There's a lot of worry and fear and uncertainty that comes along with stents and bypass (both of which I've had). And this site has been marvelous in helping me vent and ask questions and know that I'm not alone in my struggles. But all too often, our stories are sad or scary. So I thought I'd share something happy. I'm 39 in perfect health and weight yet had double bypass surgery five months ago on my LAD. I've been going to cardio rehab for the past four months. Yesterday I decided to give my ticker a real test by playing some racquetball.
I'm glad to say I felt my heart pounding with the effort but the only pain I had was that sweet, sweet burn of my lungs sucking for air. But no angina. No dizziness. No arm pain. And to top it all off, I crushed my opponent.
I can't tell you how triumphant I feel. I still worry about the bad stuff but getting out there and really sweating felt so good and pumped me up with a ton of confidence. I even got in the hot tub after where everyone could see my scar.
So to all my brothers and sisters out there with your own zipper scars and stent placements, keep your chins up, do your exercises, take your meds, and know that you can get back to life as usual. Whether that means racquetball, gardening, or fishing.
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Good News! I played racquetball and didn't die!
- By agentsl9
- Posted June 28, 2009 at 12:45 pm · 5 replies
- In Life after heart bypass surgery
- Shared with the public
5 replies
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- Newest first
- By NewAllie
- Posted June 28, 2009 at 1:18 pm
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Congratulations. I loved your description of sweating and heart pounding with no chest pain! Thanks for keeping the dream alive and for sharing good news. Allie
- By homh
- Posted June 28, 2009 at 7:27 pm
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Outstanding! Your progress has been excellent and very encouraging. You must be well pleased.
- By yazz
- Posted July 2, 2009 at 12:41 pm
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Thats positive news and good for you....I play squash and a surfer so i hope i get to do that in five months time......I am glad for you....enjoy
- By Chin-up
- Posted July 4, 2009 at 10:09 am
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Kudos to you!!
You stated it perfectly! I joined curves this past week and was working out and a gal said oh, did you have surgery? ( I had knee surgery -orthoscopic a few years back) I responded on my knee? Thinking gosh, nobody hardly ever notices the scar from my knee surgery.... then looked down and ....... it was the first time I had actually forgot about the scar running down my leg from the graph...lol!! I bet she thought I was a nut case!! lol!! Once I realized what she was talking about I realized, I was there... doing my thing and thinking about how good I was feeling and how this work out was good for me, not that I needed to do the work out but that I was enjoying the work out! It really does feel great and I am thankful everyday for feeling so much better!!
- By MTL9
- Posted July 6, 2009 at 11:02 pm
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Thanks for the positive vibes, and congrats to you!
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