A Long Overdue Update

It’s been way too long since I last wrote anything new here, and right now there is no excuse for that, so I’m going to do a quick update on the past few months.

Since I first wrote about my weight struggle back in October, I’ve been in a mostly downward spiral. Maybe I should have expected that, given the spiritual impact that I wrote about. It has definitely been a war, and I’ve not been doing a lot of winning. My weight stayed about the same for a few weeks, and then it slowly started rising again. It wasn’t terrible, but I did gain about 10 pounds and I definitely did not feel good. My back continued to get worse and it was hard to walk more than a few yards at a time. As a result, I quit trying.

I was managing to hold steady on my weight but was making no progress at all on getting any of it back off. My health overall seemed to be less than ideal. I felt ‘off’ and I battled a cold/flu for well over a month after the first of the year. I finally seemed to shake that, but still just didn’t feel good.

On the morning of March 15, I woke up very early with a terrible case of either stomach flu or food poisoning. After a few hours of going through all of that, my chest began to hurt a little. I figured I had strained some chest muscles from heaving, but the pain continued to increase and my left arm began to hurt. At that point, I told Debbie we had better call 911 and get to the hospital. The ambulance came and after working with me a bit, they loaded me up and away we went to the hospital.

The lockdown on the hospital had just begun a few days earlier, so Debbie wasn’t allowed to go in with me at all. That didn’t do much for my nerves and emotions, but it was what it was. They ran a bunch of tests and initially, they said that I had not had a heart attack. A second round of tests a few hours later returned different results, however, and it turned out that I had indeed had another heart attack.

I was admitted and the next day they did a heart catheterization and determined that I had another blockage right at the mouth of the stent they had placed back when I had the first heart attack in August of 2017. So they had to place another stent. There were a few complications with the catheterization, and what should have taken 15 to 20 minutes ended up taking well over 2 hours. They did succeed though and the aftermath was actually not nearly as bad as the first time.

By Tuesday I was able to be discharged, and I have been recovering at home since. The doctor told me to take it easy, and not go out and about. Of course, that hasn’t been hard to do, with the lockdown and all, but it has left me a bit vulnerable to possible infection, so we have been pretty vigilant in making sure we keep things sterilized and infection/virus free.

Between the heart attack and this ongoing lockdown, my mental health has really taken a beating. But I have the best wife in the world to support me, and I’ve got Holy Spirit to sustain me, so I’m moving forward. Hopefully, I’ll soon be able to start walking again and start making progress again in my weight battle. I have lost almost 10 pounds since the heart attack, so that is the start of my progress.

I am hoping to start writing much more regularly again, so if all goes well, I should have another two or three posts this week, continuing the history of my weird life and the long strange trip it has been.

3 Comments

  1. Vicki on April 20, 2020 at 6:05 pm

    God bless you and Debbie! I love you guys and miss you both! I know some days are tougher than others. Keep the faith and keep moving forward, my friend!

  2. Jan McClintock on April 21, 2020 at 12:25 am

    Hebrews 10:23 — “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”

    Looking on the bright side (!), at least you can’t complain about missing society… Take care and heal well.
    Jan

  3. MaryCarol & Larry Wilson on April 22, 2020 at 4:06 am

    Glad to hear you are back on track! Losing weight is a real challenge. My Dr. once told me to just take one bite…after that it all tastes the same. She was right but forgot the part where after one bite it all tastes so good you do not want to stop! We are praying for a successful Spring! After the quarantine ends & Spring finally arrives (will the snow ever stop) we might all be able to get out in the fresh air & take more positive steps toward better health! You have jumped major hurdles & no one knows better than you how hard it all has become. One step at a time, one day at a time! Best wishes, prayers of encouragement & success & much love for you & Debbie!! Take care of yourselves & each other!!

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