Greetings, for those of you who don't know me, my valve replacement took place 4 and a half years ago. Everything went wonderfully well and by the time I completed Cardiac Rehab, my life had pretty much returned to normal. The one persistent problem I had to deal with, however, was that I had developed Costochondritis. This is an inflammation of the intercostal cartilage which often troubles football players after getting repeatedly thumped int he chest. Heart surgery can in someways be comparable. Basically, the inflammation causes the cartilage alongside the sternum to ache. Very shortly, I realized the thing that irritated the inflammed cartilage most was the shoulder harness in my car.
When I mentioned this to a friend, she promptly made me a pillow that would fit my chest without getting in the way while I was driving. It worked wonderfully well and continued to do so for 4 and a half years until last week when, somehow, I lost it. As an interim measure, I borrowed one of my dog's stuffed toys. Surprisingly, it has worked better than the old blue pillow. Its shape and resilience are just what I need to fend off the shoulder harness and its "nose" keeps it from slipping which was always a problem with the blue pillow. I thought that, perhaps, it didn't have enough padding but it is just about perfect. So, here they are:
I thought at first I would use Bede's toy for a few days while I found a replacement pillow but after a week, I've come to realize that I don't need to replace it. It works well, it was cheap and Bede has so many toys that he will never miss it, actually, it was never one of his favorites. At any rate, for anyone in need of a little fender beneath the shoulder harness, I can recommend the stuffed toy. It does, of course, send my young nieces and nephews into giggles and laughter but it works and it works well.
Larry
When I mentioned this to a friend, she promptly made me a pillow that would fit my chest without getting in the way while I was driving. It worked wonderfully well and continued to do so for 4 and a half years until last week when, somehow, I lost it. As an interim measure, I borrowed one of my dog's stuffed toys. Surprisingly, it has worked better than the old blue pillow. Its shape and resilience are just what I need to fend off the shoulder harness and its "nose" keeps it from slipping which was always a problem with the blue pillow. I thought that, perhaps, it didn't have enough padding but it is just about perfect. So, here they are:
I thought at first I would use Bede's toy for a few days while I found a replacement pillow but after a week, I've come to realize that I don't need to replace it. It works well, it was cheap and Bede has so many toys that he will never miss it, actually, it was never one of his favorites. At any rate, for anyone in need of a little fender beneath the shoulder harness, I can recommend the stuffed toy. It does, of course, send my young nieces and nephews into giggles and laughter but it works and it works well.
Larry
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