I sent this out by e-mail yesterday to friends of Louise:

You will recall that Louise had very successful heart surgery on February 20 and was discharged from hospital 6 days later. Louise has appreciated the many notes and good wishes and advice that she has received since that time.

She followed the advice to start slowly and not to expect recovery to be instantaneous. For the first two weeks at home her recovery did proceed with slow and steady improvement--less fatigue, starting to walk in the corridor, and starting to do some of the household chores. It was an exciting time for both of us.

However, we got an unpleasant surprise when, on March 11, her heart rate increased (from a steady 60 to around 100) and the rhythm was no longer regular (there were premature beats). For a few hours each day, the heart returned to its slow and regular rhythm but for most of the day the rhythm was fast and irregular. Louise became very fatigued and lost much of the gains she had made in the first two weeks at home.

This change continued for three weeks, during which she saw her family doctor and her cardiologist several times. Many tests were made, including a 24-hour electrocardiogram (which, unfortunately, failed the first time it was done). The cause of this change has not been determined and other specialists are being consulted.

Starting on April 1, Louise has been taking a new medication, Cardizem, which has been successful in reducing the heart rate. Unfortunately it has not removed the irregularities in the heart rhythm. So Louise is not home free yet and we await further reports from her doctors.

I regret not sending you an update earlier but you'll understand that the last few weeks have been stressful for us both.

Paul

-- Anonymous, April 05, 2004

Answers

Paul, I just logged on to this site after a very long hiatus only to discover your latest posting. Please accept my sincere wishes to you and to Louise for energy and positive thoughts, and for her quick return to good health.

I may not get a chance to view this site for another long while, because Karen and I are in the midst of preparations for a 3-week trip to Germany (and possibly Holland).

I also wanted to let you know that I ran into an old student of yours at a York Region Psychologists' dinner last night. His name is Glenn Rampton. If your "ears were burning" last night, don't worry, it was just some of your former students singing your praises as a teacher and mentor and we also chatted about our fond memories of Louise and her interests Toronto history. So now, I'm not sure when I'll get back to this board, but know that you are both in my thoughts. Very Best, Sharon.

-- Anonymous, May 14, 2004