Day 93 - Recovery plus cooking healthy with Kristin

May 12, 2012

I got my first full week back at work under my belt. It was good to see my coworkers again, as I expected it would be. It wasn't a real bad week although we did have a customer complaint on Thursday that had most of us scrambling. Such is the life in the automotive industry.

Lisa, Kristin, and I have joined the Parkview Health and Fitness Center. They've got all the equipment I used at rehab and a whole lot more. I'll talk more about that in a future post along with some pictures of course.

I have discovered something bad for me during this whole recovery process. You end up with a lot of time where you can't do much. Most people would watch TV, which I did. Most people might not watch the stations I watch though. Scifi, Food Network, History, HGTV. It's that last one that got me in trouble. One of my future posts will be about rehab for something other than myself. That should be a fun one to write. And I have lots of pictures :)

I've also come up with at least one more topic I want to blog about. And that is the foods that Kristin has started making for us once a week. She started this a few weeks back and she's made some really good dishes so far. And the great this is that they are all really healthy.

For this first week of "Cooking healthy with Kristin" I decided to showcase her Shepherd's Pie. I don't know how many of you have had shepherd's pie before but I really enjoy it. The combination of meats, veggies, and potatoes is...yum. So Kristin made a shepherd's pie a few weeks ago. The unique thing about hers is that it has no meat.

Here is the recipe.

Super Easy Cheesy Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients:
24 oz. bag of frozen Green Giant broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, and cheese sauce

1 pouch Betty Crocker Cheddar and Sour Cream mashed potatoes

2 cups frozen ground beef style soy crumbles

Directions: Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Place Veggies and sauce bag in large microwaveable bowl. Cover and microwave for 8-10 minutes. In medium-large bowl combine potatoes with 2 cups hotwater and stir until thickened. Spray 8x8 pan with non-stick spray. Add soy crumbles. Spoon veggies over soy crumbles. Top with potato mixture. Bake for 20 minutes. Serve to taste with salt and pepper. Makes 6 servings.

Now doesn't that look yummy?

Next "Cooking healthy with Kristin": Black Bean Burgers

Day 58 - Pictures, Recipe, and News

April 7, 2012

Thursday's rehab went real good. I increased my watts on the Nustep. I also increased my walking speed and incline on the treadmill. It felt really good. I'm still working with the 5 pound weights. I had just enough time on the clock to get the first three weight exercises done. My time limit for now is 3 minutes of weigh lifting. I'm not sure when that gets increased, I just go by what the little sheet with the name "Gary" on it says to do.

I took a better picture of the Heart Institute this last week as well. My cardiologists office is on the first floor just to the right of the entrance.  My heart surgeon and the rehab area are both on the fifth floor. It's actually very nice to have them all located together like that. We had to stop by the cardiologists office Thursday on the way to rehab. Over at State Street we would have probably drove over to the cardiologists office since the doctors and rehab weren't all in the same building. In fact, my doctors were in different buildings on State as well. So the new Heart Institute puts everyone in the same building. Much nicer even if it is further away.

I took a few pictures of the view from the fifth floor. This is taken from the edge of the track at rehab. The bottom picture is a shot of the Samaritan helicopter. Unfortunately it was sitting backwards from normal.

Oh, I should answer a few questions from previous posts in case ya'll didn't see the answer.

Q: Have you ever seen Jim Gaffigan's hot pockets skit? Its hilarious. -Ar

A: No, Ar, I haven't. But now I will have to google it. I do hope it's online somewhere

Q: Is the food out there as good as on State St - Dad

A: The food is as good as on State Street. Some of it is even better. Or maybe that should be "different". They make the pasta right in front of you when you order it. Haven't tried that yet but it sounds really good. And the Gelato is really good. Lisa and I have shared a bowl of that twice now, different flavors each time.

Q: When will you be able to go back to work full time? - Aunt Shirley

A: May 7th will be my first day back at work. I'm able to work part time from home until then. but no more than 24 hours in a week.

After rehab Lisa and I stopped by Menard's to get new tires for the lawn mower, peanuts for me, and look at some bricks (or something) for around one of the trees. Lisa had never been to Menard's and didn't realize they had the variety of food stuffs that they do. Needless to say, we picked up a few extra things. They had Malt-O-Meal cereal on sale so we got some. It keeps for quite a while so why not. Haha. We also picked up a few snacks. I bought some small packages of a variety of snack foods to create my own trail mix.

Trail Mix Recipe:
8 oz. Chipotle Sunflower seeds

5 oz. Sesame Oat Bran sticks

5.5 oz. Banana chips

4.5 oz. Pumpkin seeds

5 oz. Soynuts

The snacks I used were on sale so I was able to make the entire mix for five dollars.

We went to Angel's Cafe for dinner Thursday. That's a little place down the way from our house, 5 miles or so. I had the Fried Chicken special. Lisa had Biscuits and Gravy with Scrambled Eggs. Looked really good.

My in-house nutritionist informed me when she got home from her lab that fried chicken wasn't really good for me and I should have had something else from the menu. Hmm. Am I paying her for advice? Geez, I hope not. This isn't the advice I really want to hear. Hehehe.

Ah shucks, she's a good daughter and means well. I will have to try and not eat too much fried foods in the future. After all, she is right about that one.

Had to take Lenny to the vets this morning. He did the splits on the tile floor in the kitchen the other day and his inner thigh was really red looking. His hock is also swollen a little. The vet thinks he might have pulled a muscle. At least that is what we and the vet are hoping. He is on meds for the pain and swelling. If it isn't better in a week I have to take him back in for an x-ray.

Tomorrow is Kristin's birthday. I can't believe how fast she has grown up. I guess I better do the same one of these days. Hardy Har Har Har.

Seriously, Kristin is a good daughter and Lisa and I are very blessed to have her. I thank the Lord for both Lisa and Kristin every day. If it weren't for them, I might not be here to celebrate Easter with them tomorrow.

Speaking of Easter tomorrow...Happy Easter everyone! He is Risen! God bless you all!

Day 54 - Surgeon visit, hospital photos, and Food!

April 3, 2012

Author's Note: This post has been done for a couple days but sitting in my "drafts" waiting to be published. Don't ask why, I have no idea.

It's been almost a week since my last post. It seems the better I get the less I post on my blog. I start doing more things around the house and time gets away from me. And this made me spend a little time thinking. Once I'm "better" and there's no real recovery news, what do I post? Well, I've got a few things bouncing around in my brain that might make it into a blog post. Either that or they will damage the inside of my head. Hehe.

Anyway, on to the recovery news, pictures, and more pictures.

As for recovery news, I had a real good visit with my heart surgeon last Thursday, March 29. Dr. Sowden checked out my stiches, heart, and lungs. We had a little chat about how I was feeling. He said I made him look good with how well the surgery went and how well I am doing in recovery. I think he probably says that to all his patients.

We also had a chance to get some answers to a couple questions, like how long do I need to wait before getting back in the waterbed. He said I should be fine in the waterbed so I'm giving that a shot later this week.

Rehab has been going very good as well. I'm starting to feel like I want to push myself a little more though. According to the techs my numbers are good but on the days when I work up a little sweat I think I feel better than on the days when I just sort of maintain. So today I'm going to try and push up a level on most of the equipment. Just one level, nothing crazy.

I took some more pictures of the new Parkview Regional hospital last week. The top picture shows the Heart Institute on the left, Medical Park 11 in the middle, and the main hospital on the right.

 

The middle picture is the same buildings but from the other side, Medical Park 11 on the left, Heart Institute in the middle, and main hospital on the right.

 

 The bottom picture shows how far down the complex goes. All those buildings to the right of the main hospital are connected to each other.

 

Everything is connected with large hallways and you almost can't tell they are separate buildings. I'm not even sure they really are except they look like it externally. 

Hey, how about some pictures of all the food I've been eating. Note: This is not all from one day. Haha!

Pasta is always good

What, still only 2 pieces? Wah! LOL

Asian pot stickers. These were good!

Chicken & noodles, Mashed Potatoes, and Carrots. Nomnom

Mesquite Chicken with Mashed Red Potatoes

Gelato (Italian Ice Cream) at Parkview. Oh my, that was good.

Woot! Taco Bell. My first since sometime in January.

Lemon Herb Chicken. It says so right there in the picture :)

Dinner at Parkview on State. Soup, Beef & Mac, and Veggies.

Oatmeal and a bagel

Subway Black Forest Ham sub

Chicken and Broccoli stir fry made by Kristin. I helped a little

Asian Chicken with Veggies. Another good microwave entree.

Day 41-45 - Six week check-up and Food Gallery!

March 21-25, 2012

I've fallen behind. I don't know how I got this far behind but I did. It doesn't really matter, I'm here to fix that :)

I've only got 5 days of "Stuff" to cover so that should take long. Anyway, let's get on to the "Stuff".

Last week I went to see my cardiologist on Thursday. I was also supposed to see my surgeon but he was not in the office on Thursday so we had to reschedule that appointment. However, the cardiologist visit went well. Dr. Robertson said I looked a lot better than I did when he visited me in the hospital. He listened to my lungs and my heartbeat. Those are both sounding real good.

Then he answered some questions about things that I've been experiencing. For one, my back has been hurting at least since I've been home, maybe longer. It's hard to tell when you've been on pain medication how long something has been hurting. Dr. Robertson said the back pain is normal from the surgery I had. And it will go away in time.

I also feel pressure sometimes below my ribcage. Like my bottom ribs are "pushing" other body parts. Turns out that is what is actually going on as my body heals. Everything is settling back into place after having been pulled apart in the middle. Again, it's one of those things that will go away as my body heals. Knowing now that some of these "odd" things are normal makes me feel a lot better. I was beginning to wonder if I had messed something up by trying to do too much since I'd been home. Sounds like that's a no.

Lisa and I ate at the new cafeteria at Parkview Regional. It's bigger than the old one. And more up to date. And there is a bigger selection of food. sadly, the prices also went up a little. Not too much but enough that we noticed. The food bars in the picture are only half of all of them.

Every time we go out to the new hospital I'm amazed at how big the campus is and how much room they still have to grow. There's even a walking trail. If only they were a little closer to home.

Main building complex. Need to find a better place for a picture.

The little red roofed building is the start of the walking trail

 One thing I am enjoying is the chance to get outside. And now the flowers are starting to push through the ground and bloom.

Paperwhites in the backyard

Lisa and I also got in a lot of walking the last 5 days. Not sure which days we walked but we figured last night that we've done about two hours worth of walking. We walked 30 minutes last night alone. For those of you that know where we live, we went from our house almost to State St., turned around and then down past Lake Ave. to the gas station and back home.  We'll walk again today if the weather is good. It's cooled off a little bit here but still decent. Just not 70+ degrees outside.

That's really all the news I've got for the last few days. How about some food pictures?

The potatoes and broccoli was called an entree. That is not my kind of entree.

My kind of sandwich!

I made this!. hehe. I added in some chopped sweet peppers.

This was really good for micro-food. Really good

Chicken Stir Fry made by Kristin

That's it for today. Lenny is grumping about being stuck in the den with me. Poor boy. Cya next time!!!

Day 39 & 40 - Birthdays and Rehab

March 19 & 20

March 19

For breakfast I had blueberry waffles with blueberries, juice, and coffee.

For lunch Lisa and I had leftovers; Chow Mein and Cheesy Turkey pasta. I also had Mandarin Oranges, Apple juice, and coffee.

Today was Lisa's birthday. We went out for dinner last night to celebrate with her Mom and Dad and sister Brenda. Her Mom's birthday was this last weekend so it was a double celebration. We went to Applebee's. I had a steak, herb potatoes, and a portabella mushroom cap stuffed with spinach.

Afterwards we came back to our house for dessert. Kristin and Lisa had made a Red Velvet cake. We also had ice cream. I had French Silk. Good food.

Kristin, Lisa, and I  (from right to left)

March 20

Today I went to the new Parkview Regional Hospital to continue my rehab. Wow, this place is big. Bigger than it looks. And very nice. We found my cardiologists office and surgeons office on the way to rehab. Then I did my exercises. I was a little bummed out that I had gained 3 pounds since last Tuesday, the last time I was at rehab. I guess I didn't have enough fruits and veggies last week O_O

New cadio rehab room at Parkview Regional

There's a small sitting area for family members and then the main exercise area. Most of the equipment came over from State Street but I think they lost a treadmill. This room isn't quite as wide as the old one was. I wish I had taken a picture of the old one for comparison.

Breakfast today was cereal. Did you really expect something else? Hehe. For lunch Lisa and I went to the Dairy Queen down the street. They have their hot foods half on on Tuesdays at lunch time. Ha! There's a deal I can't turn down. We had Grilled Iron Country Club sandwiches and shared an order of French Fries.

For dinner I had soup, a hot dog, mandarin oranges, and milk.

I began limited duty work from home this week. I'm limited in the number of hours I'm allowed to work. And I have to balance that with my rehab. The rehab and healing has to come before the work.

That's it for tonight. My back has been bothering me all day. Can't seem to get it to stop hurting no matter what I do. Maybe a little rest will help.

Day 37 & 38 - Going to the dogs

March 17 & 18

The weather has continued its higher than normal temps. Not complaining one bit about that. It has given me the opportunity to get outside so many times to enjoy the fresh air. I've even managed to sit on the edge of the deck while outside with Lisa and the dogs. I'm feeling a lot better even though I still have several weeks of rehab yet to go.

Getting our dogs to pose for a picture has to be one of the most difficult things to do. They do not want to look at the camera. They do not want to stand still. Springtime is in the air and all they really want to do is smell the fresh air, the growing grass, and whatever other springtime smells are in the air. And we want them to pose for a picture? Silly people. Hahaha.

We did finally manage to get a few pictures of me with them. Top picture is Spring Hill (left), Lenny (right), and I. Bottom picture is Georgia and I. Spring and Lenny are both retired greyhounds. Georgia is American Bulldog/Jack Russel mix.

I lost track of what I had to eat for breakfast and lunch on the 17th. We had Subway for dinner.

On the 18th I had cereal with blueberries for breakfast, left over Subway for lunch, and dinner was...geez, it was just last night. Am I that forgetful? I rely on pictures way too much. Hehe.

Day 36 - Food, Sun, and Fun

March 14, 15, & 16

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!!!

The weather has been great the last few days. Lisa and I took the Greyhounds for a walk on Wednesday. The greys are so funny. The further we got from the house, the more tired they acted. And we didn't even go for a long walk. On the way back towards the house they both acted like they were dying. Lenny was so slow it was like he was 90 or 100. Spring Hill kept wanting to walk in the grass instead of the street. And then she'd get in the grass and almost stop in her tracks. Haha. What a laugh I got from them. Lisa wasn't laughing so much but those two greys are so dramatic you have to laugh at them.

We went walking again Thursday and Friday. Friday it got into the 80's. Not our normal March temperatures here in Indiana. Lisa and I went back down to the Dairy Queen after dinner to get a Blizzard (Friday). They are having a buy one get one for 99 cents special. Half of mine is in the freezer this morning waiting for me to finish it. We pass the Dairy Queen on our walks. It is maybe 1/8 of a mile from our house.

On Thursday Lisa and I drove up to Autoline in Butler, IN. I've been cleared by the doctor to work part time from home and I needed to talk to my boss Tony and pick up a few documents. It was great to see some of my co-workers that I've not seen in a couple months. I didn't get to see all of them but I will in time.

To answer Aunt Shirley's question: I've lost around 17 pounds from what I weighed in the hospital. But I think I gained a couple pounds while in the hospital so I'm not sure how much in all that I've lost. At least 12 and probably a little more than that.

I'll be posting a recipe (or two) real soon. Hopefully today but if not at least tomorrow. Have to get Kristin's recipe book so I can post the requested recipe.

The weather is beautiful again this morning. We have most of the windows in the house open, letting in lots of fresh air. The sun is shining and I'm inside typing a blog. ROFL.

Enough of that...on to the menu!

~ The Menu ~

 

Wednesday, March 14

I decided I wanted something different for breakfast on Wednesday so I fixed a couple eggs. They were supposed to be over-easy but didn't come out quite that way. Guess I'm not completely back to my old cooking abilities. I had a piece of toast, strawberries & blueberries, and juice with my eggs.

Lunch was a simple affair; a roast beef sandwich and tortilla chips.

For dinner Lisa fixed beef stew. I had that over a piece of bread and peas on the side. A glass of milk washed it all down.

Thursday, March 15

Cereal for breakfast. I forget which kind. We have four boxes of cereal open on the kitchen. Cereal is yummy.

For lunch Lisa and I went to this little Chinese/Italian place near our house called Orange Garden. We both ordered from the Chinese part of the menu. Egg drop soup and Rice noodles for me. Lisa ordered the Chicken and Vegetable platter. The servings were really big for lunch orders. We ended up with enough left to have Chinese for dinner (Kristin was at lab at dinner time).

Egg Drop soup

Rice Noodles with pork

Chicken and Vegetable platter with Fried Rice

Friday, March 16

Breakfast cereal again. Chocolate mini wheats. With milk of course. And some grapes on the side. No picture. I was hungry.

Lunch was simple again. A Rosemary Chicken entree. I had a chocolate cupcake for dessert. Kristin made these cupcakes and she says they are healthy. Taste too good to be healthy but I'll believe her.

Nomnomnom

Dinner was cheesy turkey with pasta, corn, milk, and bread & butter. I had a tangelo after dinner because I thought I was still hungry.