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News Archive 2003: Edward Bryant's Heart Bypass Medical Log
Thursday, October 2, 2003
Here's what's happening.
I'm wearing pants again! Finally I've gotten past the stage of lounging around in those comfortable (and garish) PJ-type lounging trousers.
And now I can sneeze without screaming. The sternum's healing up pretty well.
I'm about two and a half weeks back in Denver after my recuperative stint in Ft. Wayne and while I made peace with the cats, the house is still incredibly messy. Every once in a while I pick up and sort a heap of mail, or pay a bill, or clean the cat boxes. The pace of life seems to have slowed down, at least temporarily. I haven't written any new fiction yet, but I'm ever hopeful.
Patience. Everyone advises me to be patient. Remember the "Far Side" cartoon of a clutch of vultures sitting on the branch of a dead tree at the edge of the desert? The distressed scavenger bird at the end is saying, "Patience hell! I'm gonna go out and kill me something!"
What being back home is mainly doing for me is forcing me to be more self-sufficient, which means getting more exercise (a good thing), though I still have to be wary of trying to overachieve. No sooner did I get home than I decided to mow the lawn a final time. I thought I was being smart. Okay, I thought, mow for 5 or 10 minutes, rest, mow for another short time, rest, etc. That's what I did. And I paid for all that with several days of screaming muscles and upper body pain. "Don't bite off more than you can chew!" I need to cross-stitch that as a motto to live by.
But I'm driving again and keeping track of the diabetes, seeing various doctors for follow-up evaluations, and getting back into the pharmaceutical swing of things, etc. Do I feel better, more energetic than before the surgery? Nope, not yet. But soon. At least that's what I continue to be told.
--Ed
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Monday. September 8, 2003
It's exactly four weeks since the bypass surgery. My own physical improvement continues. But my time sense is still a little wonky. Was I in the OR a whole month ago? Or just yesterday? It's still all a little vague. And it's startling and a little sad that I should start getting my stuff packed to return to Denver this coming Sunday. I've had a great time here in Ft. Wayne.
Hey, there are the souvenirs. Dawn took me to an antique shop where I picked up a brass Batesville casket key, an implement which is pretty much what you might expect. It's already given me an idea for a new story.
Then two days ago Thomas took me to Decatur about a half hour south for the first-Saturday-of-the-month flea market. Great prices. Nothing my life would perish without, but plenty that could make my life more fun. My two favorite acquisitions were first, a stereopticon card showing an intense-looking guy with his eyes shut, dressed in his underwear, crouched in a jocket-position astraddle a railed bed with an art nouveau coverlet. The caption was: The somnambulist enters the home stretch. Obscene or just surreal? I'm still parsing that one out. Second was a piece of sheet music, "The Air Ship Waltz" by Isaac Doles. Published in 1902 as a supplement to the Indianapolis Sentinel and dedicated to the Married Ladies Musicale. Great cover illustration showing a futuristic powered airship looming over a bucolic midwestern countryside.
But soon the pastoral Midwest will be gone and I'll be back in Denver. Did I tell you my favorite quote from the interim between exiting the hospital and flying to Indiana? Steve and Melanie Tem came to my home to visit a couple days after Steve had his own surgery to remove his gall bladder. We compared scars (of course), and Steve, critically surveying the zipper up and down my chest, opined that he'd seen shorter scars in autopsy photos.
The 20th anniversary re-mastering of Brian De Palma's "Scarface" with Al Pacino is shortly to open in selected cities. But that's another story.
Take care, all.
--Ed
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Thursday, September 4, 2003
Hi, everyone! I apologize for not updating this haphazard personal news service for a few days, but hey, I've been putting a lot of energy into, well, recuperating. I'm still in Indiana, about halfway through my convalescent three weeks at the home of Dawn Dunn, Thomas Meek, and Chris Dunn. Still planning to return to Denver on Sunday, September 14.
Recovery proceeds pretty much on course. The various wounds are healing beautifully. Dr. Richard Parker is an artist! Still having problems with breathing and stamina, but am assured that will return with time and exercise. Essentially recovery is being marked in small incremental steps.
My attention span is pitifully short, but I'm discovering I can read again with some sense of concentration and understanding. Last night I accompanied Dawn and Thomas to the local art cinema to see the Polish brothers' "Northfork," which I recommend highly. It's one terrific non-genre fantasy with '50s American mythology, incredible Montana vistas, angels, strange creatures, and a long meditation on death. Call it secular magic realism.
I've deliberately not put a lot of medical trivia into this project (the log). But I'll make an offer: If any of you or any of the people you care about are obliged to go through the bypass surgery experience, I'll be willing to share any information or tips about the experience that might help you out. I continue to admit that I don't know how I would have gotten through all this without the infrastracture of friends who helped carry the burdens, physical and metaphoric. So let me know. I'm still winnowing and sorting the details of the experience and probably I'm still 'way too close to it (I cannot believe it's only been a little over three weeks since the surgery!), but things are starting to settle into perspective.
More soon. But be assured that I'm alive and well, and getting better each day.
--Ed
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Thursday, August 21, 2003
Dear Friends,
This will be very short, very quick, because I'm weak as a kitten. Got home last night about nine at night. Dawn Marie Stanley was kind enough to pick me up and schlep my stuff after Dawn Dunn and Thomas Meek were obliged to go to the Wormhole Books Stories for all Seasons program (and congrgatulations to both John Kennedy and Bret Bertholf who debuted their Wormhole new releases last night!!!). Various hospital discharge snafus got in the way and made things very late.
So here's the box score.
10 days in hospital, quadruple bypass. Great scars! Sound prognosis. The kidneys seem to be bouncing back to their pre-surgery level.. Looking ahead to a couple of months of recuperation as I regain strength. Right now I've got no breath and have to plot out my physical tasks. What used to be on the other side of the room is now oh, yeah, 'way over there.... Expectable pain from healing but the important thing is, healing's happening. Climbing one flight of stairs last night just about killed me.
I'll be here at home for a couple days; then Dawn Dunn, Thomas, and I will fly to Indianapolis Saturday morning, then drive to Ft. Wayne where I'll spend 3 weeks supervised recup before returning to Denver September14.
As I've said before but with no less passion now, thank you, all of you. I wouldn't be surviving this without my friends.
xoxoxxoxo,
Ed
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Tuesday, August 15, 2003, 11:00 pm
Ed is continuing to increase his walking at the hospital, but he's getting awfully worn out. His kidneys have taken a hit from the procedure and the extent of the problem won't be known for a few days. He was discouraged about it today and overwhelmed with visitors and phone calls. A card might be better at this point. Let's not wear him out folks, though he does appreciate knowing people care. We are traveling out to help with his care at home when he's released and may be delayed on our next update, but keep checking back and we'll have more to report.
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Wednesday, August 13, 2003, 11:15 pm
Ed continues to make good daily progress. He has been up and walking short distances in the halls. He tires quickly, but that is to be expected. He said to say hello to everyone who is reading his updates. He said that he is impressed with his own progress and can't believe how much better he gets each day. More Ed tomorrow.
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Tuesday, August 12, 2003, 11:00 am
Ed is continuing to improve. The outlook is extremely positive. Spoke to his doctor this morning. They are watching his kidneys and waiting, but expecting the best. Ed will be moved out of ICU and to a regular room this morning. He will be able to receive calls and visitors, but those who visit and call should keep it brief and watch for signs he is tiring. He is delighted that so many people care and it helps keep his morale boosted. His morale is actually quite good and he seems much himself, though a little short of breath. He is still groggy, also. More this evening.
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Monday, August 11, 2003, 8:00 pm Ed continues to do well. He is off the ventilator and talking, but quite drowsy and in some pain. He is scheduled to be moved out of ICU tomorrow. They hope to have him up and walking. If you wish to send cards, please send them to his home address: 2103 W. 28th Ave, Denver, CO 80211. Stayed tuned for more Ed tomorrow. He will compose his own messages for this board as soon as he is able.
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Monday, August 11, 2003, 3:00 pm
Edward Bryant has come through his quadruple bypass in good shape. He is still in ICU recovery at the moment. The only hitch thus far is that they couldn't get enough viable veins from the first leg and had to open up the second leg as well, but this should not hinder his recovery. More news as it comes in. Be sure to check back.
-- Dawn Dunn
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Sunday, August 3, 2003
I'm not a big fan of blogs--biographical logs. I'll admit it. However there are enough people who have expressed interest in following the progress of my just-over-next-week's-horizon heart surgery, what the heck, I'll try to keep rumors to a minimum with these reports here on the Community News Page of www.wormholebooks.com. I thank my colleagues at Wormhole, Chris Dunn and Joanna Erbach, for taking care of the tekkie side of this.
So here's the deal. Monday, August 11, 2003, at 6am I'll check into Presbyterian-St. Luke's Hospital in Denver. At 8am I'll be rolled into the operating room for heart bypass surgery, maybe quadruple, possibly quintuple. A lot of decisions will be on hold until the event takes place.
I've got a good team: nephrologist Greg Schlessinger, M.D.; diabetic specialist Karen Guzzetta, M.D., cardiologist Joseph Rainwater, M.D.; and cardiac surgeon Richard Parker, M.D.
Here's the background in brief. Several years ago, some testing at the Mayo Clinic confirmed that I had developing heart problems. Two years ago a stress test administered by my cardiologist confirmed matters, indicating that I had a couple of 80+% blockages in major heart arteries. No emergency, and so my cardiologist suggested waiting until the FDA approved the new generation of drug-eluting (coated) stents. Stents are the cool little spring-like metal coils that, once inserted into jammed-up vessels, then hopefully keep them open. The new generation are coated with chemicals that tell the immune system to lay off and not allow scar tissue to gum up the newly opened works. So a couple of months ago the stents were ready and I underwent the procedure. Unfortunately one stent seated properly, but the other could not be. The vessel that could not be unjammed is now up to 90+% blockage. The remaining options pretty much boiled down to a) leave things alone until Something Happens, and b) surgery.
So surgery it is. Decades of practice have made bypass work a pretty dependable enterprise. But never being one to leave well enough alone, I (or at least my body) have added a few jokers to the deck. Having had type1 diabetes for 40 years, I've beaten a lot of odds so far. But the diabetes has certainly aggravated such issues as degenerative heart and kidney disease. My kidneys still have a solid 90% chance of surviving the strain of heart surgery, but I'm keeping fingers crossed.
Now here's the longer-term schedule. Week One (starting August 11) I'll be in hospital. If all goes well, Week Two I'll be at home under the care of my friends Dawn Dunn and Thomas Meek who are flying out from Ft. Wayne. Weeks Three through Five, I'll be convalescing in Indiana. Sunday, September 14, I'll fly back to Denver for the balance of my recuperation.
Any pertinent news will be posted here on the Wormhole site. On August 11 my brother Doug will be fielding calls on my phone. If all goes well, after that I'll be able to take calls on the cell phone when I'm in hospital or, later, in Indiana. I don't know if I'll have e-mail access the three weeks I'm in Ft. Wayne, but likely will.
So that's the baseline. Over the years, a lot of people have lent mucho support, whether literal or metaphysical, when it's come to matters medical. I've always been grateful; believe me, I still am.
-- Ed Bryant
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