IT'S MY HEART -

It's MY heart. He gave it to me over forty-six years ago. It may be in his body but when something happens to it, I am in great pain too. Wishing I could take some of the pain and recovery time from him.

It is hard to see the pain he struggles with when a cough or sneeze overtakes him. He presses hard the little pillow to his chest with thirteen stitches in it, during these times, as well as when getting up and down.

Trying to sleep is a real challenge. He tried the recliner that our DD and SIL brought over but he did not have the mobility or strength to operate it.  He could not get out of it or sit up when his coughing started and ran short of breath. He just could not get comfortable. I did not want to get far from him so I slept around the corner on the couch. If he needed help and I was asleep, he'd call me on my phone to help him up or grab a cough lozenge for him.

To help a pressure sore, it would be better to sleep on his side but that puts pressure on the chest incision as well as the three incisions in his leg that they took an artery from. He has always healed very quickly so I am hoping this will be no exception. The healing on the outside that is. I know the healing of bone on the inside will take much longer. I pray constantly that he will get relief from this.

He finally managed to sleep some on the couch but awoke trying to catch his breath. It is time to figure out how to get him back on the CPAP machine for sleep apnea so he can rest well. He gets a little better each day.

I am so grateful that he listened to his body telling him that something was wrong. Even in our local hospital he had doubts, thinking it is just a false alarm, especially when all the test they ran on him turned out perfect. If he had not mentioned an incident of chest pain that happened a few weeks ago to his cardiologist, at a regular checkup, two days before going to the emergency room, they might have sent him home. So many times we hear about heart attacks with severe pain but this depends on the person. He only felt discomfort when he had the heart attack and this time. Chest discomfort, sweating, lightheadness - similar symptoms as four years ago. Thankful that this time we were five minutes away from the hospital, not fifty miles (I know God can handle my little car at 105 mph but I was really nervous at the wheel. )
 
His cardiologist insisted on a heart cath at the full service hospital downtown. It showed the true picture- 98% blockage left side and 70% on the right. Both blockages were above the three stents he had four years earlier after a heart attack. The surgeon used arteries, one from the chest and one taken from his leg, to bypass the blockage as well as the previous stents and buildup in the old arteries. You have to be aware of family history as well as diet and exercise.
 
 The chest pains he had the weeks before, swinging a sledge hammer, were a blessing because they got his and his doctor's attention. Otherwise we might never have known the danger he was in.

We have been so blessed to have a wonderful church family. Help has come from every direction: visiting at the hospital, gift snack basket, helping with a bad car battery, mowing our yard, caring for our fuzzy babies (dogs, Daisy & Darlin'), driving me home, sending cards and once home bringing meals. And MOST of all, so many prayers said for us by church members, family, friends and friends of friends.

God has been good to us!