neurotwitch

catching up

Stanley finally got the energy to write in his blog—you can see before and after photos of his chest there [laughing]. Right now, he’s pretty tired. He’s getting better daily, but still has a way to go.

Stanley with his constant companion, Koff Bear

Our trip to the cardiologist’s office today exhausted Stanley, mainly because we had to wait an hour for his five-minute test. I was pretty angry about them wasting our time for so long, so we asked if we could go to Qwest, the local lab, and have them fax the results to the PA. She can then call us. It will take us maybe 15 minutes to get it done at Qwest. We like Stanley’s cardiologist a lot, but we hate the practice (Cardiology Associates of Fairfield County) because of the inefficiency and the huge amount of our time that some of the staff manages to waste. Today, for example, we waited an hour to get the blood test done and when we were in the process of getting the test done, the technician took off!! Un-effing-believable. Tuesday, we were supposed to call and set up the testing stuff for the warfarin, and the receptionist or whomever they have answering the phones there had me in tears—coronary aftercare is pretty routine so one would think they’d have the routines and responses down pat. It took more than an hour of our time just to get this routine thing set up and to do it we had to call the emergency number and talk to someone with a few functioning brain cells. I wonder if they’re this bad in the Westport office—I want to see if Lomnitz works out of that one and, if so, we can switch to that office. They also have a Stamford office, but that’s a hike because of the traffic. Ugh. Wednesday, we go back to Bridgeport Hospital to see the surgeon. Stanley is doing better, but is as crabby as hell, mainly because he hurts. The pain meds take the edge off, but don’t entirely get rid of it and it hurts him to move. He said he wakes up every 15 minutes or so while he’s sleeping—every time he moves. When he has his hissy fits, I just remember that this won’t last TOO long, especially since, while he’s a natural-born curmudgeon and Mr. Half Empty, he’s not a grouch. We’ve been eating so healthily (is that a word?) I can’t quite believe it. We started to even before Stanley went in for the surgery, but now, even more so. I read a good book, Dr. Bob Arnot’s Revolutionary Weight Control Program, and have been implementing his recommendations. It isn’t really a diet book like Atkins or South Beach. Nope. It’s not about how much you eat, but what you eat: no white sugar, white flour, or high-fructose corn syrup. Whole grains, lean protein, lots of fiber through fruits and beans and vegetables. Carbohydrates are ok as long as they are low glycemic carbs. He talks about why this works, and outlines what kinds of foods to eat when. For example, he says to drink a glass of lowfat or skim milk (or have something that’s high protein) first thing in the morning, which will rev you up. Then, eat your oatmeal or breakfast burrito after at least 15 minutes. I tried it—it works for me. Tons of good information and I have to admit: I’m feeling a lot better after trying this for just three days and I’m sleeping much better plus, and here is the bonus bonus for me: I’ve lost three pounds without even thinking about it. His section about the Pima Indians, their traditional diet and what’s happened to them since giving up their traditional diet, is fascinating. Now I just have to add exercise into the mix—today I had a good start because I had to dig out in order to get S to the doctor’s office. Stanley fixed my Snow Fox (there was a little rock jammed in there) and it worked just great, but it’s still a LOT of work. The really stupid thing is this: I like dealing with the snow. I don’t know why. I like shoveling, and I like using the Snow Fox. Our driveway and sidewalk (I have to finish the sidewalks tomorrow—I ran out of extension cord!), nothing else. At any rate, I’ll dust off the rowing machine and start using it again and very soon Stanley has to start walking more (Ginger will love this)—maybe a walk at Sherwood Island pretty soon, weather permitting. Lots of walking. So many thank-yous I need to make. Couldn’t have gotten through this without all the support from our family and friends. UPDATE: Is it masochism when, less than a week after getting your chest cracked open and re-sewn, you turn on America’s Funniest Videos?

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