One week down...

It has been one week since I came home from the pacemaker implant and things are going pretty smoothly, knock on wood. I feel so juvenile saying that, but you can't be too careful in these situations. Jason and I have been lying pretty low these days, watching tv, some movies, going to the library, etc. I have gotten addicted to Keeping Up With the Kardashians, which I am a little ashamed of, but it's just so entertaining, I can't help myself! Jason has been awesome at keeping the house picked up and making sure I am following my recovery instructions, which (most importantly) include wearing my sling and not lifting my left arm above the shoulder to help ensure that the leads affix themselves to my heart correctly. This limitation means that pretty much everything I do takes a lot of effort and most things I am actually banned from doing, like lifting, washing my hair, driving, dressing myself, you know, all the daily tasks of normal adult life. Jason has to help me get dressed, helps me wash my hair, does the laundry, runs errands, walks the dog, gets meals ready, does the dishes, the list goes on. Thank you, honey, for being so amazing and taking such good care of me while I recover(again)!! I love you!! And thank you to my mom who has also gone the extra mile in helping with meals and doing small tasks around the house to help us, especially when Jason had the flu last week!!

My next appointment is this Tuesday, June 15 at UCLA. They will check my incision site, remove any surgical tape and/or stitches, and will assess the pacemaker settings. Right now, the settings are in a "safe" mode so now that I'm a week or so past the operation date, they can consider increasing the pacing range. I have been experiencing some lightheadedness with heavy periods of palpitations, which the doctor said is normal for the recovery but might mean that my body is ready for the pacing range to be increased, so he will check on that on Tuesday. I am still having palpitations when I lie down at night to sleep, but I could have palpitations off and on for up to 6-8 weeks, so it is still early yet to make any real assessments. The pacemaker is still calibrating with my natural heart rhythm, plus my body is still getting used to the pacemaker in general. It's a foreign object in my body so it all takes time to get used to. Overall, I am having less palpitations, and little by little I am feeling less fatigued, so I think and hope and pray that it's actually doing it's job. But like I said, it's still too early to tell for sure. Also on Tuesday, we get to see our cousins Chris and Janie Kim, and their two adorable kids after my appointment, which will be so nice, as we haven't seen them in over a year! We're planning on having a feast at a Korean BBQ restaurant in LA, so that will be fun.

As for other news in our lives, we are still in escrow with our house in Yucaipa. We are expecting to close on or around June 21st, but our loan is still being processed so we are keeping our fingers crossed that all continues to move forward and go smoothly...I simply cannot imagine beginning the process over again while trying to recover and stay as stress free as possible, as instructed. It's already a challenge, as you can well imagine....

...because...

Jason is getting very excited about beginning school at Redlands in September, and we are trying to get all of the loan/medical insurance/scholarship apps/admission paperwork taken care of, as well as finish closing on our house, and in addition, Jason is offering summer lessons in trumpet and percussion to bring in some sort of income these last 9 weeks before we move. I so wish I could do something part-time to help with our financial situation right now, but it's just not possible nor healthy for me to even seriously entertain that notion. And of course, we are also starting to sort through our stuff in preparation for the move in August, but also in preparation for a joint garage sale with my mom on July 17th. Whew, things are certainly hectic here, but apparently that's how these Nam's do things.

Stay tuned...