11 AM we left home heading for Penticton.  We arrived at Peach Tree Medical & Urgent Care Centre around noon.  I waited almost an hour and a half to see a doctor for my first post discharge check up.  While I waited, Joanne went to run errands.  She returned shortly before I was seen by a doctor.  First the doctor removed my chest and arm dressings to inspect the incisions.  He was impressed enough with their healing that he decided they no longer need to be covered by dressings.  Then he removed the stitches from the four chest tube holes in my abdomen.  No problems there !  He wrote a prescription to extend the diuretic medication, and we were done.

We went for lunch to the food court in the mall where the medical clinic is located.  After lunch we drove to a nearby medical laboratory and I had blood drawn, as ordered by today's doctor.  From there ... it was time to go home.  We stopped in Keremeos and Joanne dropped off my diuretic prescription at the pharmacy, then we returned home, arriving about 4 PM.  I was so exhausted I felt ill !  < sigh >

I slept for a couple of hours !  After supper I worked on some month end investment file updating.  Not much of an anniversary celebration !

Friday ;  Cloudy and cool, raining lightly in the morning.

This morning our neighbour Lyle came over to help me finish a job I had started before going to the hospital for an angiogram / bypass surgery.  Under my supervision he did the work to install a new entry door threshold on our neighbour / friend Jeanine's entry door.  The job took much longer than I had expected it would.  It seemed to me that Lyle's pace of work is slower than mine.  Maybe it just seemed to take such a long time because I'm so ill.  In any case, by the time we were done I was WAY beyond my endurance limit, and feeling very ill.  When I got back home I went to sleep for a long time.

We were expecting delivery of a large propane tank today.  Early in the day the propane company's truck drove into the park, carrying four large propane tanks.  Much later, it left again, with one tank still on the truck.  HUH ?  We waited for awhile, thinking that maybe the driver was just leaving for a lunch break, then we phoned them.  Yes, yes ... they had indeed screwed up !  < sigh >  They will deliver a tank to us later next week !

I sneezed today, the second time since my bypass surgery.  YIKES ... that hurts !

Saturday ;  Cold, raining lightly all day, a few snowflakes in the morning.

After the time consuming and energy consuming processes of getting cleaned up and having breakfast in the morning ... < sigh > ... Joanne bundled me up like that little Winnipeg kid from the late 1950's, and I went walking outside.  She took Ozzie for a walk.  When Ozzie and I were finished with our walks ... surprisingly I outlasted Ozzie ... although he certainly did outdistance me ... HA HA HA ... Joanne and Ozzie left to go to Penticton for a day of running errands.

I napped.  I heated a bowl of soup for lunch.  I napped.  I did some annual investment work.  I napped.

Today is post-operative day 15.  I'm still extremely weak.  Tired all the time, but sleeping poorly, especially at night.  I am always short of breath, especially when lying down.  I am continuing to fail to be able to expel the fluids built up around my lungs, and I'm worried about that.  However ... on a more positive note ... my chest and arm incisions are healing well.  As are the four, big, ugly, chest tube holes.  My mangled, burned, left testicle has almost finished healing.  I still don't know how that "surgical injury" happened !

Joanne and Ozzie returned home at 6:30 PM just as it turned dark.  Joanne immediately took me ( and Ozzie ) for a walk.  She parked the minivan by the woodworking shop, and while she walked Ozzie, I stumbled along the flat section of entrance road from the park gate to the stop sign.

DSK

Angiogram diagram report

Can you find the three blocked arteries in my heart ?

80 %, 80%, & 40%

October 1 to 7, 2017

Sunday ;  Kelowna General Hospital ; Cardiac Surgery Unit Room 228

Have no idea what the weather is like outside the hospital.  I think it's cloudy and cool.

Post Operative Day 2 ;  Have been moved from Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit back to Cardiac Surgery "regular" ward.  Have been pushing myself very hard to get started on rehabilitation with physiotherapist.  Pushing myself too hard !  Have made myself quite ill twice today.

Appetite extremely low.  Haven't eaten any solid foods since Thursday early, light supper.  Had a cup of tea yesterday afternoon in Intensive Care.  Had a small serving of orange juice for breakfast today.  Had a small cup of beef broth for lunch today.

Had Foley catheter removed by nurse about an hour ago, at 2 PM.  Had my first pee a few minutes ago.  I was urinary catheter virgin.  Didn't know penis would fart like that during first pee after catheter removal.  HA HA HA !  Nurse also changed dressing on wrist to elbow incision on inside of left arm.  YUCK !

Waiting for physiotherapist to come take me on third and last walk today.  Can't go without her because I have to tow wheeled oxygen tank along.  First walk early this morning was about twenty-five feet out of room and back.  Second walk about noon was supposed to be five hundred feet.  Lots of rest stops !  Third walk supposed to be a thousand feet.  I pushed second walk to a thousand feet.  Well done, Daniel ... this isn't a vacation !

Have just finished my third walk at 3:30 PM with Physiotherapist Sarah.  Pushed it to fifteen hundred feet.  Needed only two rest breaks.  Asked for another walk at 6:30 PM.

Just finished fourth walk at 8 PM.  Just me and the walker holding my oxygen tank.  Walked three thousand feet ... post-op day 4 level !  Took a rest at only one thousand feet and again at two thousand feet.

Had half a tuna sandwich and small glass of milk just now.  First solid food in three days. 

GET OUT OF MY WAY ... I'M COMING BACK ! ! !

Monday ;  Post Operative Day 3

Sunny.  I can see at least that much out my hospital room window.

I awoke around 6:30 AM and went to the bathroom to urinate, wash my hands and face, use my WaterPik, and brush my teeth.  By the time I was finished doing that, and returned to my bed at 7 AM ... I felt like crap ... again !  I had a lot of chest pain, especially on the inhale.  My nurse came rushing into my room to check on me, because he could see on the wall display at the nurses' station that I had flipped into atrial fibrillation.  Some nurses got me back lying in bed, then worked for two hours administering a variety of medications to control the fast heart rate, and the atrial fibrillation.

I was very disappointed, and worried that I may have taken "two steps back", but ... around 11 AM the heart rate and rhythm returned to normal and the pain disappeared.  I had a slice of toast for breakfast, then went for my first walk of the day, a thousand feet with four rest stops.  When that was done a physical therapist came to my room to plan with me some physical aids I will require over the next three months.  As she left my room another therapist came into my room to invite me to today’s post-operative discharge planning class.  WOO-HOO !  I’m still on track to be going home on Wednesday.

I did my second walk of the day immediately preceding the post-operative discharge class.  Which might not have been the best of ideas, because ... throughout the class
I was fighting an extremely strong urge to fall asleep.  However ... < shrug > ... so were the other three fellows in the class.  HA HA HA !  But they at least had their wives present to "take notes" so to speak.

I was expecting Joanne to arrive for a visit today at 1:30 PM.  So ... I made sure that my lunch was finished and I was sitting in my room eagerly awaiting her arrival at 1:30 PM.  Adding to my rapidly growing list of experiences during the last week where my response has been ... "WELL !  F*** !  DIDN'T SEE THAT ONE COMING ! ! !" ... precisely at 1:30 PM ... < SPUTTER > ... my brother Russell walked into my hospital room.

I knew that my sister was not following my blog, so I did not have to worry that she would find out about what was going on by reading my blog.  And I was fairly certain that my brother was not reading my blog, either.  BUT ... I had not considered that one of Russell's two children might occasionally read my blog.  AND ... my niece Olivia obviously chose today as a day to catch up on what weird old Uncle Dan has been doing by reading my blog.  DARN !  I had not advised my family of what was going on.  And I thought I would not need to for a few more days, until I was home and recuperating.  Oh, well ... the cat's out of the bag now !  Before coming to visit me, Russell phoned my sister, assuming that she already knew, and that he was the only one "out of the loop".  So ... an hour or so ago ... ( it's now just after 5 PM ) ... my nurse came into my room to advise me that my sister was on the phone at the nurses' station.  < sigh >  Joanne took the call, spoke briefly to my sister, and will talk to her again later tonight when she ( Joanne ) is back at home.  Don't you just love dysfunctional family dynamics ? ! ?

Oh, well !  At least I'm not surrounded by middle aged adult children, and their offspring, the grandchildren, wringing their hands and moaning ... "Grandpa's dying, Grandpa's dying" ... like the rest of the old fellows here.  HA HA HA !

Before Joanne left around 4:30 PM, my nurse today came into my room to remove dressings off my left arm and chest, and remove the temporary pacemaker wires which had been left sticking into my heart, and protruding through my chest wall ... just in case they might be needed in the first few days after surgery.  Odd sensation to have thin wires pulled out of heart and through chest wall !  So ... pacemaker wires out, another hurdle crossed on journey to release, still hoping for Wednesday.  Surgical wound from artery harvest on left arm from wrist to elbow, and another one from neck to navel, not pretty ! ! !  Before Joanne left, she accompanied me on third walk of the day, three thousand feet, two rest stops.  Physical therapist has granted permission for one more thousand foot walk tonight .... without oxygen !

Nurse just came in ( shortly after 6 PM ) with supper time medications and ...
WOO-HOO ... ( hopefully ) permanent removal from oxygen flow.  Ate my supper ; chicken breast, peas, mashed potatoes ... I think.  Might have been LePage's Glue.  Hard to tell !  Went for a thousand foot walk.  No rests, no oxygen.  Had no chest pain.  Plenty short of breath !  Let's not mention that to my nurse, shall we ?

Around 9:15 PM Cardiac Nurse Assistant Candace took me to the patient shower room, I undressed, she removed all remaining dressings and wires and leads and whatever else was stuck onto me, she put on a pair of boots and ... < SPUTTER > ... climbed into the shower stall with me !  "WELL !  F*** !  DIDN'T SEE THAT ONE COMING ! ! !"  I'm starting to insert that using "cut and paste" function !  HA HA HA !  Apparently I will be unable to shampoo my own head for the next few months !

After washing my hair Candace left me on my own.  I washed until ... WHEW ... I very abruptly "ran out of steam" !  I stopped showering, turned off the faucet, and sat there huffing and puffing heavily until I decided if I was going to die, I would rather not do it naked on a hospital shower stall floor.  I pulled on my pair of clean sweat pants, picked up the rest of my possessions, and stumbled slowly back to my room where I sat and tried for a very long time to catch my breath !

WHEW ... didn't know my stamina was going to be THAT low ! ! !

Tuesday ;  Post-Operative Day 4

The rapidity of which life changing events are overtaking me in the last two weeks in general, and today specifically, have finally overwhelmed me.  I'm sitting here crying softly in the dark.  Joanne has just phoned me ( at 9:45 AM ) to advise that Bo has died.  She advised me forty-five minutes earlier at 9 AM that his death was imminent.

This morning's procedures started early, around 5:30 AM.  A decision was made not too long afterwards that I could be released this afternoon.  Then it was revoked and I was to remain until tomorrow afternoon. Then it was reinstated and I was to be released this afternoon.  Then I spoke to Joanne at 9:45 AM when she phoned to tell me that Bo has died, with assistance from the third veterinarian she visited this morning.  I'm not clear on the details.

I sat in the dark, in my room, crying softly for an hour, until a porter came to take me away in a wheelchair for my final chest x-ray.  I have just been returned to my room at 11:30 AM.  And I think I have recomposed myself to resume functioning today as necessary.

Not only do I currently feel overwhelmed by grief, but I feel ... I'm not sure what the right words are ... overwhelmed by emotional pain that these circumstances force me to sit here helplessly while Joanne had no choice but to find the strength to do what the last few hours required her to do.  I'm so sorry, my love, that you had to endure that misery on your own, and I could not be there to help you shoulder that burden.  I'm not going home today simply because she needs to get back home from Penticton, and clean the vomit and diarrhea that Bo spewed all over the house during the night, before she takes me home.

Godspeed, my dear little Bo Bo.  I'm sorry that I wasn't able to say goodbye to you.  I'm glad that your suffering was relatively brief.  I will miss you so much.  We had a great thirteen year life together since we rescued you in Alabama shortly after Hurricane Ivan.  I'm going to lay down in bed and cry now !

Okay !  Enough of that !  It is not fair for me to indulge myself in the luxury of grief, while my circumstances forced Joanne to shoulder the burden of the last ten hours or so alone, and she must continue to do so alone for at least twenty-four more hours.  While she was stuck with the most difficult job that pet owners must ever face ... alone again ... not the first time ... the only job that I can do ... and therefore must do ... is get myself as strong as possible in the next twenty-four hours, to minimize the enormous burden that caring for me for the next three months will entail.

I went for a thousand foot walk with no rest stops.  I had the physiotherapist take me for my final pre-discharge physical activity test... climbing stairs.  I climbed the cardiac surgery ward's three stair physiotherapy unit seven times up and seven times down, simulating walking up two flights of stairs.  I sucked on my little three ball respirometer.  I can consistently raise the second little ball to the top, and make it hold there for a second or two.  Some of the time I can get the third little ball to rise to the top.  I went for another thousand foot walk.  I did my coughing exercises and horked up a lot of mucous out of my lungs.  Good job, Daniel !  It certainly does hurt my wired together sternum to cough !

Around 4 PM I was walking to the patient fridge to get myself a serving of apple juice. 
I had just finished a private conversation with a senior member of the staff of this cardiac surgery unit.  We had been discussing some of my unsolicited complaints about this unit. So ... that was a bit "distressing".  As I reached the patient fridge an incoming staff member inquired about my day.  I began to express my grief over the death of Bo, and he was expressing his sympathy, when suddenly people began to rush towards me from different hallways and out of doorways, etc.  Apparently, the monitors all over the walls of the unit were showing that room 228 had flipped into atrial fibrillation.  Oh... shit ... that's me !

My nurse got me back into my bed, and a woman rushed in with an ECG machine to make a "hard copy" ECG.  By the time she was finished my heart was returning to normal rhythm.  My nurse gave me some advice about handling stress in the future.  HMPH !  Might have to become a little less Type A.

NAAAAAHHHHH ... who am I kidding ? ! ?  HA HA HA !

Have just received a phone call from someone looking for Similkameen Trailer Towing Services.  Sorry, pal ... Similkameen Trailer Towing Services is out of commission for at least the next three months.  Probably six months.  Perhaps forever !

Just went for a thousand foot walk ( around 5 PM ).  Took a long rest break halfway around.  Well ... I can see from the monitors all over the place that my heart beats just fine !  As long as I'm standing still !  It's only when I move that there is a problem.  HA HA HA !

I spent a few more hours snoozing ... crying in bed ... walking slowly around the Cardiac Surgery Ward ... trying to eat more of this horrible food.  Not surprisingly, I'm constipated, fairly common after surgery, and even more of a problem for people with Inflammatory Bowel Disease / Crohn's / Ulcerative Colitis.  The hospital does not want to release people who have not yet had a bowel movement after surgery.  And that was a part of my many discussions with staff today.  Their precautions make sense.  I'm not resistant to them.

8:20 PM ; Successful bowel movement.  Mark that down ! ! !  Send me home ! ! !

8:55 PM :  Sucked on that respirometer so hard that I slammed all three little balls to the tops of their chambers ... and held them there !  In front of staff !  TWICE ! ! !

CLEARED TO GO HOME !

Wednesday ;  Post-Operative Day 5 ;

Sunny and cold !  What happened to summer ?

Well !  DID see THAT one coming !  Went to sleep last night knowing that flare up of Ulcerative Colitis was imminent.  Slept very poorly and suffered throughout the night.  Awoke this morning and suffered illness throughout the day with nausea, cramps, and heavy rectal bleeding.  Colon dehydrated, inflamed, bleeding, probably ulcerated. 
< taking slow, deep breath > ... Need to get home and get better care ... and meals ... from Joanne than I can get in hospital.

Well ... sometimes ... I guess life isn't quite as complicated as it seems.  I haven't slept well for two nights.  Around 11 AM I was feeling such fatigue I decided to go back to sleep for awhile, knowing that Joanne wasn't going to be arriving until 1 PM or later to take me home.  I lay down in bed, and soon thereafter ... I began to experience deep throbbing pain on the top right side of my sternum.  When it reached an intensity level of about "4", I pressed my nurse call button.  I was worried about that affecting the discharge order that had already been prepared, but ... the pain was increasing.  There was a bit of a delay while my nurse sought and obtained authorization to administer me a narcotic analgesic.  In the meantime ... my pain level had increased to about an "8", and I was getting scared.  Desperate for relief, I sat up on the side of the bed and began to breathe as deeply as I could.

OH !  The pain began to immediately subside.  The nurse brought me a strong pain killer, and I went for a slow walk.  Within minutes all the pain had gone !  And while the pain killer and walk probably helped ... I think the problem may have been no more complicated than ... I had pinched a nerve or something in my wired together sternum when I lay down !

On the way to Kelowna to pick me up Joanne stopped at Red Cross in Penticton to pick up some health aids that had been requisitioned for me by the Kelowna Hospital ; a raised toilet seat, a shower chair, a bed side rail to help me get into and out of bed, those sorts of things.  She arrived at Kelowna General Hospital around 1 PM.  A nurse spent quite awhile giving Joanne and me instructions on care after discharge, including teaching Joanne how to change the large dressings on my chest and left arm.  Because ... they are "oozing"  The one on my chest, in particular, is still oozing a lot of gunk.

I was finally released, and we were on our way out of the hospital about 2:45 PM.  The drive home took over three hours !  Because ... about once per hour I needed a brief rest break from sitting in the car.  And there were a few important errands to run, like refill the minivan with fuel.  And I am of no help whatsoever ... can't even open and close my own car door !  We talked ... and cried ... about Bo on the way home.

Despite the heavy grief of Bo's death, it was good to see Emma and Ozzie.  We'll help Ozzie with his grief, he'll help us with ours.  As soon as we were out of the hospital
I began to rehydrate myself ... and my colon ... with Gatorade.  Within a few hours, by bedtime my Ulcerative Colitis illness was diminishing.  Yes, yes ... I AM aware that I still have an excess of fluids in my body from surgery.  BUT IT'S POOLED IN MY LEGS BETWEEN MY KNEES AND ANKLES, AS EDEMA !  REMAINING ON FLUID RESTRICTIONS IS NOT GOING TO HELP MY COLON ! ! ! ! !

Take a deep breath, Daniel, before you make your newly fixed heart explode !

How wonderful it feels to be back at home, in my own bed, lying next to my sweetheart.  BUT ... why is the left side of my scrotum all mangled and abraded ?  Did my left nut get used as first base in a hospital baseball game while I was having surgery ?

Thursday ;  < GRUNT >  Did that ever hurt !  Had my first sneeze ( shortly before
7 AM ) since sternum was cut open and rewired closed.

Today was sunny and mild.  And thanks to that, the best thing that I did today was spend some time sitting outside in a chair, enjoying warm sun on my face.

Joanne spent a long morning making repeated phone calls and repeated trips into town trying to get all my new prescriptions filled, something which was supposed to have been done by us on the way home last night, but did not.  The process became arduous only because everything that the Kelowna General Hospital Cardiac Surgical Unit and Pharmacy Department were supposed to have done ... they did not do ! ! !  A few days ago, I had a meeting with two women, one of whom was a Pharmacist at the hospital, about "after discharge".  The pleasant young Pharmacist, who seemed quite competent, carefully recorded what pharmacy I wanted my prescription orders sent to, and she was supposed to arrange for those new prescriptions to be waiting for us to pick up on our drive back home after discharge.  Seemed like a simple enough task for a smart woman with a university degree !

NOPE !  Didn't get done !  The manager at our local pharmacy had received nothing from the hospital.  And we didn't have copies of all the prescriptions.  And it was my first morning home after discharge.  I was supposed to be taking some of these medications ... NOW ! ! !

UH-OH !  After everything I have been through in the last week, I certainly hope that
I am not going to die because I didn't get the right medication at the right time this morning ! ! ! ! !  The manager of the local pharmacy did not panic.  She had Joanne locate a particular discharge document in the thick pile of documents given to us by the hospital.  When Joanne drove that form into town for her, she gave Joanne the medication that I REALLY needed immediately, deferred the payment for it until later, and sent Joanne back home with the drug.  Two hours later everything else I needed was ready to be picked up !

Well done, Connie !  Good job ! ! !  No thanks to Kelowna Hospital !

As I said, I sat outside for awhile this afternoon, enjoying warm sunshine.  A few neighbours noticed me sitting outside, and wandered over to offer best wishes.  And condolences !

Joanne and I each spoke very briefly to our sisters this afternoon, and advised each of them of Bo's death on Tuesday.  < sigh >  Seems so long ago already !

Friday ;  Cloudy and cool.

This lengthy recuperation period of mine that has begun, has turned us into old folks very quickly.  It took us half a day to get ready to go into town to do an errand.  It took us a quarter of the day to get the errand done and return home.  And then we rested and recuperated for the remaining quarter of the day !  Not funny !

Half a day to get showered and dressed and fed and filled with medications.  We drove into Keremeos where I had an appointment at the South Similkameen Diagnostic & Treatment Centre, at the Home Care Nursing Office, to have my dressings changed and surgical wounds examined.  We stopped at Keremeos Home Building Supplies to look for an item, which they did not have.  We stopped at Sanderson Farms and
I waited in the car while Joanne went to buy some produce, including a twenty pound bag of freshly picked Ambrosia apples.  Unfortunately, this past summer's weather produced an annual crop of apples lacking the usual sweetness found in Ambrosias.

Late this afternoon Joanne took Ozzie for another very long walk.  He has been enjoying daily multiple long walks with Joanne.  I wish I could go with them.  Before Joanne left with Ozzie she got me dressed for the outdoors ... I felt like a child being put into a parka in Winnipeg in the winter in the late 1950's ... and while they walked around for an hour, I shuffled around on the road behind our house for awhile, sitting in a chair much more than I actually walked around.

Joanne thinks that my recovery is going well, today being post-operative day seven. 
I suppose she's right.  My wounds look clean, no infections.  My breathing ability is slowly improving.  And most importantly, I discovered that some of the sternum pain issues I have been experiencing have been lessened with a change of dressings.  The new dressings do not "fit" quite as tightly, and are not as restrictive to the ever so slight movement and interaction that must take place between the chest skin, the now wired sternum underneath, the expanding and contracting lungs underneath all that, etc.  At bedtime, before lying down, I detached the very top of the adhesive dressing cover material at my throat.  That makes it much easier to breath while lying down.

Saturday ;  Mostly cloudy, chilly, windy.

My mobility was improved today.  This afternoon Joanne went into Penticton to run some errands.  She took Ozzie along for a "drivey".  Ozzie loved going for "driveys" with Gord and Marcie, and has not been getting his fair of share of "drivey" during the last year and a half of Gord's illness.  When she was finished errands in Penticton, before returning home Joanne took Ozzie for a long walk around Skaha Lake Park.  When they returned home around 6 PM Ozzie was in excellent spirits, and doing a lot of "happy dancing".

I spent about an hour outdoors while Joanne and Ozzie were gone to Penticton.  I was trying to "exercise", which right now means walking from one chair on the edge of our property to another chair on the edge of our property, a distance of about thirty feet.  My stamina is still very low, and I was disappointed in my "performance".  I spent about eighty percent of my hour outdoors resting in either of the two chairs, and perhaps twenty percent of the time I was actually shuffling along from one chair to the other.

After my hour outdoors I spent a couple of hours indoors trying to catch my breath after doing that much "exercising".  < sigh >  It certainly is going to be a long, hard journey over the next three months, isn't it ?

DSK