Finally.............feeling better

yes, I finally feel better.  I had been feeling a bit run down since I returned from California early last week.  I didn't have my second wind exercising and I was sleeping like I needed to hibernate.  On Monday afternoon I had a migraine headache for the first time ever in my life.  It was quite frightening when my colleague asked me, "hey are you OK??  you aren't making sense."  I shut it down for the day took a 4 hour nap.  I NEVER take a nap.  A risk with the LVAD is stroke so when you get an acute headache that shows up so fast you mind starts to wander.  It took a couple of days after that but I finally have a good appetite back and my energy.  I have worked out five days in a row for the first time since my surgery last year which is great.  So yeah, finally.

I became friends with another patient last year when I was hospitalized named Dave.  He has his LVAD placed about two weeks after mine.  He just got his new heart last Saturday the 18th.  I saw him in the hospital on Monday and spent some time with his family.  He looked great for being only two days since his surgery.  Well I went with the family yesterday to the hospital and spent about 90 minutes with him.  He looked amazing and the change since early in the week was palpable.  He had so much energy and had good color and just looked healthy.  I don't know how to describe it other than to say if you have spent any time in a cardiac ICU the patients don't generally look great.  Dave looked awesome.  I have attached a couple of pictures of he and I.  For me it is so good to see beyond the surgery and see the other side.  A happy and relieved family, his great kids, and somebody who looked like his life was starting again.  It validates for me all the research I have done into what this next step represents and what I can look forward to.  

Here are a couple of pictures