The Heart, It Must go on

September 2020

I wonder why we as humans expect our bodies to last forever? Hmmmm, forever is an awfully long time!

Upon the ER doc diagnosing my second heart with substantial failure I was sent home with some meds? Yep, if it’s broke take more meds Steve. It’s not that I’m on a lot already but I am on some serious anti rejection stuff. I like this heart, it’s my friend and has taken great care of me for some 32 awesome years at this point in life.

Renee was a little nervous with me at home at first but within a few days my breathing became greatly easier but surely not normal. Walking nowadays has become hard enough but masked up against Covid everything became somewhat a battle.

Eventually, after many heart tests I was sent off to Beaverton Heart Hospital for a plan. When we arrived it was all so strange, the hospital was a fortress against all attacks and maybe Covid too? Entry to this place was a myriad of paperwork & questions but we eventually made it. This place was shockingly void of people like us, without uniform or medical outfits we were loners but thankfully Renee was allowed in with me!

Upon seeing a crew of medical staff the plan for me was to come back for some scans and heart cauterization. This allows them to see in my heart via my arteries & visually thru radiology, kinda no fun procedure that’s hard on my transplanted kidney from the use of dye.

Every pill, procedure and test all has a cost on the whole body somewhere, it’s a matter of need and trusting in God. My trust in Him is complete, my trust in doctors is less than favorable.

Within 3 days later the tests were done and 9 hours later we drove home, I despise this stuff. 2 days later we received a phone call, they want to put in one heart stint, maybe two which is a fairly risky surgery.