When I resumed blogging this year in January 2013 I intended to do a series of blogs on the theme of endings and new beginnings.
At the same time I had just learned that I needed open heart surgery to replace a badly stenosed (restricted) aortic valve. Most of the posts in January and February related to preparing for that major surgery and the impact it was having on me – in the context of endings and beginnings.
My latest previous post from – February 17 read
When I was released from hospital they gave me a package
prepared by the Canadian Heart & Stroke Foundation called
“Bouncing back
from Heart surgery”
It said that with proper rest, diet and mild exercise I’d
be able to resume “normal” activities within 2 to 3 months. I optimistically thought that I’d be able to
beat that timetable and be back full
steam ahead in a week or so
For sure, I thought I would be able to resume blogging very quickly
and continue writing about that experience and the recovery process.
However, I found that
“living in the day” post-surgery left very little time and energy for extra activities and I gave up on that idea after a couple of
weeks.
In general my recovery was smooth and as went pretty much as (other people had)
expected under the watchful eye of my “home nurse" (aka my beautiful wife).
I had a good diet and was doing the recommended stretching exercises
every day. Beyond that I was spending
most of my time reading, resting (and getting extra sleep!!).
I did have some
initial complications with an ER visit due to irregular heartbeat which was
corrected quickly with medication (that I no longer need) and a second ER visit due to a serious cough which was due to a cold and treated with over the
counter codeine based cough suppressant (Coughing when the ribs are still
healing from surgery is no fun!!)
As far a blogging and other writing, I kept thinking I would
get going again by April 1 (April Fool!!!) but for a various reasons it
never seemed to be practical.
By mid-April I was feeling much better, was attending a
cardiac rehab program 3 times a week. I had started going out some and
attending the church assemblies on Sunday and my head was full of ideas for blogging which I hoped to resume by May 1.
And then a major setback.
I developed an abscess near the top of the incision. It swelled up the size of a large goose egg. Without going into the gory detail I had 4 “I
& D’s” (I&D = Incise & Drain) (April 21, May 10, May 13 and June
5) at that site (It would heal over and
within 2 to 3 days it would swell again). In addition, a second abcess developed
about 2 inches (5 cm) below the first one and it required an I & D June 10th.
At this point, I’ve been off antibiotic for 10 days (I had
been on (4 different) antibiotics since
April 19 except for a brief period in early May). Both of
the sites are healed over for 7-10 days with no more signs of swelling. I still haven’t declared victory but certainly feeling more optimistic than I’ve been since
April.
So I’ve decided to try resuming my blog. Still not sure what form it will take since
it has been “hijacked” by my surgery
problems so far this year.
I won’t be writing (much) about my daily activities –
Facebook seems to have taken over as a place to do that. I expect that my writing will discuss the impact of daily events
on my walk in faith
We’ll see
God Bless
Charlie
