fighting back

The last 8 weeks have been tough since getting back home-- the Drugs have made me feel like shit with the Antibiotics making every thing taste weird( especially beer)My energy has been up and down and the PIC line was a real drag. Fortunately, the PIC line was taken out last week and I am off the Antibiotics! YEAH. It still takes a while to get them out the system but I should be feeling better pretty soon. It is still unclear on what I will be able to do in the future but I am hopeful that I will get the guidance I need soon to set my mind at ease. this is the toughest part of my recovery. I wish there could be some reassurance-- but unfortunately there may never be.

Even though I have not been feeling very well, I have fought to get my life back to normal, working as much as I can and trying to be somewhat active. I have been doing sessions in the park with my clients in the morning since the Outlaws training center was reconfigured for games after the Metra was ripped up during the Tornado. the workouts have been fun for me and my clones. But by the afternoon I would be toast and needed to rest.

The family enjoyed a couple of long weekends at the cabin and even though I was pretty weak I did do a few mountain bike rides with my friends Brook, Michele and Mike Ritter. Boy going uphill with a Hematocrit level of 30 is not a formula for feeling strong on the bike that is for sure.



resting!



following Brook for a while anyway

Sarah had a conference in Big sky and took Cale with her leaving Chloe and I at home in Billings. Chloe and I had some great daddy/daughter time together, and thanks to Sue, Paul and Steve Mysee I had some help with food and entertainment. thanks guys! The MSUB summerfest was a blast with lots of kids activities including( unfortunately a gold fish game which brought Chloe her first pets of her own-- after one night we were down to one fish and a lesson about life, death and the right amount of fish food!

We meet Sarah and Cale in Big sky a couple of days later and had some fun Big sky times, Chloe bungy jumped and rock climbed and I even attempted a mtn bike ride there which turned into more of a hike a bike---its steep and high there for me right now--- then it was off to the Targhee music fest--- just like last year-- to get away and have some fun after a trying couple of months-- we arrived just in time for the JGB band which was awesome! then Moe---- The next day Sarah ran the Tin Cup 1/2 marathon (won the masters division) and brought the kids to a free day camp-- how cool is that! while I sleep in and watched the British open at the Hotel. The Mountain biking is great at Targhee with beautiful flowers and buff singletrack-- of course I was only good for the easiest of trails this year which showed that I was weaker than last year at this time. I Just couldn't climb that mountain this year --- no way!



Targhee single track

Then there was relaxing in the sun and taking in the great lawn,scene and music including Shawn Colvin, Grace Potter and Los Lobos. Los lobos was tremendous, doing some dead and ABB songs and jams. Hot music and cool nights--- next year make the trip! its really cool.

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Los Lobos jams at the Targhee music fest


Back in Billings-- my Parents came in for 10 days and the old man and I played in the Briarwood tangle golf tourney. I had only swung the club a few weeks by now and it showed as we played pretty poor-- coming in around the middle of the pack. Mom spend the time taking care of the grand kids and doing her chores. Chloe turned 5 and we had a great birthday party with 20 of her friends! Grandma took her in to get her hair done with Braids-- I have to say she is the most beautiful little girl.



Chloe in Braids

Cale is really growing up now and is crawling like a mad women! she is so good and is really fun to play with already-- eating real food now too! and of course her Big sister loves her very much.



Chloe and Cale

Next is a trip to Denver to work with some Clients and then off to Cape Cod to have a visit with Sarah's family and have some beach time, I am entered into the Falmouth road race which should be interesting to say the least-- I hope I finish!

Many Clones have been busy! at the Big Sky state games coachjay clones raked in many medals: Steve Mysee, Mike Ritter, Sue Balter, Paolo Gerbasi, Carla Cobb, and Dave Hein all medaled. also there was Pam Rogan in Georgia who had a strong 1st in her age in Chattagnoga.

talk to you all soon!

Coachjay

back home!

after 2 weeks of being held up in the Hospital and then a Chicago hotel like Howard Hughes, I am back home in Montana. It is really nice to be back home to my family and friends and our wonderful state. Really no new info on my condition or cause just that I possibly contracted a strep A infection that may of caused the endocarditis and or the subsequent infected valve and aneurysm. I am busy seeing the team of docs here in Billings to see what is my followup and recovery approach going forward. for now it is another 6 weeks to get the chest healed and off all the anti-biotic.

The last few days I have been up and down with my energy and pain. I have not had the energy to get out and exercise yet but I hope to real soon. I am however back to work, which is nice. It helps to get back into my regular routine and mix it up with the folks. I want to thank all my clients and friends for all the support I have received as we have gone through this difficult time. The good news is that it seems the drugs are not as hard on my appetite as the last time, I have been able to eat pretty normally and have only lost 5 lbs so far. In Fact, In Chicago I really enjoyed going out to all the great restaurants with some Chicago friends( Mike and Joanne H, Carol D, Kevin C, and cousins Johnny and Brett) It was great to have the support of all of you on that difficult week in the Hotel.



view from the water taxi while Sarah and I take a trip to Navy Pier after being released from the Hospital

It was also great to be in the city while the Blackhawks rolled to the Stanly Cup! I tried to see the Parade on Friday but the 400,000 crazed fans was not ideal to be crunched up to with a 14 inch chest wound! so I watched on TV instead.



Chloe has started Soccer Camp and Cale continues to amaze with her growth and good manner. I am looking forward to these next weeks watching the kids and getting stronger day by day.



Jay

pain and suffering

Boy this sucks! finally out of the hospital as of yesterday. But now in a Hotel in Chicago downtown Chicago for another week. I have to see all the medical teams for followups at the end of the week and then the plan is to get back to Montana next Saturday. I feel OK but a few days ago they started the aggressive broad range antibiotics which is really uncomfortable and nasty. I am still pretty uncomfortable but there are a few hours a day that I feel reasonable. I am now administering the 4 antibiotics in the Hotel with the help of Sarah and the home nurse but as of Sunday I will be doing this myself, so Coach jay is now Nurse jay. It takes 6+ hrs a day to do this drug stuff so it pretty much sucks since I cannot be mobile. The worst part is that I have to do this for 6-8 weeks! Ouch! Sarah made a chart for me to keep all the drugs organized for when I need to take them. I could never remember it all without it. Each one has a different amount, frequency and dosage. Here is a list of all that is streaming through me.

Drugs

Vancomycin
Rifampin
Gentamycin
Cefepime
Norco
Motrin
Lopressor
Senekot

Then there is a variety of other orals that I take on demand

After getting out yesterday and checking into the Hotel, surprisingly was able to feel hungry and Sarah and I went downstairs to the Weber Grill and actually eat real food! It was the most pleasurable thing for a long while! Yeah! take it when you can get it I am saying. Then Sarah and I went for a walk around the Hotel, which is right by the magnificent Mile between State and Wabash. Unfortunately, I cannot drink any beer! but if I can eat I may gain weight or even get fat! since I am surrounded by great restaurants. The walk was great but a gradual hill up Michigan ave just about killed me-- a reminder of what is to come with my cardio rehab.-- NOT AGAIN! It is nice to see the vibe of the city even though my personal vibe is very low right now. But just today we walked down to NIKE town and my wife set me up with some new sneaks and outfit ! skateboard dude pretty rad-- did I tell you that mountain boarding may be my next sport? Shoes always make you feel better, right Carla?

I am still very confused, mad and frustrated on how I was this close to death when just a few weeks ago I was winning my age group in the Rev3 triathlon and doing 1/2 ironman bricks 4 days before I was forced to another open heart surgery. So many questions I still have in my head-- and no answers. But I am trying to put those behind me for now and concentrate on task at hand. staying positive and getting better.

Being in Bed all day sucks for sure but I am hoping to get out and walk in the city and go down to the lake this next week-- searching for those little comforts when I can. My mom is still here and has been helping with Cale. Chloe is on Cape Cod with Grandma. Little Cale was playing with me this morning as I was administering those drugs. She is a great baby and fills me with Joy. Sarah has been real busy arranging all the details, she will be heading to Boston on Monday to gather the kids. Sarah has been keeping me going and helps get me through each day she is the best. Before the taste of good food last night, I could only think positively about the fact that I was alive and the love of my family and friends.

So for the next week I will administer drugs, go for walks if I can, see movies and hopefully have a good report from the docs at the end of the week and get back home. then time will tell what comes next for us. I scribbled down some thoughts when I was real week the past few days of some other thought and comments I had:

1. exactly 1yr apart is there a time release infection? deja vu' you got to be kidding me

2. up in the middle of the night watching the movie "born on the 4th of july" not a good idea

3. Pain changes everything-- you cannot be yourself

4. you can ask for Grateful dead music in the MRI machine and get it! although doing 30s breathe holds 3days after open heart surgery is as hard a workout as you can imagine. aparentely I am the only one that has even attempted to get all the way on those.

5. I am now a fan of the show "House" . it just so happened to be a house marathon week on the tube. It seems that every episode was about me and if I was a doctor i would be just like house!

6. It really sucks that 'vs.' is not a station received at the hospital or hotel--that's not right. GO BLACKHAWKS the city is a buzz with the Hawks Hey does anyone have tickets to
Sundays game in Chicago?

I will sign out for now and hopefully update things again soon! need to get out of this room now before being closed in again.

Jay

Update on Jay June 3

(Sarah reporting here from Northwestern): Jay can't write or talk very well right now because for the past two days - after receiving IV anti-biotics - he has suffered intense head pain, and general pain. It's hard to keep the eyes open. It appears that it was a Strep-A bacterial infection on the heart valve that may have caused all of this to happen, but it is still unclear. They fight this with broad range anti-biotics that are like going through chemo-therapy.

(Jay talking now): I was feeling pretty good for 3 days post-surgery...but it has turned into feeling pretty bad for 2 days. I may be discharged to the Hilton Garden Inn downtown Chicago tomorrow, and be kept here for a week before returning home. Then there's the long road of repair and rehab. It's like last year, but a 12-inch scar on top of the infection. It's still unclear going forward what I need to do to get back to normal.

Thanks for all your calls and emails, but I haven't had the strength to answer many of them. It may be best not to call until I post that I am strong enough to talk.

Life, Death, Checks and Balances

I am back to writing again and as I do, I actually feel better in my physical recovery than the past two times I have been on this ward after Heart Surgery and infectious disease. This past week has been the toughest of my life, not so much physically but emotionally. By some chance, I had a routine Echo cardiogram in Billings that revealed a severe Aortic aneurysm and infection in my bovine Heart valve replacement of 3 yrs ago. With no indication or symptoms of any kind, I was heading, as my surgeon Dr. McCarthy put it, to a "disaster." As many of my friends have said to me the past few days, the man upstairs isn't done with me yet.



I want to first thank all the well wishing folks out there that sent the Marschall/Keller family those wonderful thoughts and prayers to us during these trying days, we really appreciate it!

Having my Mom, Dad, my wife Sarah and my beautiful baby Cale here with me has been huge and of course my Chicago friends, Kevin, Dizzy, Carol, Mike H, Joanne, and so on is also such a help. oh and I miss my little girl Chloe so very much back in Billings(Thanks Christina and Todd and Maggie Vralsted for helping out so much)

The Medical teams here in Chicago are trying very hard to figure out answers to why, after a completely normal Echo last year post-illness, I now have a heart that went to shit! Cultures are being grown as we speak with the scrapped tissue they cut out to find out what kind of infection it was. So far, no definitive answers are in. I may be staying in Chicago for more than a week until they run all the tests and have a plan in place on how to treat and track me from now on. Some of the infectious disease team members are saying that this infection is probably different from last year's since there were no symptoms prior.



So now I sit here in the hospital working through it all. Last night I just couldn't get the thoughts of why, what, how, when, "the grim reaper thoughts" out of my head. Every time I would doze off, I would then slip into a strange dream followed by waking up seeing reports of death on the TV -- ie. Dennis Hopper or Gary Coleman -- constant thoughts of my heart exploding etc... very stressful and not good. My normal Coachjay response is to be pissed/mad/bitter and fight back -- however this time I think I will take a more balanced approach to dealing with this obstacle. There are so many incredible things left to do in my life but I need to be alive to do them. For now I will just wait and see what the doctors say is the next step, love my family and friends and thank God.

Thanks again for all your support.

Jay

Update May 29

Jay says it's tough to breathe, and tought to talk. He's scared about the prognosis of the infection, and whether it will come back and attack him again. It is day 2 after the surgery, and he is alone with all these dark thoughts in his head. The doctors still don't know where the mystery infection came from, what kind of bacteria or virus it is, and whether or not it will come back.

He will be on IV antibiotics for at least 8 weeks after he is released some time early this coming week. He will not be able to resume any semblence of a normal life for at least that long, since he will be connected to a walking IV tube.

The docs and lab here at Northwestern are trying to re-grow the bacteria that he had in a petri dish so they can look at it, but that process takes days. Poor Jay! Keep sending your healing thoughts and energy. He can use all the positive thoughts he can get right now.

Jay's Heart

My very first thought is that I'm lucky to be alive. After having a routine echo cardiogram on Friday, May 20, Dr. Laura Ford identified abnormalities and an aortic aneurysm. She was concerned enough to get me on the first available flight to Chicago for probable heart surgery. At that point, I wasn't terribly concerned...My buddy Kevin Cox picked me up at the O'Hare Airport and by 3 pm Wednesday I had another echo which showed the aneurysm had gotten larger. An aneurysm is like a bulging of the heart muscle. I was immediately admitted to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

By Thursday morning, I was operated on by Dr. Patrick McCarthy. I had an infected valve and a large aortic aneurysm. They removed the infected tissue and aneurysm and replaced the aortic valve and root with human tissue, so now I'm not part-cow anymore. The surgeon is very confident that I will recover well. I am still in ICU today (Friday) and am expected to be moved to a private room at Northwestern later today, where I will be kept for at least 3 days.

I'm lying in bed now with a larger cracked open chest than the last time. From what Dr. McCarthy says, I was a ticking time bomb. He said the aneurysm was typical of someone who would blow up and experience instant death or stroke.

It was just by chance that I had that echo when I did. I want to thank Sarah Sullivan, Dr. Ford, Dr. Pat Duey, for being instrumental in getting me into see Dr. Ford when I did, and most of all my wife, Sarah, who always does the little things, that in this case, saved my life. I love her very much. (I'm dictating this while Jay is on Toradol - Sarah).

The recovery and cause for this is unclear. But my old heart has been shipped off to labs to find out why and how this happened. Thanks for all the love and wishes that have and are being sent. I have to say that my nurse last night was a young 25-year-old hottie - while being incubated and not being able to talk, I had to poke her in the butt to get her attention, I noticed her butt was a little flabby. I asked her if she exercised and she said, "no." I told her she needs to get on the stick and start exercising. But she did give me a nice sponge bath, which was a lot better than the nurse the last time I had heart surgery.

I'm going to be back. I'll fight back. Don't count me out yet. My mom and dad, my wife, and my little 4-month-old Cale flew up here to be with me. I miss Chloe very much. When I told Chloe that I had to go to Chicago to get heart surgery, she told me the problem with my heart was that it is "upside down." She's pretty smart for 4!

(His life was hanging by a thread, by all accounts. It is very lucky we were able to detect a problem when we did and get him in for care so quickly. Thank you again for all of your support!!! - Sarah).

Congratulations to Pat and Janel Duey for having a 9-lb little boy!!!