Monday, January 17, 2011

January 17, 2011 Update

Dear Friends and Family,
It is hard to believe that it has been 17 years since the Northridge Earthquake hit at 4:31am. So much has happened since then. Craig was almost 3 years old. He will celebrate his 20th birthday in February. Emily was 5 and 1/2 years old. She will celebrate her 23 birthday in August.

I had my defibrillator/ pacemaker surgery on December7. My surgery was a success, except for a small complication. A puncture between the right lung and the chest wall created a pocket of air. I had severe muscle spasms in my back and front areas. I went to the ER on the Saturday night after the surgery and was given some medicine to help. I am feeling better now. It will be six weeks since the surgery tomorrow. There is a lead wire coming from the device that is very close to my right shoulder and right by where my incision is. It is causing some discomfort when I move my shoulder towards thelead wire. The incision area is still very tender and I get shooting pain there when I move in certain directions. I saw my cardiologist this last week and he gave me a good report and removed my restriction to not lift my right elbow above my shoulder. The doctor said that it can take about two months or so for everything to settle into place. He said if things are still causing discomfort after two months, he would make adjustments on my lead wires (further surgery). Dr. Levey said that making adjustments might cause problems in other areas. My defibrillator/ pacemaker is working well for now. I will be receiving a device in the mail soon that will be hooked into our phone line that will send 24/7 information about my heart to my doctor via bluetooth. This defibrillator/ pacemaker will not make my heart better, but it is there in case my heart suddenly goes into cardiac arrest, it will put my heart back into a normal rhythm. I do ride my exercise bike everyday. I am up to doing one mile in eight minutes.

A recent CT scan shows that I have an anurysm in my right renal artery and a hernia at the incision site where my left kidney was removed (was removed back in 1997).

Praises and Prayers:
1. Praise God for His steadfast loving kindness and provision!
2. Pray for healing of my heart and recovery from my defibrillator surgery.
3. Pray for more energy.
4. Pray for me as I have an echocardiogram on February 18.
5. Pray for wisdom on how and when to have my hernia and anurysm taken care of.
6. Pray that I can be a godly testimony to those I am in contact with daily.
7. Pray for our family as we go through this trial.
8. Praise God for such a wonderful husband, who puts up with me every day!

Thank you to everyone for your love and support.
Love,
Kerry