Tracy's Fabulous T-Shirt

Here are a couple of pictures of the t-shirt that Tracy made for me. First is a shot of the entire shirt so you can see that the painting of the heart is in pretty much the right spot. I am really impressed every time I look at the shirt.
Next up is a close up shot of the painting so you can see the detail she put into it. She told me that she looked at the drawings by the doctor that I have posted here and tried to get the arteries as close as she could to the real thing. She also said that originally she wanted to make "Dr. Seuss" like pipes but she couldn't figure out what they looked like so she settled for PVC pipes. I can't remember what "Dr. Seuss" pipes look like either and I am glad she did the PVC thing, I think it is perfect.
Now I need to figure out how to market the things to all of the hundreds of thousands of people that have heart surgery each year and start a business with Tracy and we can be millionaires! Anybody want to buy a personalized t-shirt to show off those stents or by-passes or both as in my case.
I think the design she settled on for the stents is great, little spring-like things. My cardiologist (Dr. Filardo) was very impressed with the shirt and studied it quite a while. He said that she did a pretty good job of getting the by-passes in the right place. He said that the one in the middle was almost perfect as to where it actually connects. I don;t really care how perfect it is, just that she cares about me enough to actually make things like this for me. She's a great sister and I love her with all of my old worn out heart!
Tracy had a heart attack too, about a year and a half ago. She is doing really well with her two stents and she also goes to see Dr. Filardo. She is the main reason I chose to see him in the first place. I was impressed with him when he talked to the family about her catheterization, and when it came time for me to find a new cardiologist he was my first choice.
Since I am showing off her handiwork I am also going to make her mad and post a photo of her, isn't she pretty?
Thanks for the shirt Tea Cup, I really appreciate it.

Newest Update

    I visited my cardiologist today and I am doing fine. He is concerned about my right leg still being so swollen, so he told me to double up on my Lasix and Potassium and keep a close eye on it. The leg has been swollen ever since the by-pass operation but gets much bigger when I am up walking around a lot. I think most of it is just that the major vein returning blood from my leg is now missing and the blood needs to find another way back up. I wear a compression stocking usually, but not always. I didn't wear it today because I wanted him to see it. The thing he is worried about is that I also have some swelling in my groin where the cardiac catheters were inserted and that swelling could be keeping the blood from flowing as well as it should. We are keeping an eye on things and I think I will be just fine. I sure do feel good!
    Another thing the doctor wants to keep an eye on is a patch of discolored skin on my back. I noticed it a few days ago and had Kim look at it but we had no idea what it was. It is an area about 6 inches across that is darker than the surrounding skin. Dr. Filardo saw it today and feels that it may be a radiation burn from all of the x-rays pumped through that area over a four day period. I had a CT scan, two cardiac catheterizations and several chest x-rays, so I am sure there was enough radiation bouncing around in there to cook a Cornish Hen. I have not done any real research into radiation burns so I have no idea what the problems could be from it, I'll be checking up on it.
    I also had an appointment with my surgeon last Friday, the one that did the by-pass. He was already in surgery when I got there so I spoke to the Nurse Practitioner instead. She said I looked good and there are no problems at all evident.
    My sister Tracy made me a new t-shirt and gave it to me yesterday. She hand painted a human heart on the shirt and then placed PVC pipes and little springs in place to show where my by-passes and stents are located. It is really great! I wore it to the doctor's office today and everyone there loved it. I'll post a photo tomorrow so everyone can see it, it is really nice and I love it. Thanks Tea Cup!
   

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How do those stents work?

I get this question a lot when I tell people I have stents in my coronary arteries. It is difficult to explain since I was pretty much like everyone else, I knew what happened from a patient's standpoint but I wasn't sure of the mechanics so I did some research.
I looked all over the place for good information on the placement of stents and was amazed at the lack of good information. I even looked at Stanford University's web site thinking that they at least would have some good visual representations. They didn't. I kept looking and I found a great web site with information on how and why the stents are placed along with information for people that may be thinking of getting stents. It is the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute web site. This image is from the site and shows what the artery looks like with plaque blockage and the various steps of placing a stent. (Click on the image to see a larger version) The site has a great little video that shows the placement procedure except for one huge difference. In the video there is a bandage placed over the groin site to stop the bleeding, but in all six of my experiences I have had a nurse pull the sheath out and place enormous pressure on the wound with a hand to stop the blood flow. This pressure is held for about 30 minutes and is really painful! After the sheath is pulled and the bleeding stopped you need to lay still and not move that leg for 4 to 6 hours before you can even attempt to get comfortable.

One of the things that I had trouble with this last time was a tear in an artery. I was really confused about that one until the doctor explained it visually. I thought the artery would tear like a run in panty-hose and that every time I heard of a tear in a blood vessel it was like a big rip, but I was wrong. It seems that an artery tears not with the length of the artery, but across it and there are layers of the arteries which tear. The tear does not go all the way from the inside to the outside but remains in a layer of the artery. Here is a good picture of a tear from inside the artery to give you a good idea. The tear can then catch the blood as it is pumped and stop the blood flow. Dr. Filardo explained this by rolling up a paper towel and then folding in the innermost layer forming a pocket, you can see how it would catch the blood flow and act as a sort of valve not allowing the blood to go any farther. This is the perfect use for a stent. It can be placed to push the tear closed and allow for the blood flow to go on past the site with no resistance. That's what the doctor had to do for me. Pretty cool isn't it?

What the Heck Happened?

Medical science, though very advanced is not perfect. Add personal differences, past health habits and family history to the mix and it's very puzzling that doctors can actually repair anything.
I had my by-pass on March 3rd and was feeling really good. I was scheduled to return to work on April 14th and was looking forward to it, just getting out of the house was a treat! The Thursday before I was to return to work (April10th) I started having chest pains, bad enough that I broke down and called 911 and got an ambulance out to pick me up. I had another heart attack! But how?
It seems that two of the by-pass grafts occluded or closed up on me. My cardiologist was on vacation and I had another very good heart guy work on me and try to get things straightened up. He worked on m heart using angioplasty techniques for about 3 hours. I felt pretty good and by Sunday I was getting to go home. I got home and sat on the couch for about an hour before I started having more pains and Kim rushed me back to the hospital.
By that time my cardiologist was getting near home and he came to see me. He scheduled another heart catheter for the following day and he worked on getting blood flow back to my arteries for another 2 and a half hours. It worked! By placing two more stents I now have good blood flow and no chest pain. I now have a total of five stents, though one of them has clogged up and was actually the target of one of my by-pass grafts. Here is a picture that Dr. Hollis drew after working on my heart on Thursday.
The two big things that look like lug nuts are two of my early stents. The one in the right coronary artery is fine, a little blockage evident, but after 8 years in there I would expect that. The one in the left artery was 99% blocked and was by-passed with my mammary artery (labeled LIMB) and is in great shape, the mammary artery is a good choice for grafts. The little additions are the failed grafts. The one farthest to the left is the one that is still occluded and is basically a total loss. The one on the right is now opened and has two stent in it to keep it open. Dr. Filardo was able to get some blood flow through the artery of the failed graft so it is not a complete loss. He was able to get me about 30% flow in that artery which is a heck of a lot better than the 3% it had last month!
It is all pretty interesting stuff if you ask me. What would work in the majority of people just didn't work for me. How many thousands of people have by-pass operations each year that work flawlessly? I know I am not unique, there must be a few others that have had this problem. Maybe the vein in my leg wasn't a good choice as graft material, I don't know. All I do know is that I am doing well now and am very thankful for everything.

Angels

    I recently suffered a little setback, another heart attack and two more trips to the "Cath Lab". While I was laying in the hospital recovering from the latest intervention I started thinking of the people who all had a hand in my recovery.
    Of course the first person that comes to anyone's mind following something like this is our doctor. Steven Filardo is a very good cardiologist who really cares about his patients, not only our hearts but our souls as well. Another doctor is Juan Ortiz. Dr. Ortiz was filling in for Dr. Filardo while he was on vacation and I really liked him as well. One of my heart caths was performed by Dr. Hollis, another fine doctor and one more with a hand in my recovery.
    On the front lines are the nurses and medical aids that took care of me and watched over both me and my wife Kim while I was at the hospital. I wish I could remember every name, and most last names I never knew in the first place. I know them all by first names and thank each one. Tammy, Linda, Diane,, Jay, Jeff, Chris, Beth, Donna, Melissa, Regina, Debbie, Jan, Sarah, Marissa and Meghan are a small sampling of the people who helped look over me during my stay. I want to thank every one of these people as well as anyone I have forgotten to mention, you are all Angels here on Earth and I am grateful for each and every one of you.

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Taking a Break

    My father, Clyde Parrott, came down today and we went off on an adventure together. This is something we don't usually have time for but I am glad we had the opportunity. Being off work after my surgery has its perks.
    Dad and I have been talking for quite a while about visiting the site of a Lockheed Electra crash that occurred in 1960 near Cannelton, Indiana. We left my house about 10:00 this morning and following the guidance of my GPS unit we went through Kentucky and across the bridge in Cannelton back into Indiana. We came back through Indiana and I have got to say that the trip through Kentucky was faster.
    We visited Tell City first and had lunch at Vivian's. It was excellent! Vivian was very nice and even had us try her home made slaw (the best slaw I have ever eaten!) before giving us each a hug and thanking us for stopping by. I had a burger which was enormous and Dad had a grilled pork tenderloin sandwich. We both tried the red beans and rice soup which was exceptionally good, with smoked sausage and tomatoes and just the right blend of spices. Wow, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. Thanks for a great time and a magnificent lunch Vivian!
    We did make it to the Electra crash site. It was very sobering and a sad spot. There is a monument at the site with the names of the people killed in the crash. We notices many names that were the same, even what appeared to be a family of four. The flight was from Chicago to Miami so I can imagine a family taking off on a vacation in Florida and never getting there. At the site, in front of the memorial, there is a sidewalk that makes a large circle, after reading about the memorial I found that the circle surrounds the actual crater made by the plane. The Electra had a problem with vibration which caused the crash after the plane basically shook itself to pieces in mid-air.
    Even though we visited such a sad place, we had a good time. We don't get the chance to talk all that much and it was really nice to just spend time together and gab. When we got back to Corydon we went to Butt Drugs and had a chocolate soda at the soda fountain. I think Dad enjoyed the soda fountain, there are not that many of them left and Butt's has the best around in my opinion.
    As for me and my recovery, I am doing great. I still have some pains every once in a while that I feel is simply because I have not been going as much physically as I normally do. I get a bit better every day and I will be back to normal soon.

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Women's Heart Attacks

My cousin Nora Lou (aka Noni) sent me this in an e-mail this morning. She got it from a friend in Evansville and I thought it needed to be here just in case it can help even one person. Just as I am sure every man doesn't have a heart attack that feels like mine did, not every woman is going to have a feeling like the one described here, but be aware of what's going on.

A NURSE'S HEART ATTACK EXPERIENCE
 
I am an ER nurse, (day in and day out!) and this is the best description of this event that I have ever heard.

Please read, pay attention, and share it!

                                                    FEMALE HEART ATTACKS
I was aware that female heart attacks are different, but this is the best description I've ever read. Women and heart attacks (Myocardial infarction) Did you know that women rarely have the same dramatic symptoms that men have when experiencing heart attack...you know, the sudden stabbing pain in the chest, the cold sweat, grabbing the chest & dropping to the floor that we see in the movies.

Here is the story of one woman's experience with a heart attack.

"I had a completely unexpected heart attack at about 10:30 PM with NO prior exertion, NO prior emotional trauma that one would suspect might've brought it on. I was sitting all snugly & warm on a cold evening, with my purring cat in my lap, reading an interesting story my friend had sent me, and actually thinking,"A-A-h, this is the life, all cozy and warm in my soft, cushy Lazy Boy with my feet propped  up."A moment later, I felt that awful sensation of indigestion, like when you've been in a hurry and grabbed a bite of sandwich and washed it down with a dash of water, and that hurried bite seems to feel like you've swallowed a golf ball going down the esophagus in slow motion and it is most uncomfortable. You realize you shouldn't have gulped it down so fast and needed to chew it more thoroughly and this time drink a glass of water to hasten its progress down to the stomach. This was my initial sensation---the only trouble was that I hadn't taken a bite of anything since about 5:00 p.m.

"After that had seemed to subside, the next sensation was like little squeezing motions that seemed to be racing up my SPINE (hind-sight, it was probably my aorta spasming), gaining speed as they continued racing up and under my sternum (breast bone, where one presses rhythmically when administering CPR). This fascinating process continued on into my throat and branched out into both jaws.

AHA!! NOW I stopped puzzling about what was happening. We all have read and/or heard about pain in the jaws being one of the signals of an MI happening, haven't we?  I said aloud to myself and the cat, "Dear God, I think I'm having a heart attack!" 

I lowered the foot rest, dumping the cat from my lap, started to take a step and fell on the floor instead. I thought to myself "If this is a heart attack, I shouldn't be walking into the next room where the phone is or anywhere else.......but, on the other hand, if I don't, nobody will know that I need help, and if I wait any longer I may not be able to get up in moment."

"I pulled myself up with the arms of the chair, walked slowly into the next room and dialed the Paramedics... I told her I thought I was having a heart attack due to the pressure building under the sternum and radiating into my jaws. I didn't feel hysterical or afraid, just stating the facts. She said she was sending the Paramedics over immediately, asked if the front door was near to me, and if so, to unbolt the door and then lie down on the floor where they could see me when they came in.

"I then laid down on the floor as instructed and lost  consciousness, as I don't remember the medics coming in, their examination, lifting me onto a gurney or getting me into their ambulance, or hearing the call they made to St. Jude ER on the way, but I did briefly awaken when we arrived and saw that the Cardiologist was already there in his surgical blues and cap, helping the medics pull my stretcher out of the ambulance. He was  bending over me asking questions (probably something like "Have you taken any medications?") but I couldn't make my mind interpret what he was saying, or form an answer, and nodded off again, not waking up until the Cardiologist and partner had already threaded the teeny angiogram balloon up my femoral artery into the aorta and into my heart where they installed 2 side by side stents to hold open my right coronary artery.

"I know it sounds like all my thinking and actions at home must have taken at least 20-30 minutes before calling the Paramedics, but actually it  took perhaps 4-5 minutes before the call, and both the fire station and St. Jude are only minutes away from my home, and my Cardiologist was already to go to the OR in his scrubs and get going on restarting my heart (which had stopped somewhere between my arrival and the procedure) and installing the stents.

"Why have I written all of  this to you with so much detail? Because I want all of you who are so important in my life to know what I learned first hand."

1. Be aware that something very different is happening in your body - not the usual men's symptoms but  inexplicable things happening (until my sternum and jaws got into the act).  It is said that many more women than men die of their first (and last) MI because they didn't know they were having one and commonly mistake it as indigestion, take some Maalox or other anti-heartburn preparation and go to bed, hoping they'll feel better in the morning when they wake up....which doesn't happen.  My female friends, your symptoms might not be exactly like mine, so I advise you to call the Paramedics if ANYTHING is unpleasantly happening that you've not felt before. It is better to have a "false alarm" visitation than to risk your life guessing what it might be!

2. Note that I said "Call the Paramedics." Ladies, TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE! Do NOT try to drive yourself to the ER--you're a hazard to others on the road and so is your panicked husband who will be speeding and looking anxiously at what's happening with you instead of the road. Do NOT call your doctor--he doesn't know where you live and if it's at night you won't reach him anyway, and if it's daytime, his assistants (or answering service) will tell you to call the Paramedics. He doesn't carry the equipment in his car that you need to be saved! The Paramedics do, principally OXYGEN that you need ASAP. Your Dr. will be notified later.

3. Don't assume it couldn't be a heart attack because you have a normal cholesterol count.  Research has discovered that a cholesterol elevated reading is rarely the cause of an MI unless it's unbelievably high and/or accompanied by high blood pressure). MI's are usually caused by long-term stress and inflammation in the body, which dumps all sorts of deadly hormones into your system to sludge things up in there. Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Let's be careful and be aware. The more we know, the better chance we could survive. A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this shares it with 10 people, you can be sure that we'll save at least one life.

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Warning Signs

    I remember many years ago when the father of one of my classmates died of a heart attack. His wife said that he had been having some chest pain for a few days and then it got worse, but it was too late when he finally got to a hospital.
    I also remember when I was 38 years old and suffered my first heart attack. I had been working around the house cleaning up and hauling trash off in my old pick-up truck. I had just taken a full load of junk to the local waste company and had driven back home. I was going to start cleaning out the garage type area where I park my tractor and haul off one more load before getting ready to go to work. When I parked the truck and got out, it felt like someone hit me in the middle of the chest with a sledge hammer. People have asked what the heart attack felt like, so let me describe the pain. Imagine that there is a steel rod, about 2 inches in diameter and that the rod has been heated up until it is white hot. Now imagine that someone has driven that rod through your chest and out your back, you are impaled by this thing and every time you take a breath or try to move, someone hits that rod with a hammer. That's what it felt like. I managed to crawl into the house and call my wife Kim at work. I couldn't imagine a heart attack, I was only 38 years old! She listened to my description and told me to call 911. I didn't call 911, instead I called Kim's daughter and asked her to take me to the hospital.
    My point is, my pain was extreme and I could never have gone for days before going to see a doctor about it. But other people have heart attacks that are not as severe. My second heart attack was not as severe as the first and the pain was not nearly as bad, but again I cold not have ignored the pain for several days. Everyone needs to know the signs of a heart attack and then they need to not be afraid to call for help when they have the symptoms.

    If you have anything on this list, you could be having a heart attack.

Severe pain at or near your sternum.
Something that feels like heartburn but doesn't go away.
Shortness of breath.
Pain in your neck, on either side, around your carotid artery or jugular vein.
Pain in either arm, mainly centered on the area where your arteries are.
Dizziness.
Pain in your back, around the area of your heart.

Remember that men and women sometimes have different symptoms, women typically have less pain associated with an attack.

    You could have some arterial blockage if you have any of the previous symptoms that come and go. Prior to my by-pass I was suffering from the heartburn like symptoms if I walked at a normal pace for more than about 60 or 70 feet. If I stopped and rested the pain would subside. If it got too bad I took some nitroglycerin and would feel better in a few minutes. In the 5 years since my second heart attack I had taken nitro tablets on two occasions, more because I was worried than because I was actually having pain. In the three weeks prior to my recent hospitalization I went through two bottles of 30 tablets. The pain was bad enough that I knew what it was, but I also knew it wasn't an actual heart attack.
    Just remember that if you have any symptoms it is always better to go ahead and talk to a doctor about it. If you go to the emergency room, call 911, or go to see your family doctor it doesn't matter, just do something. I know, you would really feel stupid if you went to the emergency room for heartburn, right? Who cares? Just get checked out and be safe.

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Smoke em if you got em II

    I have had a lot of input from different people about the smoking thing. I have still not had a cigarette and I feel good about it. After not being able to smoke in the hospital it really wasn't all that hard to just continue to not smoke. Sure, I have urges at certain times, like after I eat a meal, but I just ignore the feeling and I make it through just fine.
    I always admired those people who could just decide to quit, and then stuck to it. My step-father's dad reportedly came home from work one day and threw his cigarettes in the pot-bellied stove and never smoked again. And somewhere along I-65, south of Indianapolis is a pack of Parliments that was thrown out of a moving car in 1987. Good job Bucko!
    I talk to friends who still smoke who say that they want to get some medicine to help them quit. I've been there too and know that they really don't want to quit yet, but they will, hopefully. I used to think about quitting, but at the same time I didn't want to, I loved those damned things! I could be stressed out and know that if I lit up everything would be fine. I could be hungry, but if I smoked a cigarette I wasn't hungry anymore. The cigarette was always there for me saying "It's okay, I'm here, everything will be just fine, just light up and relax." But now they are gone and I really don't miss them much.
    An old friend quit smoking over 30 years ago and I once asked if he ever missed them. He said "Every damned day!", I hope that's not the way it is for me, but if it is I'll still be alright.
    By the way, my taste is slowly getting better. We got a pizza the other day from Papa Murphy's, they have a "Lite" pizza. Wow it was good! I couldn't taste everything, but what I could was really great. We had some Dirty Rice with smoked sausage tonight but I couldn't taste much except the spiciness of the rice. I can't wait until all of my senses come back completely.

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Follow-up Visits

    I have seen two of my doctors in the past week for follow-up appointments. I saw my pulmonary doctor last Wednesday and I saw my cardiologist today. I don't think I have said much about my cardiologist yet, so let me tell you a little about him.
    Steven Filardo is my cardiologist and the reason I had the triple by-pass operation. Tracy (my wonderful sister) had a heart attack about a year and a half ago and was taken to Floyd Memorial Hospital in New Albany, Indiana. I was very impressed with the facility and decided that I wanted to find a cardiologist that was associated with that hospital. Tracy suggested Dr. Filardo and I thought about it for a while, then made an appointment to meet him. I liked him immediately, he has a sense of humor and yet takes his job very seriously. I was also impressed with his staff that includes his wife and his mother in-law.
    When I went to see Dr. Filardo and told him about my symptoms, he listened to my heart and hooked me up to an EKG machine. He told me that since I was entrusting him with my well being that he could not allow me to go home and was admitting me to the hospital. I thanked him, I was relieved that I was going to get some help. He was very impressive as a cardiologist and I am really very lucky to have him as my doctor. After he performed the cardiac catheterization and found that I had so much blockage, he called in a surgeon and they came to see me together and helped me make the decision to go ahead with the by-pass. Dr. Filardo could have placed some more stents and helped me out without the surgery, but he told me that the choice for either stents or an operation was not a 50/50 choice, that there was a 70/30 slant to the decision in favor of the surgery. So I went with the more dangerous, yet ultimately better choice.
    Back to the follow-up visits. My pulmonary doctor is Dr. Kohorst. He is a really nice fellow who was called in by Dr. Filardo after my lungs gave me a little trouble following the surgery. He told me last week that he likes what he is seeing, that I am doing very good. However there is a spot on the lower right lung that he is slightly worried about. It is probably just where the lung is so damaged after all those years of smoking, but he wants to see me one more time and take one more X-ray to make sure.
    Dr. Filardo says that I am doing just fine. He didn't seem to care for the swelling that is still quite evident in my right leg, but all in all he thinks I am doing fine. He even says that I can return to work in two weeks. So I will be taking another couple of weeks to rest up than I'll be going back to work. I must be doing fine because Dr. Filardo set my next appointment for six months from now!  I'm very happy with how things are going.
    I do still have some pain in my neck that is muscular, but other than that I feel good. I do have some trouble, feeling a little "fuzzy-headed" or "addle-brained", or just a little bit confused. I have always loved to read, but I am struggling to comprehend what I am reading. I have read quite a bit about "Pump Head", a problem associated with the heart-lung machine that some people have reported. I really hope that it goes away and I will be starting a blood pressure diary to rule out any problem at that level. Dr. Filardo wants to ensure that I am actually getting enough blood to my brain before he makes any other adjustments to medications or anything.
    So that's how things stand right now. I feel good except for a few small problems. I can climb stairs with no problem. I climbed two flights Saturday and Kim actually had to get out of my way because I was going faster than she thought I could go. I didn't even get short of breath.
    Something that I am really impressed by is the site of the incision on my chest. After the surgery I noticed that there were no stitches or staples holding it closed. The nurse informed me that they use a type of glue that is made from your own blood! It has healed really quickly and looks great. The incisions on my leg were given the same treatment and are healing just as well. Modern medical science never ceases to amaze me.

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