Geoff Owen
The full journey from discovery, diagnosis, operation and recovery (hopefully!)
Cardiac Rehabilitation
Well it's now 7 weeks today (Wednesday 29th June) since I was discharged from the hospital.
So far all of my 'medicinal walks' that I've been doing have been co-ordinated & advised by the physios from the hospital where I had the operation.
Now I'm moving up a level (or should have been!) as today I've been for a Cardiac Rehabilitation (Rehab) Assessment where they have checked on my progress so far with my physical & mental recovery. The other part should have been some monitored exercises on some gym equipment - unfortunately the Physio who should have been doing that was not in - due to having Covid! 😢
So I've got to go back again next week.
Then after that there will only be 4 planned 'exercise' appointments - so hopefully I can attend all of those.
So it looks like this page won't be a very long one! 😂
Day 56 - 13th July - Cardiac Rehab Assessment
It's started- Cardiac Rehabilitation.
YES after 2 unsuccessful weeks due to the Physio being off with Covid I finally got into the Cardiac Rehabilitation 'Exercise Assessment Room - to have my first Functional Capacity Test
I was hoping for a running machine but it wasn't that
It's done by an Exercise Physiologist - who knows his stuff!
I got wired up so he could monitor heart beat & blood pressures and did a beep test on a step block - it is a Chester Step Test (apparently an exercise designed by Chester University (or hospital )
The official terminology is - A Sub-maximal Incremental Exercise Test - it was just stepping up & down a plastic block to me
Apparently all of my bits were functioning well and he was pleased with my progress so far - NOE a base line has been set so hopefully over the next few weeks if I can attend all of the Rehab sessions my figures will get a LOT better.
My fitness level today was 7.2 METs (if anyone has a clue what that means! ) - so hopefully I can improve on that in a few weeks.
We got my heart rate up to about 120 and blood pressure up to 170/50 - then it all dropped to nice lower figures after the exercise finished.
The video explains the exercise he's got me doing at the moment - unfortunately it's still WALKING - no running for at least another 4 weeks
As I've done so far (and as all of my customers keep reminding me to do) I will stick to what the experts tell be to do - and DON'T push to hard!
Just seen my total walking distance today with 'work' and Rehab walking - 7.79 miles - not bad post CABG x2
I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy.
I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy.
Day 57 & 58 - 14th & 15th July - Cardiac Walk & Work
On Thursday I only did 1.99 miles - that was when delivering orders to my customers - there'll be more of that on Friday but I thought I'd do a quick walk before dinner. 😃
Just had a spare half hour this morning so thought I'd do a quick Cardiac walk (as I only did 1.99 miles altogether yesterday!).
If my Exercise Physiologist sees this he can see that I did a warm up - 5 minute steady walk, then got into the 30 second intervals - fast then slow(er).
I saw a Heron and for the first time for a long time - a Kingfisher - he was flying faster than I was walking!
On the return leg I unfortunately walked at a fast pace behind a lady who was walking her dog - I had to explain that I was not chasing her and that I was on a medicinal walk - she said she thought I was - it turned out that her husband had had a heart bypass a few years ago! There are a lot of us about! 😃
A busy work weekend coming up so I may not have time for a 'proper walk'.
Day 58 - 16th July - Delivering & Collecting Catalogues
A gentle days work - but covered 4.33 miles altogether
Day 60 - 17th July - Catalogues & a bit of a Cardiac Walk
Looks like I had finger trouble & cut you off on the first video!
I was trying to switch over to Strava (NOT Flickr) so that I could get access to the timer on it - that's what I use to change from slow walk to fast walk in 30 second intervals.
TOTAL walking for the day was - 4.8 miles
Day 61 - 63 (18th July - 20th July) - A bit of business walking except for Thursday
Monday - 3.88 miles
Tuesday - 2.95 Miles
Wednesday - 2.5 miles and a CANCELLED (due to high humidity in the gym)
Day 64 - 21st July - A bit of business walking and a fast & slow paced walk
A bit of a walk and an update with my Cardiac Rehabilitation.
Looks like it was a poor signal tonight!
I decided to do a walk tonight as I'd only done about 1.9 miles today when doing my deliveries.
I did a warm up (when I started the video) and then went into a 30 second slow and 30 second fast session like the Exercise Physiologist had recommended.
It had been a disappointing day yesterday as Solihull Hospital rang me to cancel the Cardiac Rehab Gym session - they said it was too hot for Cardiac patients I'd really been looking forward to that since last week.
They told me to go the same time next week - unfortunately I've got an appointment at the same time to see a consultant in a different hospital.
But I suppose there was some good news yesterday - the blood tests I had on Monday were all good - Cholesterol, Kidneys & Liver
So one day in the future I hope to bring you some info and updates about the Cardiac Rehab sessions!
This was the route of my walk where I did the Cardiac Rehab update video.
A bit of a boring route - down the towpath & then back!
I was determined to beat my last time but sticking with the Physio's guidelines - last time I did the 30 second fast then 30 second slow I got to 4.1 MPH - this time I managed 4.2 MPH - not a very fast but I really need to get into a jog as I think I've reached my limit with walking - UNLESS! I cut my recovery time to 20 seconds - but I'd have to check with the Physio first.
Total walked today - 5.8 miles
Day 65 - A slow stroll down the canal with my camera
Had a stroll today - was tired again so went for a walk to wake me up! 😃
Took my camera as yesterday I saw the Kingfisher again and the Heron which was on the Towpath under a bridge and it DIDN'T fly off when I walked past it - I didn't want to stop to take a photo on my phone as I was on a fast walk!
Took a few photos today though of other bits & pieces - will look later to see if any are worth posting! 😃
This walk has bought my walking distance to over 5.2 miles now.
Not a very exciting route but there was rain forecast so I thought I'd go for the shelter of the trees - it worked as the rain did come! 😃
I did venture off the towpath a couple of times to look down some paths I'd not been on for a VERY long time!
Some photos
I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy.
Day 66 - A busy day with catalogues
No special walks today but managed 2.9 miles just doing the catalogues.
Day 67 - Catalogues & a walk
It was a choice of going to bed for a dose or waking myself up with a walk - guess which I chose?!
I'd only done 2.27 miles doing catalogues today so I needed to top my mileage up as there'll be no Cardiac Rehab for me next week.
Mileage looks more respectable now - 5.96 miles - I wish I'd gone a bit further now!
Did another slow start & finish with the middle bit 30 second slowish (normal speed) and 30 seconds faster.
I may ring the Cardiac section tomorrow to see if I can drop the slow bit to 20 seconds!
Day 68-70 - Work & see the consultant
Nothing much happening on Monday & Tuesday - other than 'work' delivering & chatting to customers.
Monday - 3.3 miles
Tuesday - 3.53 miles
Wednesday - only 1.75 miles BUT I did go back to the Redditch Alexandra Hospital to see the surgeon who looked at my early diagnosis & results and then recommended that I had an Angiogram to see what was happening internally!
Thanks fully he did as that's when they found the severe blockages & immediately realised that they could not successfully be stented so the Heart Bypass Journey went into full action on that day!
This wat the first time he'd seen me since then - he was pleased with my progress - my recovery had been so good that he was happy to discharge me - his work had been done! 😃
Here's a Facebook Live I did on leaving the hospital - I had previously done one (my very first one) from the same place in January when I'd been to the Chest Clinic for initial tests.
Day 71 - MRI Scan & a walk
Went for my first MRI scan today - it was booked for late afternoon but they rang in t5he morning to see if I could go in early - 1.30pm - I said YES! Get it done quick and it freed me up for the afternoon - other than recovering Diane with her poorly car again!
So I had a bit more time for a walk - I needed on as I'd not done anything today other than finishing a few straggler deliveries this morning!
As my walks for the week were a little down I went out on this one with NO PLAN - just to go where I wanted and not look at how long I was out! 🤔
The only thing I wanted to do was to do it at a good pace. 🏃♂️
I spoke to the Cardiac Rehab Team this morning and I've arranged for my first Gym session for next week as I couldn't go yesterday as I was booked to see the Consultant and they cancelled it the previous week.
So, hopefully, this one won't get cancelled - I did ask if it would be OK for me to up my activity - still walking but doing 30 seconds fast and 20 seconds recovery (going slower!) instead of the 30 seconds I'd been advised to do. But they said not until I'd done a session in the gym with me being monitored!
So this was a 30/30 walk with a slow warm up and a slow warm down! 😀
I may do a LONG steady walk tomorrow as I've done all of my deliveries & I've got no doctors or hospital appointments. WARNING - I may take my camera with me!
Day 74 - a late walk to make up for low mileage!
Did 2 miles this morning in the rain - that was work dropping & collecting catalogues - I needed to do more mileage so I popped out for a n unplanned walk - quickly pushed the days total up to over 7 miles by doing a 5 mile brisk walk!
Went down the canal towpath & then wondered off looking at some old & new paths in the area.
Got a busy few days next week - work & a car to fix as well as my first (hopefully) Cardiac Rehabilitation event in the Gym - hopefully no more cancellations!
Saturday was all work but did 3.98 miles so not too bad.
Day 75-77 (Aug 1st - 3rd) - updates
Day 75 (Monday) - 3.9 mile
Day 76 - (Tuesday) - 3.4 miles
These were all 'working mileages' getting paid for walking! 😃
On Day 77 Wednesday 3rd August I finally got into my first Cardiac Rehabilitation Exercise Session! It has taken a month!!!
I did quite a few miles this morning as I had to drop Diane's car off (a couple of time) and walk back home - also I had catalogues to pick & drop. The at the Rehab session the mileage (mainly through step conversion was pushed up even more!).
In the end it was over 6.6 miles! 😃
Cardiac Rehab - in the gym!
Finally after a month of trying I had my first Cardiac exercise session today - it had been recommended by everyone I talked to & chatted about it.
It was good as there were varied exercises for all parts of the body - I may have a few aches in the morning.
The good thing about it is that they take your blood pressure & heart beat readings throughout the session. That is the bit I wanted to know - just how close I got to the limit - thankfully it seems that I can do more we will monitor this more closely over the next couple of sessions - I MAY soon get the clearance to RUN (not a lot to start with though!).
Unfortunately I could not post any action shots or videos as they wouldn't let me do it!
Day 78 - 79 (Aug 4th - 5th) - updates
Thursday - Day 78 was a quiet one - just doing deliveries - only 1.49 miles covered - so looking for more mileage tomorrow!
Friday 5th August 2022.
12 week update. Yes it's now 12 weeks today since I had my operation - the first 6 weeks seemed top drag but now the time is flying by!
Hopefully by the end of August I should get full clearance from the Cardiac Rehabilitation team - they seemed quite pleased with my results during my first session this week.
For those who've not seen it, all of the updates, photos, videos & maps are on my Facebook Page - My Journey Though a Bypass (Heart) (https://www.facebook.com/geoffbypass) and the website (www.geoffowen.biz) - 'My Journey Though a Bypass (Heart) - CABG.
Feel free to share to anyone you know who has or may need a bypass.
A longer fast walk - this goes with the FB Live video below.
Now I've had clearance from the Exercise Physiologist to cut down on my recovery, I did 30 secs fast & 20 secs slow.
The next walk will be 40 secs fast - 20 secs slow!
Finally for the full 12 week update - here's pictures of the scars - as you can see the one on the arm has almost gone - it is still numb to touch all around it and to the wrist - but thankfully NO pain.
The feeling may or may not come back according to the surgeon - I'm not bothered if it does or doesn't as long as there's no pain!
The chest one is disappearing behind a fog of grey chest hair! No numbness around this one.
So as far as I'm concerned - I'm happy with the results.
To see the original scars go to the Recovery Page & scroll down for the photos:
https://geoffowen.wixsite.com/cabg/recovery-phase
Day 80 - 81 (Aug 6th - 7th) - I was NOT Naughty
I was not naughty!
I'd only done just over 2 miles today with the catalogues so I definitely needed an extra walk!
I did 3.95 miles on Saturday so that was a bit better!
On Friday I did 30 seconds fast & 20 seconds slow and got to 4.3mph average so today I did 40 seconds fast & 20 seconds slow - ALL in agreement with my exercise Physiologist. I still only averaged 4.3 MPH - I was hoping for more.
The good thing was - I didn't get out of breath, I didn't feel knackered, the only thing was dry lips - I definitely need to take water out with me if I do a long one! I just need to stop my shins tightening up!
Overall I was quite pleased with it - despite only hitting 4.3mph average.
Day 82 - 84 (Aug 8th - 10th) - Just work miles
8th - 2.83 miles
9th - 3 miles
10th - 2.1 miles
Day 85 - (Aug 11th) - A BIG Day (for me & my progress)
I've done it!
Due to the hospital cancelling my Cardiac Rehab session AGAIN I asked if they'd allow me to do a little extra on my walking exercises now that it's been nearly 13 weeks since my Op.
Last week they'd allowed be to do a 40 second fast walk and then 1 20 second recovery slow one - this week as there was no rehab I asked if I could swap the fast walk for a jog!
After a little discussion she said YES - but monitor myself & stop if I notice anything wrong.
Well - TODAY I've just been out and did it -a good warm up and cool down but the middle 2 miles I did the jogging - I was pleased with it as I achieved a personal best on my Strava - 4.8 mph - best with the walking had been 3.3 9touching on 3.4).
This is the first time with any of the exercise that I've got home & sweated - I'm pleased with that!
SO - hopefully next week the rehab doesn't get cancelled & I can have a good go on the running machine with the monitors on me - see how fast I can safely go.
Total miles for today - with the jog as well - 5.5 miles
Day 91 - (Aug 17th) - In the Gym again!
YES - finally got in the Gym again today - that's 2 sessions I've had now - only 2 more to go - hopefully get the last one in before the schools go back & the traffic increases on the roads!
Did the same exercises again, although this time I made sure I picked the heavier weights and the harder bungees. I need to push myself when there's people to supervise! 😃
Had heart beat checked when I was pedalling on the bike & it was well under the limit - so I quickly pedalled harder! 😃
Day 92 - (Aug 18th) - An announcement
A quick update about some exciting news!
Listen to this!
Another BIG day for me - PROGRESS - today I've done something I've not done for over 2 years
Get ready for another FB Live round about 9am on Friday 19th August (Tomorrow) - that will actually be Day 99 from the Operation (Day P3 from start of the Recovery Phase).
For me what I will (hopefully) be showing you tomorrow is going to be proof to me that the Recovery is working (although I'm pretty pleased with how it's gone so far!). A lot of people I've spoken to & on some FB groups say that you need to give it 12 months at least!
But if everyday you can do a fraction of a % improvement it is all worth it.
As I said in the video I've been a bit quiet this week - still done a few miles of 'natural' walking!
mon - 2.86
Tues - 3
Wed - 3.13
Thur - 1.8
Anything is better than nothing - exactly what a customer has just said to me - and saying "quite (most) often it's the ones who NEED to do the exercise - DON'T" - that statement is so true.
Day 93 - (Aug 19th) - A BIG DAY for me!
NB - PLEASE NOTE that the Day numbers on this page start from the day I was discharged from the hospital after the operation - I was in the hospital for 6 days so Day 93 on here is actually Day 99 from the Op date).
This is it! I'm going for it - Officially! Week 14 (Day 99 from the day I was having the operation) - a very exciting day today - possibly!
YES - I've been given permission by the Exercise Physiologist (Mark) to RUN again - only steady at first though! On Wednesday on my 2nd Cardiac Rehabilitation Gym session he had me on the running machine where I did some exercises and he monitored my pulse - he was happy with the results 😀
So he said that I could start to do some jogging - turning my fast walks into a run! 🎉 I was a bit too busy to do it on the Thursday so I've done it today - Friday 19th August. This video shows the start - then hopefully I'll do an update at the end - as long as I get back alive 😂
For all CABG & OHS Warriors here are a few tips from what I've found in my recovery so far:
BELIEVE you will get well and work towards it.
LISTEN to what the experts tell you to do - and DO IT!
Continue with bettering yourself:
Review your Diet
Review the Exercise you do
Review your Attitude
Review your Drinking (alcoholic)
Review your Smoking
Accept changes you may need to make in your lifestyle 😀
Be patient - it can take a LONG time for full recovery - EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT - don't compare yourself to anyone else - focus on YOU and YOUR recovery.
We are back! 😀
Mission accomplished - yes my first completed RUN in about 3 years 😂
It was not a long or fast one, however it was a good pace - with NO stopping or easing off at any point.
I was pleased with it as it WAS faster than my previous 'fast walk' when I'd been given permission to jog for 40 seconds & 'slow walk' for 20 seconds. Previous PB (Personal Best) has been 4.8mph Today - 5.5mph 😀🎉
Although it was a steady run (JOG) I can feel muscles that I've not felt for years 🤣- top of my legs at the front - thankfully now pains in the chest area - no idea how fast my heart was going but I was talking nearly all of the way around and at the finish.
I've just looked at the heart rate figures on a watch thingy I wear and it looks like it went up to 101 max and then dropped down at the end. 😁
I'd just like to thank Martin for being my Safety Man - he made me (& Diane) feel safer being there with me rather than running round on my own. He did my first walk with me (all 5 minutes of it) and now he's done my first Run 😁
It was Martin who pointed out when we had got to the half mile point - it was at this point (The Railway Station) where I had to pull out of my previous runs pre & early days of Covid because of my chest pains. So now every step I made was an improvement on my pre operation days!
Well here's the route - not a very exciting one but it's spot on 3 miles so a nice short simple on to get started on - despite needing to cross the road a few times!
It's good to see on the Strava Pace figures that I'm now in the 10 minute miles rather than the 14 or 15 from the earlier walks. I'll hopefully speed that up over the next couple of months and then get to a reasonable time for my first post CABG park Run - hopefully sub 30 minutes.
Day 95 - (Aug 21st) - Solo Towpath RUN
This was a spur of the moment run - decided to do a fast one down the towpath. It was a faster than the previous one on Friday - BUT I did have a few 20 second stops!
I was pleased with it (other than the stops I did!) - the day after the Friday run the tops of my legs (Quad muscles) were aching (obviously we don't use them when walking fast!), so I thought I'd try to run the ache away! It didn't stop me running though!
Day 97 - (Aug 23rd) - Another run with Martin
The route & the map may be a bit boring as it's exactly the same as last Friday's first run - However!
This was a run just to see if I'd recovered from Friday & Sunday's runs from both I had aching Quadriceps muscles (the big one at the top of my leg I think! ) - it just shows that running must use different muscles to walking as I'd never had any aches with any of the walks I'd done!
I learnt something from today's run - it is far better to do a run with someone else! Today I did it with Martin.
I think my will power must still be lacking as several times on this run I think I would have stopped for a breather if I'd not been with Martin! But thankfully I kept going - the good thing was - my breathing and my chest were OK - it was the legs that were getting a little tired!
When we do a run on a particular route it's always nice to beat the speed of the previous run - despite still being in the recovery phase from my Op my competitive nature came in and yes it would have been good to go faster this time!
The good news is - YES we were faster!
First one - 32m 12s
Today - 30m 41s
I appreciate that these are slow times for a 3 miler but we've got to start somewhere - a plan is developing to get these times a LOT better - as long as the body can keep up with the plan!
😀🎉
Day 98 - (Aug 24th) - Another Cardiac Session in the Gym
Another Gym session today - same exercises as every week - I do turn the tension quite high on the bikes for the cycling exercises and choose the heaviest dumbbells (hand weights) for the arm lift exercises - it may be pushing me - but it's supervised pushing! 😂
Next weeks should be my final session - they are only doing 4.
It has been a useful thing to do as they do monitor blood pressure & heart rate so they can see if they are staying within the save limits - mine have been fine!
Then I will focus on the running and getting a plan together for doing a 5K park Run - I've already got an idea of some routes and training runs.
Day 100 (since discharge) - A long slow 'run' that didn't turn out that way!
I thought we were going to do a longer slower run today - but I was wrong!
We've just done the 3 mile loop again - this was an early one so a lot of traffic on the roads - we don't run on the roads (except 1 lane that has no pavement) but we do have to cross the roads several times which can slow us down.
It was just going to be a gentle run - but at 1 mile I saw that we were up on the previous runs (first time I'd seen 6mph on my Strava!), so I thought we may as well keep that pace up. I was feeling OK - legs were OK, chest felt OK - breathing was a bit laboured - just like on any fast race I'd done in the past. 🤣
We managed to keep the pace and finished strong -
3.00 miles 29 minutes 12 seconds
Average 9:43 minutes per mile
And it showed 6.1 mph on Strava! 🤣
Yet another Post Op Personal Best They are not amazing paces or times but I suppose they are OK considering I've not ran for about 3 years and have not long since come out of hospital after the Bypass.
Hopefully I can keep the improvements coming.
Do what you can when you can - and then ideally try to improve on it regularly - even it's only a fraction of a % the results will soon improve. 😁
Day 102 (since discharge) - a bit of a catch up
Don't worry - I'm still here!
Just been a bit busy since the Friday run.
Did a bit of mileage over the weekend
Friday was 7.86 miles - I did a walk on the afternoon after the run in the morning. Was hoping to see the Heron on the canal but I never saw it!
Saturday - 3.1 miles
Sunday 5.48 miles - this included a little 2 mile run with a few rests! It was a short one where I think I should have taken some water with me as I got very dry!
Monday just over 2 miles.
All lined up for a run tomorrow before I go to work - this will be the longer one I thought I was doing last week!
Day 103 (since discharge) - a longer slower run
This was just a steady 4 miler (it was actually 4.5 miles) - trying to put a bit more distance in some of the runs.
It will do as a base time for when we do this route again in the future.
If my goal is to do a 5k Park Run then I need to do some runs that are further than that - then when I do the 5K it should be easier!
Day 105 (since discharge) - LAST Cardiac Rehabilitation Gym Session
Now the Cardiac Rehabilitation has finished - yes, only 4 sessions, I am going to now focus on getting back to running.
So from now on everything is going to be focussed on completing a Park Run (5.1 miles) in less than 30 minutes.
This is a personal Goal - it is not something that all (or many) people who have had a Bypass or OHS (Open Heart Surgery) will be interested in. So now all of my runs and training - with ups and downs - good days & bad days will be documented on the new page CABG (Bypass) to 5K