Pump Head

As I have made clear before, I am not a doctor nor the son of a doctor. Now my grandfather on my mom's side was a Vet, but I don't guess that counts. Even though I am not an expert I can tell you what has been one of the most frustrating of my recovery. I am almost four years post op, and basically feeling pretty good, but there is one residual effect of the surgery. My cognitive abilities are noticeably lacking, or in other words my memory is shot for a 50 year old, and I am not as quick on my feet as I once was. It frustrates me to no end, and in the past I believe the dulling of some of my cognitive skills was on source of my depression. 

I titled this post "Pump Head."  That refers to the possible effects of the heart/lung bypass machine. Feel free to google the term and you should have enough material to read for hours. No everyone seems to be affected, but there seems to be consensus among health professionals that the issue is real and many patients are a bit less in regards to mental capacity after bypass surgery.  

This is another one of those issues where I was so encouraged when I found out that I wasn't alone as I struggled to get back to something that approximated normal. In my case I started with a lass than desirable memory and it just got worse. The real problem can when I needed to think quickly on my feet. I found myself often searching words and responses that should have come quickly only to have the finally come to my mind long after the discussion was pointless.

I know there are many others out there, and I would love to hear from you. How have you coped?