[JimDirt]

I just got home at about 9pm last night , the entire week was terrible , i went to check in at 5:30am on Tuesday Sept 19th , they prepped me and said the surgery would be between 8:30 to 9am , , they came back in a little while later and said , we are bumping you up to now , it was 7:30am , i said great , let's get this over with , they said the surgery would take between 1 - 2 hours .........I awoke in ICU/Critical Care , apparently they had complications with bleeding and the lung leaking and collapsing constantly ...so the surgery took 7-1/2 hours , along with this , my heart was acting up , my heartrate/pulse stayed between 130 to 180 bpm (normal would be between 60-80) , this went on for 6 days , all of which i was in ICU , finally late night Monday the 25th , they put me in a regular room and pinched off the tube keeping my lung inflated and draining excess fluid and air escaping the lung in between where the staples were , they said if it held , i was allowed to go home the next day (yesterday)

I also , because of the heart rate and just being stressed from the procedure and from the pain , was having constant panic attacks , I had thought my wrist , and my heart attack was the worst few months i have had , it turns out having 1/3rd of your lung removed while having A-Fib and Tachycardia is more stressful than both of those were

Anyway , i am getting better at breathing , i no longer have to talk in between each breath with a single word , even with the pain meds , i am really sore , but i was able to take a shower for the first time in a week , which felt great and was definitely relaxing , i have a follow up appointment with the surgeon on the 10th of Oct. , but it is looking like it might be 4-6 weeks for recovery , not the 2 i was told prior to surgery , but i am so glad to be home and have most of this behind me , so i survived this mess , so i should HOPEFULLY , be able to get back on the bike before October is over and get some more riding in this year , i am sure i will be starting over again , but it will give me a jumpstart on next years riding......

[crfsonly]

Wow Jim! Sounds like you are fortunate to be alive and we are fortunate that you are! Sorry to hear it was much more challenging than expected. I know you are a fighter and will heal up and put this C stuff behind you. All the best to and and here's to a full and fast recovery.

Ken

[Back2-2]

Geez Jim, can you ever do things the easy way Hang in there bud.

I tried but made a futile attempt of holding the fork down while you were away. I'm a two liner answer guy so it's great that you didn't die and leave me in charge....

Hang tough you old bird !

We are in Spearfish SD right now researching a possible future move. So I'm drinking beer in a little ho-bunk hotel while reading your rough story.

[Aussiecrf230]

G'day Jim,
What doesn't kill us makes us stronger they say.
Damm you must be superman after all that.

Rest up and get better, push - but not too hard, you have just had major surgery and your body has to get use to the changes and so do you.
Keeping focused on getting back on the bike will mean you will do what exercise etc the doctors ask even if it takes longer than first thought.
With the smashed up wrist you came up with better suspension settings to get back riding. What are you going to do to the bike this time, better air filtration.
Maybe one aircleaner for you and one for the bike, LOL.

You know what they say "Better red(Honda) than dead" and you have a few of them. Hondas that is.
Keep up the posts and stay positive!

[JimDirt]

Thanks guys , i am still pretty weak , not breathing full breaths yet , so i have been not able to sit at the PC much , my whole right side is sore and its hard to stay comfortable long , as i feel more energetic , i will get on here more , but for now , this is about all i can do , even eating breakfast wears me out , its really not something i was expecting , but i am up walking a bit thru the day and doing breathing exercises , so i am progressing , just much slower than i had thought i would , but i have only been home 3 days , so i guess i should not expect to be "normal" this soon ....anyway , thanks for the concern , hopefully i will be back to my usual self before too long.....

[Back2-2]

You'll be posting three page answers on "What Oil Should I be Using" or "I washed my bike and now it won't start" any day now !
Then, we will know the "Jim" is back !

[Leardriver]

What an ordeal! I'm glad you are on the mending side now.
Modern surgery is amazing. I swear it is drive-through. You leave your car running in the parking lot.
I had knee replacement in January, and they sawed off my femur and tibia to place implants, and I was walking down the hall at 2 pm that day. It sucked, but I was doing it.
You will feel so much better after day 4, when the swelling starts to go down.

[JimDirt]

Well its actually day 6 since i have been home and i still feel like crap , i think i am having reactions to the pain med and getting crappy side effects , i can't sleep , i keep breaking out sweating , then i get the chills , i hurt on my whole right side and i get bad indigestion/heartburn no matter what i eat or drink , so i called the Dr. today , the receptionist said the Dr. will call me tomorrow sometime to see exactly what my symptoms are , i did some checking with all my meds side effects , and the pain pill is the only one that has ALL the symptoms i am having , so hopefully they figure out what to change , so i can make some progress... , as i have to taper off it , but i need pain relief so i can relax and get some sleep , i am averaging 4am going to sleep and waking up at 6 am , so i know i need more sleep , but i just can't get comfortable to do it .. i am sleeping sitting up on the couch as i can't lay down yet without breathing issues , but i am breathing better , just not where i thought i would be 2 weeks after surgery .....

[crfsonly]

Sounds like tough going Jim! Sorry to hear this news. Hopefully, they can get the pain under control without these negative side effects. Hang in there my friend!

Ken

[mikeridered]

Wow. Just wow. Haven't been on here much lately. Not what I really wanted to read on my 1st time back in awhile. Glad you're doing better, hope you and your family the best.

[JimDirt]

Yea , well i guess the drama continues , i just got back home from the last few hours in the E.R. , i was making dinner tonight (Chili , made from Turkey Burger and Elk Steaks) and i had to pee , nothing out of the ordinary , until i looked and my pee looked like Fruit Punch , it was bright red , so i called my Dr's and they said go to the E.R. , well after several hours in the E.R. , and peeing into a bottle and them drawing blood from my arm , they said my Kidneys are fine , but the new blood thinner/A-Fib pill i am on (Xarelto /*Zarelto , the stuff they have the law suits about*) , decided that i needed one of the bad side effects , which is internal bleeding and bleeding into/out of my kidney , so they sent me home saying i need to see a Urologist tomorrow so they can try to locate the actual source of the bleeding , which is most likely in my right kidney , so i have to call that Dr. tomorrow and set up a appointment for tomorrow hopefully , then Tuesday is my scheduled appointment with my Heart Dr. and the Lung Surgeon ........... so it looks like the complications are still going on , i have pee'ed 3 times since getting home tonight and it still looks like Fruit Punch , that is how much blood is in my urine ...... , so i am off the Xarelto after being on it for about 2 weeks , and to have this happen , so most likely they will either have to try another A-Fib med on me , or something to keep it under control without such severe side effects , as i always seem to get the bad side effects from most meds , i was able to get a bowl of Chili down after i got home , so at least i got to eat tonight finally , now i am going to try to get some kind of sleep tonight , i am already on my 2nd Xanax this evening , ........what a day .........

[crfsonly]

Wow...so recovery challenges continue. Hang in there!!!

[Aussiecrf230]

Yep the original CRFs Only soap opera.
They always have doctors in them and Jim is just waiting to write them out of the script.

[JimDirt]

Well i saw the Oncologist today , and as of today , i am cancer free !! , i will still have to go in and get checked by them every 3 months for the next year , and i still have to get the bladder/kidney issue resolved (no more bleeding when I pee though) , but it looks like i am slowly on the road to recovery .... finally .....what a chaotic year this has been , hopefully this will be put behind me and i can start getting back to the mental mess i used to be before all this new physical mess happened ......anyway , it was good news so i thought i would share !!

I guess what doesn't kill you , makes you stronger ,and i managed to survive all of what has been thrown at me and i am now on the mend , i still have a ways to go , but i am headed in the right direction now ........And thanks for all the kind words everyone , it means a lot

[Back2-2]

Excellent Jim !