FOUR YEARS AGO ... TODAY

Today is the 17th of the month.  It's the day every month that I put Frontline on all three cats. I've got to keep the fleas & ticks off "My Girls".

Since it is the 17th of April, there is also a bit more signiffance to the date:
**  It's the birthday of my friend, Sheila Clark. [I won't give away her age.]
**  Four years ago today, I had my chest sawed open.

My "Heart Anniversary" is not something I take for granted.  Trust me.  It's a life altering event for anyone.

Prior to going to the hospital, I had just completed almost three years of business related traveling ... to Vancouver, Canada & then weekly drives to Memphis, Tennessee.  Add on the fact I had several years of less than stress free working conditions at my job at Maybelline.  Now combine that with years of "road food" & a limited exercise plan, to see that my life & health was not A1 back in 2007.

I had gone into the hospital  for an out-patient heart catheterization on Monday the 16th. Simple enough.  I had two done previously with good results.

This time -- while still in the operating room -- Dr. Davis gave me "the shoulder tap", informing me I had major blockage in my arteries & would NOT be going home, since I needed heart bypass surgery.

I was scheduled for surgery the next morning -- they didn't wait around long, did they ?? -- under Dr. Fred Meddors, one of the top heart surgeons in Little Rock.

Then the "fun" began ... some of which I was a willing partner to & some events I was there ... but not really.

Monday night I got shaved -- legs, groin & chest.  Then a shower with medical soap ... to be "germ free".

Tuesday morning went quick enough.  My friend Bubba showed up to visit with me & even accompanied me to the pre-surgery area, where someone was doing a lot of hollering in the distance.  It provided a laugh to us both.

Then, just past 10 A.M., it was off to surgery.

The main memory I have is of an operating room which seemed ... "bare".  No doctors or nurses, & very little equipment. [All of which arrived after I was ... "knocked out".]  Then, to the best of my knowledge:
**  I was "prepped"
**  My legs cut to procure veins to graft into my heart
**  My chest sawed open & my ribs pulled back
**  A heart-lung machine attached & my heart was stopped
**  Four arteries where redirected using the veins taken from my legs
**  My heart restarted
**  Seven wires where used to draw my rib cage back together, along with internal stitches for my chest & legs.

None of the above do I recall or was even vaguely aware was taking place.  From being sedated until I began to regain consciousness in the post-op area, all seemed instantaneous.  It was as if time did not take place ... as if it all happened -- to me -- in a flash.

Then by Friday of the same week, I was home to recover & slowly get my life back in order.

If I need any incentive to get exercise (daily) or eat the proper foods (most of the time), all I have to do is look at the scars on my legs or the former incision on my chest -- along with the holes where the drain tubes where in my chest -- to keep me motivated.

I am thankful for my health & I hope having gone through this will be a reminder to myself -- & others -- how important our health can be.

I have been given -- so far -- an extra four years of life.  And I want more.
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[P.S. -- The photo I took this past week ... for "effect".  The scars really don't show much.]