I had been told by the cardiologist three things as I was leaving the hospital.  The first thing involved my weight.  I struggle with my weight, because I love my breads and desserts.  Anything sweet speaks to my palate and doesn’t usually get by my hands and feet who are in sink to accomplish what my palate says.  If only the hands and feet had their own minds to resist fulfilling the desires of my sweet teeth.  Right now I have my palate, my hands and feet working together along with the wonderful hands of my wife helping to put only healthy things into my body.

The second edict from the doctor centered around keeping a low profile in my driving and my exercise.  I was told that if we went to Flagstaff for the weekend, I was not to drive the whole way and that I couldn’t play golf.  Now those two things are very hard to not do.  Don’t get me wrong, Nadine is a very good driver, but not having that steering wheel in my hands forces me to deal with control issues that feel uncomfortable.  I don’t feel like I have control issues in our relationship, but I guess they manifest themselves when I am in the passenger seat and she is driving.  I had to shut my eyes and pretend to be sleeping in order to resist the temptation to tell her how to drive.  The golf was no real problem as we took three fairly long walks over the weekend and spent time together.

Well, yesterday was the follow-up appointment following the angiogram and stent they put in a little over a week ago.  I was put on the table and given an EKG which turned out very well.  After a brief wait in the room, Dr. Khaled came in and gave me the good news that the surgery was very successful and that everything looked normal including the incision into my femoral artery.  He told me that I was free to begin playing golf and could drive as well.  What great news.  I got a new chance at life with the stent and thanked him so much for what he had done.

Sometimes we are given a new chance on life and are so excited about the differences we see in our body that we fail to stop and express appreciation for those who were instrumental for giving us back that life.  I can think of three that have been an integral part of where I am right now.  First person to thank is the Lord for holding off a potential massive heart attack until the doctors could place the stent in my LAD artery.  The second person is my wife who stepped up to the plate and got the necessary help I needed so quickly.  She has also been instrumental in changing the diet I need to be on to continue to maintain a healthy heart.  The third person is obviously the doctor who saw the problem and took the necessary steps to fix the problem.

On this journey, we need the support of friends and family as well as professionals at times to handle issues we are unable to handle.  When they come along for support and guidance, give them the expressions of appreciation that they deserve.