During my recovery from surgery, I have focused on one thing: balance. In the early days after surgery, I would stand up & get dizzy. This actually was a problem for the first 3-4 weeks. I learned to stand up slowly, wait for the room to stop spinning, & then take a step. Even then, [...]
It was December 31, 2011 when my family decided to hike up Badger Mountain as a fun New Year’s Eve activity. Hiking up “Badger” is a popular activity in the TriCities as it doesn’t take too long & gives the hiker a pretty good workout with about a 900 ft elevation gain in a little [...]
My journey has brought me to this – Cardiac Rehab! Three weeks after cardiac surgery, my doctor said I was doing great & could begin exercising with vigor. One caveat: exercise with vigor at Cardiac Rehab. This is the same Cardiac Rehab Center that I met with the nurses & doctors 6 years ago to [...]
Coronary Artery Bypass surgery is one of the most common procedures in America with over 350,000 performed each year. Think about it. Cracking a person’s chest, diverting his/her blood to a heart-lung machine while stopping the heart from beating so a surgeon can bypass clogged arteries located on the heart is more common than a [...]
When I was discharged on post-op day 4 from the hospital after my open heart bypass surgery, I thought the healing was done. I was ready for rehab! You know, rehab that would include the treadmill, walking on the bike path, & even lifting some light weights to keep my upper body in tone. In [...]
The definition of fragile is “easily broken or damaged.” When I completed my OBGYN residency at Bethesda Naval Hospital, I received orders to report to Subic Bay Naval Hospital in the Philippines for a 3-year tour of duty. The US Navy hired a local moving company to pack our household belongings into 5 large wooden crates [...]
If there is one word that I would pick to describe my current condition, it would be “fragile.” In some ways I don’t even feel like the same person. I look in the mirror & I still look the same, but nothing feels the same. My body feels like an echo chamber for my heart [...]
As I contemplate surgery on my heart in just two more days, it is painfully obvious that what’s in the heart matters most. Jesus said it like this: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8) Now that’s quite a promise! Seeing God in our journey on this earth means [...]
I have recently discovered the power of self-deception. For the past 8 years I have told myself I don’t need to see a doctor, for 2 years that I don’t need to recheck my cholesterol level, and for 2 months that I don’t need to check out my exercise-induced chest pain. After all, I am [...]
