Shopsmith Forums

robinson46176 wrote:

dusty wrote:Surgery went well. Took longer (2) hours than scheduled. It is now recovery time, again. This is the hard part and I was/am right in the middle of down sizing and moving. That will most likely not finish on schedule. I posted a couple pictures that show the condition in my shop. That has not changed at all. This will happen. PS Ejection fraction is still low. Doc says could be 8-10 months coming back.

Glad to see you back Dusty... Now, the hard part, behaving yourself.
Take care.


.

farmer, You sound a bit like my other half. I always behave.

Great to hear the surgery went smoothly other than the extra time to complete it successfully.

Usually you won't see any improvements in heart function for many months as your cardiologist mentioned. Just to manage expectations, there may be no increase in function either and I hope they mentioned that as well. The other flip side of the coin is that the procedure you had performed (which at this point I am assuming was a BiV Pacemaker or pacemaker AICD combo) may prevent further deterioration of heart function. An EF of 35% is certainly something that is life altering, but not entirely life limiting. You just need to move just a bit slower and work within the parameters that your body is telling you to work within.

Also, make sure to take all the meds prescribed to give your heart the best chance of recovering some function.

I also hope they sent you to cardiac rehab as that is a very important piece of the puzzle as well. The procedure in and of itself is good and well, but ultimately the extend of your recovery is dependent on how you change your lifestyle and activities.

Cheers,
John

Sazerac81 wrote:Great to hear the surgery went smoothly other than the extra time to complete it successfully.

Usually you won't see any improvements in heart function for many months as your cardiologist mentioned. Just to manage expectations, there may be no increase in function either and I hope they mentioned that as well. The other flip side of the coin is that the procedure you had performed (which at this point I am assuming was a BiV Pacemaker or pacemaker AICD combo) may prevent further deterioration of heart function. An EF of 35% is certainly something that is life altering, but not entirely life limiting. You just need to move just a bit slower and work within the parameters that your body is telling you to work within.

Also, make sure to take all the meds prescribed to give your heart the best chance of recovering some function.

I also hope they sent you to cardiac rehab as that is a very important piece of the puzzle as well. The procedure in and of itself is good and well, but ultimately the extend of your recovery is dependent on how you change your lifestyle and activities.

Cheers,
John

Thanks for the encouragement, John. My biggest problem is that I have been a grunt most of my like. It is hard for me to let someone else do what I believe I could do for myself.

My wife is a very caring person and is going to kill herself trying to do things for me. This is why I find all of this difficult and frustrating.

Dusty, I believe you have much to look forward to. My EF was down to 25% this last January, now back up to 43%. So clean living, the right medications, and a sensible activity level can work wonders. (In my case, it means very little salt on my food – yuck - but otherwise life is good.)

I felt I should get back into turning wood and maybe a piece of furniture or two. After cleaning up my ’82 SS500, I decided to bring it into the 21st Century with a 520 upgrade. Went to a demonstration in Costa Mesa on Mar 2nd, ordered the upgrade and was totally surprised when the demonstrator gave me my sales slip. He said, “Here is my name and personal cell phone number. Call me if there are any problems.” You could have knocked be over with a feather when I looked down at the name “Dave Folkerth” on the slip. We chatted briefly and he mentioned that he and his family were working hard to keep the company going. I told him I sincerely appreciated that.

When I feel grumpy about a 5-day delay in getting a part, or paying $6 for a screw, I am reminding myself how lucky we are to have the Folkerths keeping Shopsmith in existence. It is in our collective self-interest to help make the company stable and profitable.

If all goes well, I expect to upgrade to the PowerPro headstock and double tilt base next year. I certainly want Shopsmith to be there when I am ready.

John H in San Bernardino, CA