A little stumble on life's road

Hi all.
Just to let you know that on 3 March I suffered a heart attack. It happened early morning while still in bed and I was due to see the cardiologist later that afternoon. Ambulance arrived pretty quickly and rushed to hospital and by 10 am I had 2 stents inserted in the left anterior descending coronary artery. I am feeling well and on the road to recovery. I will have one more stent inserted in the right coronary artery on 22 March.
Apparently I can commence with "light woodwork" on 15 March. :)
Does anyone know what constitutes "light woodwork"? :D
Regards
Les

Thats no good Les, get well:2tsup:

Sorry to hear about your "stumble" Les.

Rest assured that there is life after stents:2tsup:

I had 3 stents inserted, fortunately before I actually had a heart attack - daughter is a nurse and recognised the signs, about 4 years ago.

Have been as right as rain ever since, although a few changes have been implemented, better diet, exercise (bike riding) and the like.

Wishing you a speedy and complete recovery.


Oh, almost forgot, light woodwork - doctor is probably from Tassie and he means only use Huon Pine.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lesmeyer

snip
Apparently I can commence with "light woodwork" on 15 March. :)
Does anyone know what constitutes "light woodwork"? :D

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best wishes Les for a full recovery

in other contexts, "light duties" generally means no exertion
lifting 40kg bags of cement is out — but a 5 kg piece of wood ?? (remember to bend your knees)
manhandling a full sheet of ply through the table saw would be a bit silly, but a 1/4 sheet ??
flattening a board by hand would count as exertion, taking your time smoothing said board with a finely set #4 would probably not

be sensible
if you need to stretch to your full reach to do something it probably counts as exertion
if you're raising a sweat, it's exertion
potter arround in the shed on small scale tasks, have a chair or stool near by to rest on and be extremely careful around the router and table saw



Note: I'm not a medical professional

Woah...:oo: glad you are still here to tell the tale.

Great to hear that you're still with us Les. I suspect that shopping for new toys tools would qualify as light woodwork :rolleyes:. Best wishes for a full and speedy recovery so that you can get into some "heavy woodwork"

Cheers

Larry

Hey Les,

Glad you are OK, Just do what they tell you, and all will be good.

HazzaB

Les good to know you doing well

Light wood work that would mean no Jarrah you could how ever make minatures

Not agood thing to happen Les but it is REALLy good to see you are Ok.

Had 2 bypasses in Dec 97 and 2 stents Feb 08. I'm still here and intend to be for a while yet.

Just follow Docs. orders.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lesmeyer

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Does anyone know what constitutes "light woodwork"? :D
Regards
Les

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Les good to hear you are still with us.

As to your question - i cant believe no one has thought of the obvious - light woodwork would be anything with the curtains open - wouldn't it?:doh::doh::B:B or would it be daylight hours only :D:D

Cant believe 9 hours an no-one came up with that one.

Cheers

Les,
Good to hear you called an ambulance (or SWMBO).

Light woodwork would mean trying not to elevate your heart rate, you will most likely be on medication to control your heart rate anyway (beta-blockers). Most importantly is to stop immediately if you get any pain/discomfit in chest,neck,jaw or arm especially as you are still waiting to have another stent.

The doc should have told you what to do if this happens i.e. anginine (GTN), rest and ambulance back to hospital either straight away or if it continues past 10mins and three doses of GTN - don't drive with pain as you put everyone else on the road at risk if the worst happens.

:wts:
All the best Les.

If there is a cardiac rehab course available in your area you will find it helpful

Life will go on for you Les, you just won't be doing any lumberjack work.
There are actually lots of woodie things that you can get up to.
Most furniture building would be fine, woodturning of course, intarsia, scrollsaw work, box making, pen making, making chess pieces and chess boards, restoration and re-habbing antiques, tool restoration, and these are just off the top of my head.
You are going to have a ball.
Don't forget, life is what happens while you are making other plans, so get in and give it a burl.
Onya Les
SG

Thanks for all the good wishes.Recovery is going well. Following doctor's orders and my wife keeps me on the straight and narrow regards the food. I am sure a full recovery is on the cards. I like the "shopping for new tools" as a form of light woodwork.:D
Regards
Les

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Big Shed

I had 3 stents inserted, fortunately before I actually had a heart attack - daughter is a nurse and recognised the signs, about 4 years ago.

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Very fortunate - what are the recognised signs? - if that is not too personal.

Regards,
Bob

Good to hear you are back on the road Les - as 50 is supposed to be the new 30 you've got a long way to go - enjoy the journey.

Regards,
Bob

Bob_ the classic signs are chest pain ( that can sometimes be mistaken for indigestion), Pain that spreads up the centre of the chest and into the shoulders, upper arms and lower jaw. Shortness of breath, tiredness.

These are not the only signs but they are the "big " ones.

Sometimes people - moreso women - get backpain

Other signs can be swollen ankles.

In my case, and this comes with hindsight, I had what I thought was continual tooth ache in the upper left jaw. This was reflected pain caused by lack of blood flow inthe bottom jaw. It disappeared after the bypasses.

Also had a problem with sensitive teeth in the lower jaw because the gums had receeded.Again lack of blood flow.
Gums returned to normal after op. and also became much pinker.

You can get a Coronary Artery Calcium Scoring test done. This will tell how much calcium plaque is lining your arteries. The wrong score ( Ithink it is in excess of 100, but don't quote me) means its time to have a really thorough check up that may entail an angiogram.

G'day Les,
sorry to hear about your heart problem. My other half had a similar attack in October 2008 and had one stent inserted that night and another one a month later. She said that life goes on and you can do almost anything. So best wishes for a speedy recovery.

As far as light work goes, it is a well known medical fact that Festools are MUCH too heavy to use and cause severe stress so I will happily look after your collection. :D:luck:

Glad to hear you got quick treatment and getting better.
Light woodwork - ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh - balsa :no:
maybe turning lamps/light fittings :o
Just do what you feel comfortable with as time progresses.
Good luck

Great to hear you are doing well. keep it up. I think light woodworking would be Balsa or Cedar. Maybe even a little pine. :) Good to see you on the road to recovery mate.:2tsup::2tsup:

Just an update. Had 2 stents inserted to the right coronary artery on Monday past. (Now a total of 4 stents). Feeling real good now. I know I have to take it slow. The good news is that the damage to the Apex is not as bad as first feared and it has already recovered somewhat in the 3 weeks since the attack. The cardiologist expects that it will recover a great deal.
So, if I am a good boy (diet and exercise) she'll be apples.
Thanks for all the good wishes.
Regards
Les

:2tsup::2tsup::2tsup: That is really good news!!!:):):)

Les, thats really good news, hope your recovery continues at this pace and you are back in the shed at full strength real soon.
SSGT

Les, glad to hear that you're felling better.

Had a stent inserted about 2-1/2 years ago. Light woodworking for me was do nothing for a month. Then avoid lifting anything heavy for another month. (Allow the artery to heal completely after the stent was inserted.)

The worst part is the Plavix. I'm on half dose and I still bruise very easily. And the stuff is expensive. ($450 per 3 months)

Just take it easy, get your walk in every day. (Couple of K every day)

My cardiologist says a good glass of red does wonders. Or a V-Martini is good for me.

Who's to argue with the doc? :roll:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lesmeyer

Hi all.
Just to let you know that on 3 March I suffered a heart attack. It happened early morning while still in bed and I was due to see the cardiologist later that afternoon. Ambulance arrived pretty quickly and rushed to hospital and by 10 am I had 2 stents inserted in the left anterior descending coronary artery. I am feeling well and on the road to recovery. I will have one more stent inserted in the right coronary artery on 22 March.
Apparently I can commence with "light woodwork" on 15 March. :)
Does anyone know what constitutes "light woodwork"? :D
Regards
Les

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Had two of them, last time in the ward I started to get on with the bloke in the next bed he was interested in the same stuff that I was. We went to sleep later and in the middle of the night I heard a horrible gasp so I called the nurses and started a bit of a bother, poor bugger had died in his sleep. Sort of put me off the ward a bit.

Have to go and see the vet today because the BP has decided to go crazy and is to high, give away is I am feeling dizzy and agitated, hope i don't have to spend Easter in the ward again.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rrich

Les, glad to hear that you're felling better.

Had a stent inserted about 2-1/2 years ago. Light woodworking for me was do nothing for a month. Then avoid lifting anything heavy for another month. (Allow the artery to heal completely after the stent was inserted.)

The worst part is the Plavix. I'm on half dose and I still bruise very easily. And the stuff is expensive. ($450 per 3 months)

Just take it easy, get your walk in every day. (Couple of K every day)

My cardiologist says a good glass of red does wonders. Or a V-Martini is good for me.

Who's to argue with the doc? :roll:

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I take plavix daily along with Cartia (enteric coated Aspirin), and Imdur to help dilate the blood vessels. Alphapress and Verapamil for the Blood pressure complete the brew. I also Take fishoil capsules and have reasonable amount of fish in the diet.

You can imagine how I bruise!! I had some moles removed and the Doc told me tio cut out the fish oil for a few days before and a few days after. Of my own accord I didn't take the Aspirin, Plvix or Imdur the day of the procedure.

The best thing about this brew is that I have not had a headache since my Bypass operation over 2 years ago.

I myself try to drink a glass of red wine a few nights a week. I'm not really sure if it is doing me any good, but it is definitely nice and relaxing after a hard days work. As far as light work goes perhaps you could make balsa wood airplanes...:U

I'm told that 2 glasses of red a night is good for my heart. I'm up to 2042 at present.:D

Hope you're all going well with your spare parts.

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Originally Posted by AlexS

I'm told that 2 glasses of red a night is good for my heart. I'm up to 2042 at present.:D

Hope you're all going well with your spare parts.

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2042 - That's the model # of one of the Carba-Tec dust extractors :D.
Les

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rrich

Les, glad to hear that you're felling better.

.......

The worst part is the Plavix. I'm on half dose and I still bruise very easily. And the stuff is expensive. ($450 per 3 months)

........... :roll:

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Wow, that's expensive. I guess we are lucky here in OZ where 3 months of plavix will cost about $90 AU. That is due to our PBS scheme where the govt pays the rest. For those on low incomes and pensioners, 3 months plavix will cost about $21.
You pay for plavix alone more than what I pay for all 5 heart medications.
Les

Makes you wonder about those rabid opponents of Obama's Health bill, does it not??

Les,

Wonderful that you have found out 'what's wrong' and were able to get treatment. better than the other way of going in a flash.

I empathise with you wanting to do more. I lifted a ride-on onto a trailer 3 weeks ago. 60 year olds should not do that. I didn't think i would lift a teaspoon for the rest of my life but following orders it's on the mend.

You were always good for expert advice on the Leigh jig. Now that can't be heavy work. We just need to convince more people to take up the leigh and go through the learning process.

I think you were doing demos at one stage. i guess that's out if you need to pack up and travel. Ah what door will open for you?

best wishes and thanks for the help over the last couple of years Les,

Graham