Sunday 31 May 2009

Together We Will Get Through This

On December the 22nd, I entered the hospital for a quadruple bypass.

I guess I had been in denial of what the pain and discomfort in my chest really meant because even while the whole admission process was happening around me I was not actually in the moment, more an observer than a participant.

I am starting this blog to tell the story in the hope that others going through the same thing will be able to share their experiences, tips, fears and insights. Getting through the surgery is only the first, stumbling step. Life afterwards is the challenge.

There is a lot of information to be found on the scientific and medical aspects of heart health and cardiac surgery but not much to be found on the “human” aspect. The, what does this mean to me? How do I live the rest of my life? What does it mean to my wife and family? What will I be able to do? What will I want to do?

If you are facing the challenge of upcoming surgery, recovering or taking the first shaky steps toward normal, leave a comment with your thoughts, hard earned insights or questions.

Together we’ll get through this.

Saturday 30 May 2009

A Second Chance at Life

“Welcome to the Zipper Club” Those are the words, uttered by a stranger who held the door for me as I exited the hospital that made me realize I had just begun a new life.

I was still too sick and groggy to begin to understand the implication of her cheerful greeting.

Clutching a small red pillow to my chest and using my full concentration to not cough as the first breath of cold outdoor air hit my tender lungs, I shuffled to the waiting car.

And so, in an agony of pain and stupefied by drugs I hugged my pillow while the snow crunched beneath the wheels of the car that was carrying me home to start my recovery and a second chance at life.