11.18.23 Update
I wanted to take a moment and give you an update on my recovery. First, I want to thank you for your prayers. The surgery that I went through “is the hardest surgery there is” my surgeon advised me. It takes a significant amount of time to recover from it. The wonderful thing is that my surgery was a great success. The issue was caught in time before it caused any heart damage as my heart is strong and now it’s getting all the oxygen it needs to live the awesome life the Lord desires for me and what He has planned for us.
I have left the hospital, but I am in the next phase of recovery which will take place at home with Home Health Care. After this phase, I’ll begin cardiac physical fitness where I workout in a gym with my doctors and medical staff rebuilding my body strength. They say 90 days is a good estimate of what time it takes to fully recover. Once recovered, you get to live a newly energized life with energy you’ve not had for many decades.
With all that said, this phase has much physical pain that will cause me to need to focus on making sure each action matters in recovery. The pain my doctor was talking about is my sternum healing, which is currently wired together, my lungs cleared from all that gathers in the lungs during surgery. The glitch in clearing the lungs is coughing comes at a great cost of pain.
I’ve begun my cardio taking small walks each day, building up to more and more each day to I’m fully back. Seeing that my surgery was Monday, Nov. 13, all is well about average in recovery.
I had a back injury prior to the heart surgery that flared up in surgery which I can not get my doctor who helps me with my back to fix due to not being able to lay on my chest for a certain amount of time. I need the Lord to heal this part of my back. The back injury, believe it or not, has caused more pain than open heart. Right! I wouldn’t have thought that either, but my surgeon understood as he has a similar back injury.
I normally don’t share a long list of issues because My Lord heals me of them all and to speak of them, some people speak them into existence or lasting issues, but I know with you, you understand, it’s an update and knowing what to pray and ask God for.
In addition, it’s to give you an idea of the time I’ll need to focus on recovery and your love and patience so far has been amazing. It will take a bit longer before I can function at a level of freely communicating with the lungs and chest under recovery.
Donna has been reading me your texts and emails and it has so blessed my heart to hear your heart towards me. Your love is the greatest gift anyone can ask for.
We have a plan for how things will flow until things are back to where we need them to be. I believe we’re going to see the Lord do great things even during this season of healing.
Love you,
Bro. Greg