So this is going to be a long journal, and a big surprise to readers. I'll just say from the start that I'm doing okay.

So in a very on-brand 2020 turn of events, I had a crazy roller coaster ride at the end of August. As I described it to friends, I was going to celebrate my 50th birthday in New Orleans in May, but that was canceled do to Cover-19, and instead I got surprise heart surgery in August. What a year!

I'd been having a couple of symptoms which I was planning on calling my doctor about, but things came to a head on Wednesday night when I had chest pains while mowing the lawn and then my heart rate was elevated and wouldn't calm down, so I went to the emergency room.

My EKG looked a little off, and a heart enzyme was slightly elevated, so they admitted me. Later they figured I'd had a small cardiac event, but there was no damage.

On Thursday they did a cardiac catheter procedure to go in with a scope to look for blockages, and fix them with stints if possible. I have a family history of heart disease and my doctor has been watching my weight and cholesterol, but both of those have been borderline. I was expecting to need a stint to fix a blockage or two and then need to go on Lipitor, but I came out of anesthesia to much worse news.

It turns out there were five blockages, in areas they couldn't easily put stints in and I would need coronary artery bypass surgery. That was a shock and the rest of the day was getting me transferred to the cardiac surgery hospital, getting all the tests I needed and getting prepped surgery on Friday morning.

It was a crazy roller-coaster ride, but maybe it was better to happen so fast so I didn't dwell on it. I knew it needed to be done and was able to soldier through it. Being kept busy helped. I'm just glad it was caught in time and the surgery went smooth.

It wasn't fun. I felt like I'd been hit by a bus afterwards, but they had me on some good pain meds and every day got better. The worst of it was a day when my heart freaked out and went into arterial fibrillation, which is normal, but not fun. They got me through that and I've been recovering.

So it's been 3 weeks since the surgery and I've been home with my mom and sister recuperating for two weeks.

I'm doing well, getting a little better each day. My sternum only hurts if I cough, or occasionally bend the wrong way. My left leg where they took the veins for the bypass is still a little sore to touch, but doesn't hurt to walk or stand on.

They have me walking a little more each day. I'm up to 20 minutes and can do that without breathing heavy. My heart rate and blood pressure are excellent. I will also be able to start in on cardiac rehab in a couple of weeks.

The only downside, is that I'm still not sleeping well. One of the drugs I'm on to regulate heart rate, amiodarone, is what I believe is causing the issue. Thankfully I'm getting weaned off that and will be done with it next Wednesday. Also, the other side effects with overheating (flushing) and nightmares have been easing off.

Now I just need to be able to sleep more than an hour or two at a time before waking up. It's leaving me tired, but it should be temporary, and taking a nap during the day helps.

Otherwise, things are getting better each day, and I just have to take it a little at a time and have faith that things will continue to get better. I'm already doing very well continuing the surgery I went through.