It's All About the Heart!!!

Hello, friends!  Hope all is well in your little corner of the world these days!!!

Things around here have been a bit tumultuous the last couple of weeks.  On Thursday, 9/11, as we started out the day, deep in remembrance of the events on the 9/11 thirteen years go, our world got a little rockin' of a different sort.....

Eddie Dale hadn't been feeling well for a couple of days.  He swore his acid reflux was flaring up, complaining of awful heartburn.  Almost eight years to the day, he had experienced this same feeling. Fearing it was his heart, we rushed to the hospital, only to learn - after an extensive battery of tests and procedures - that it truly was acid reflux, and not his heart. 

Based on that experience, he hung around the house for two days, sweating it out and eating tums like candy.  By the second day, I was worried.  I asked him more than once if he shouldn't just go on to the doctor and have it checked out.  He was adamant and returned to work, sicker than a dog, on the third morning.  

Within 15 minutes of arriving at work, he collapsed and an ambulance rushed him to the hospital.  Still, he swore it was acid reflux.....until his initial blood work came back and it became obvious that his heart was involved. 

By the end of the day, he had two stints in the major arteries around his heart.  The cardiologist said the damage was minimal, but he had 90% blockage in one artery and 99% in a second!  How blessed we were that they were able to catch this when they did?!?!?  He was a walking time bomb!

Amazingly, he spent only a couple of days in the hospital.  His color returned to normal - I didn't realize how gray and ashen he had become until he pinked back up.  He improved in that respect so quickly!  

Looking back, we realize the symptoms he was experiencing for many months were related to his heart condition. His energy levels, which had been sagging for months, are rebounding.  He isn't nearly so short of breath.  He had already started working hard to lose some extra pounds, thinking his weight might have been the culprit, and was eating healthier.  Now, he has redoubled those efforts.  He will have to take several daily medications for at least the next year, while the stents "heal".  And he will be on a daily aspirin regimen for the rest of his life!

I am so thankful that the outcome of this experience has been so good!  While it has been a stressful and anxiety-filled experience for my "other half" to go through this health challenge, I am reminded daily that God is good.  Eddie Dale and I have only had eleven years together - I look forward to many more now that he is on the mend!!!

Cheers to my guy!!!

Now, let me say that it didn't slip by me that today was the first day of Autumn!  I was able to get out on the porch and lay out the first "layer" of fall decor this past weekend.  I will be back to show you some of the progress!  If you haven't already joined me on Facebook, you can keep up with shorter, more frequent posts over there with Janie's Porch.  The link to my FB page is right over there >>>, in the right column - just scroll down til you see it and be my "friend" over there, too, if you haven't already.  

See you soon!