bjornmma1 Posted April 14, 2015 Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 I hope all goes well Joe. We all have you in and your family in our prayers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
762x39 Posted April 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 I made it through the night with no emergency so I guess that is good. The doctor is supposed to come in this morning and see me as soon as she gets the rest of the test results. I have not been able to eat or drink since 12AM so I assume that means surgery this morning. I want to go home and see my kids so fucking bad right now. Please when you read this hug someone close to you for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catako Posted April 14, 2015 Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 Stay strong man and don't ever give up. I'm sure you have the strenght to pass this test in your life, and hopefully tomorrow you will write to us that it was a peace of cake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catako Posted April 15, 2015 Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 Any news ? Hope your well and recovering. Have a bit of health problems myself and I'm not sure how well I am. The doctors can't find anything wrong with me, but I keep having chest pains and problems breathing (almost fainted an our ago because of the breathing problems) I hope you are alright and hopefully we will hear from you soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
762x39 Posted April 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 Doing OK so far. Only problem is I need a pacemaker to keep my heart pumping. Not sure if I will need it the rest of my life or not. Please continue prayers. Thanks again guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
762x39 Posted April 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2015 They are putting in the permanent pacemaker this afternoon. Other than my heart needing help to pump I am doing well. Already up walking around a lot. Just always has to be something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
762x39 Posted April 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2015 I got home today. They did my valve replacement last Wednesday, everything went great I was in ICU and they said I was doing way better than expected. After a couple hours they told my wife it would be OK to leave and get my kids to come and see me. They got to the hospital after school so about 8 hours after surgery my 18 year old son finally got to come in. At this point they nurses were calling me a rock star I was doing so well. A couple minutes after my son walks in my stomach starts getting upset, so I tell the nurse, that is the last thing I remember until I wake up with the nurse shaking my arm calling my name. My heart had stopped and I died, with my wife and son watching me. When they do a valve replacement they put in a temporary pacemaker just in case, the nurse turned it on, that signaled my heart to pump and it started back up. My family came back in to see I was alive. They tested my heart with the temp pacemaker till Saturday. They shut it off 2 more times and both my heart stopped again. After that they only paused it long enough to see if it would respond, it never did. They said the original infection was just to much and messed up the wiring in my heart, so now I have a pacemaker in my chest also. The battery should last about 7 years, but I have to go for tests every 6 months to check it. So I will have to have surgery every few years as it wears out. They say it is not a big deal people live with them every day, and other than that unexpected setback I am doing great. All the signs of infection are gone. I should be back to normal soon. Again take time out today to tell everyone you love them. I would have never dreamed I would die in front of my son a week ago, and be back home today. Hope I didn't bore you guys to much with my problems. You are stuck with me around here for a long time to come! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bwang Posted April 22, 2015 Report Share Posted April 22, 2015 Well done for being strong about it all man. What a burden you've been given this lifetime! Thank god for the technology of the pacemakers! Much respect to you. Keep rocking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 22, 2015 Report Share Posted April 22, 2015 Wow Joe. You are an amazing warrior. Keep getting stronger every day as you continue to recover. You have definitely been in our thoughts and prayers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 Not boring us at all. Wow. You really are a rockstar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjornmma1 Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 You are a warrior JOe! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catako Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 good to hear that, I wish you all the wealth in the world and hopefully your health problems are over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBK16 Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 Great to hear that you are now doing better than you were a few days ago. Hopefully you and your family can both recover from the shock and it will keep you all strong through being with each other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmattos Posted April 26, 2015 Report Share Posted April 26, 2015 dont give up keep it up... its a new opportunity, enjoy it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stpierrecanada Posted April 26, 2015 Report Share Posted April 26, 2015 Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clydebankblitz Posted April 26, 2015 Report Share Posted April 26, 2015 Really important question..................you've been training your fighters this entire time right? Nah reading through it, it's pretty heavy stuff man. Although maybe your attitude towards it, maybe my own perspective, who knows, but when I read things like "They're putting in a permanent pacemaker" and I'm thinking "Awesome. I mean how bad can that be if you get to live?" haha. 'Dying' in front of your kids and wife must have made you seem invincible. If they can watch you die and you're still home for a cup of tea and Game of Thrones, then they have to be thinking "What the fuck would it take to stop this guy?" haha. Keep it up mate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
762x39 Posted April 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2015 Back in the hospital as of yesterday afternoon. Had a doctor appointment yesterday and I have just not been feeling good. He did a blood draw and said he didn't like what he seen so ordered a bunch more and a chest x ray. Said the x ray was good, then did an eco on my heart. I have not heard any results yet and have no idea how long I will be in this time. This is really getting old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catako Posted April 29, 2015 Report Share Posted April 29, 2015 Sad to hear that man. Hope you the best and much needed recovery and hopefully it's not serious this time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrClean Posted April 29, 2015 Report Share Posted April 29, 2015 Boring us? I have been wondering how you have been doing on a regular basis. Thank you for your strength and the reminders of how unimportant most of our daily nonsense is. I don't know how many times I have left work early to spend a little extra time with my family since I first read your thread. I bet this thread has made a much bigger impact for good than you think. Stay strong Rock Star 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
762x39 Posted May 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2015 I am finally home again, feeling better than I have in months. I do have another pic line and my wife has to give me IV antibiotics every 8 hours for the next 2 weeks. But my blood cultures came back good so no infection in my heart. I ended up having pneumonia this time after my surgery that is why my white cell count was high. The doctors were just being cautious and kept me in the hospital until my blood cultures were done to make sure nothing else was going on, they said if I got an infection in my new heart valve it could have been bad! The doctors all told me once this is all done I should make a full recovery and be just as strong and able to do anything I could before it happened, just with a pacemaker. I start cardiac rehab next week. Thanks again everyone! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bwang Posted May 2, 2015 Report Share Posted May 2, 2015 Great news. Hope all carries on being good! Nice one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juret Posted May 2, 2015 Report Share Posted May 2, 2015 I hope hope you get better! Never give up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 2, 2015 Report Share Posted May 2, 2015 Good to hear you're back on the mend, again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catako Posted May 2, 2015 Report Share Posted May 2, 2015 Great news man. I will pray for you to get better and better and hopefully you will get a full recovery soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
762x39 Posted May 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2015 Feeling better than I have in months. I start cardiac rehab today. Went to the heart doctor yesterday, he said that I am doing great and that I look better than anytime he has seen me. I have lost almost 90 pounds since this started. Looking forward to rehab and getting some endurance back, then once I am able going to start running in the mornings, if I had to go through all this I am at least going to make sure something good comes from it and keep the weight off and get in better shape. It was funny when I got signed up for rehab yesterday the lady gave me a list of psychologists to see, she said most people that have went through what I have need to see one. I told her "I died 3 times and am still here, I think I am good, I don't need it" she laughed and said good point. Thanks everyone for the support on here, it has really helped me being able to share this with all of you. Sometimes I cant talk to the wife and kids about it or they just get upset. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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