Wow, it's been a year already

[Shari Thomas]

Feb 26 I was in surgery early in the morning, getting a brand-spankin' new piggy valve for my aorta, a nice shiny ring for my mitral valve, and a whole new path for the mice to run as they send electrical impulses from the atria to the ventricles.

Mar 9 I got to come home.

Mar 13, my birthday, I was sick as a dog from too much activity, so completely missed my birthday dinner.

Over the next several months, I continued to recover, but my heart rate settled into the low 50's when I was up and around, and into the low 40's when I was sleeping. I finally talked my cardiologist into a pacemaker.

What an awesome decision!

I feel better now (at nearly 65) then I've ever felt in my life. I don't remember ever having a resting pulse rate of 70. I was always in the low 60's and folks attributed that to being an in-shape athlete.

I have an idea the low pulse plays into why I was never a runner. Sure, I ran when I had to, but the idea of just going out for a run just was never a part of my life.

Now, I feel like maybe a jog would be a good idea.

I've got to give a ton of credit to you guys and gals here at VR.org. Your support and information made the whole ordeal much easier for me. I'm not sure I could have been as confident about getting all repaired without your help. So, a special thanks to all who have gone before me.

I don't get here often as I'm back to actively running our small farm, blogging, and building web sites for small businesses. Here's a quick site for you, where we (the Four Country Gals) are documenting our adventure on our way to having a certified organic produce operation.

Four Country Gals and also our new Backyard Aquaponics.

 

[Duffey]

Shari,
Congratulations on your first year valversary! I'm glad to read that the pacemaker has helped and that you are feeling so much better with one implanted.

I'll check out your sites. They sound like fun reading!

 

[esvaja]

Hi-ya,
I'm still in the waiting room, I can only hope I do as well as you!
CONGRATULATIONS & many happy returns!
Daiva (trying to sit quietly in the corner)

 

[Cooker]

Congrats on # 1 :thumbup:

 

[nngbwh]

Happy one ! It is the best. Wishing plenty more to come.

 

[Greg a]

Happy valversary and I must say I enjoy the fact the pigs went to market and maybe a year from now somebody will have new piggie valves too and glad your shoulder angel is keeping you paced

 

[epstns]

Hey Shari - Congratulatins on a bang-up year. May you just ahave lots and lots more!

I finally had my valve done almost exactly a year after yours and got my pacemaker immediately, without a second thought. It will give me years of peace of mind that my cardio-electronics will be correctly managed so that I con get the best out of all the other great work that was done in there.

Keep it up - we love to read good stories!

 

[Shari Thomas]

Thanks all.

I'm sad to say that because our hogs are being "custom butchered" for home use only, they're piggy valves won't be used for medical. The trade-off though, is that two families are going to enjoy a year's worth of very good meat.

My pacemaker is really working very well. I can climb on the haystacks, pitch hay to the animals, and even dig in the dirt without being short of breath. That's really good, since we're expanding our garden and seeking organic certification. It's gonna take all hands on board to pull it all off.

Steve, congrats on getting repaired this year. I'm sure if I'd had the pacemaker from the gitgo, I'd have been out of the hospital sooner and my recovery would have been much more complete much faster. Oh well... what's passed is a mere memory. What's ahead is the great adventure.

Keep breathing, eating, walking, resting and doing it all again!