On December 5, 2024, I had a heart attack. I didn’t post about it. No announcement, no press release. I kept it to myself—just my family, Nina’s family, and my boss at work. I wasn’t looking for sympathy or the usual “I’m sorry”. I told the world I had emergency surgery (that was the truth), just not anything more. I wasn’t ready at that time. I was not blaming myself or depressed about it.
I woke up around 3 am, with chest pain, headache, and sweats. Classic symptoms, right? I know it wasn’t stress related. I was actually getting out of breath quickly since about mid-October in 2024 and was more fatigued. Nina and I thought it was because I am older and out-of-shape as well as an ENT who I was seeing at that time. I really was planning to see a cardiologist in the new year after we moved. Well, shit happens.
I drove myself to a 24/7 urgent care emergency clinic. I should’ve listened to Nina and had her call an ambulance, but was adamant that I didn’t want that. It was a slow drive, and I was crying in the car. Once I arrived, they took me in immediately. The EKG was normal, but my blood had elevated levels of troponin which indicates heart damage. I was already feeling better, but was not out of the woods. I was transported by an ambulance to Methodist Texsan, one of the top heart hospitals in the state of Texas.
I was in the hospital for three days. They were scary and I cried a lot. There’s something about being hooked up to machines and hearing words like “cardiac event” and “stent” that makes everything feel fragile—because it is. I was overwhelmed, grateful, afraid, and emotional in a way I had never felt.
During my hospitalization, I asked Nina to wash my blankets, pillow cases, and sheets so when I would be home, I would have clean bedding. Those first few days and weeks, I was taken care of by Nina. She was my calm, my nurse, my chef, my everything.
I went back to work just two days after coming home, and Nina was mad at me for not resting more. I worked a couple of hours, and then logged out and took a long nap. That became my pattern for the first few weeks. Wake, work, rest, repeat. Healing takes time.
I am now the proud owner of two stents – one in the RCA and the other in the LAD (also known as “The Widowmaker”). I am very relieved that they didn’t have to do open heart surgery on me. One stent was placed on Thursday and the other on Friday. It was the same crew in the Cath Lab, and I knew I was in the best hands as they do this daily. I thought I was going home on Friday as that is what I thought I heard the doctors mention, but then again, I was full of drugs.
The most pain I had was in my groin where they made the incision, and they used that incision for both surgeries. On Thursday after the stent was inserted, I had 6 hours of bed rest, which basically means I couldn’t move my right leg. It was a struggle, and when I had to pee, a nurse helped me with a bed urinal. During that time, I was provided dinner as I hadn’t had anything since the night before, and somehow, I ate a piece of chicken with bones (I don’t remember anything else that came with it, but I ate every piece of meat) while I was lying flat on bed rest. Try that! When I was being wheeled out of my room to the operating room, I started to cry again as I had no clue what to expect or what would happen. I don’t think Nina saw it, but I did tell her later on.
On Friday, it was 4 hours of bed rest and Nina was there to feed me lunch and help me pee (I only got a little bit on her – pee that is). She only spilled a few pieces of food on me.
I was a fall risk, and after the bed rest ended, I had to call a nurse every time I had to pee or walk around the floor. You don’t know how free I felt after the fall risk was removed as well as being unplugged from all the monitors and IVs.
I am so damn thankful for the staff at the 24/7 emergency clinic, the ambulance driver and the gentleman in the back with me, and everybody at the hospital. I was so appreciative of everybody helping me.
Today, I’m doing really well. I feel great. I have more energy, more awareness of what my body needs, and a deeper appreciation for life itself. The fear that marked those hospital days hasn’t disappeared entirely, but it’s been replaced by something stronger—gratitude. Every step I take now isn’t just for fitness. It’s a quiet, steady reminder that I’m not going anywhere and I need to keep on doing it.
So, with all that being said, I want to take a moment and on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being “bad” and 10 being “awesome, I will rate my diet and exercise.
Let me star with exercise first. Definitely a 10!!!
Recovery was three months of cardiac rehab—January through March, three days a week. I spent time on the treadmill, pedaled bikes with either my legs or arms, lifted weights, and did a lot of stretching. They had a lot of equipment and the staff was very helpful on using them as well as making sure everybody was working gently. They monitored heart, weight, and blood pressure. I am glad that on my first day, I had one of the rehab nurses showing me how to do everything correctly (stretches and weights, especially). I didn’t love the morning drive—traffic was rough—but I didn’t mind too much, because it helped me become more efficient with exercise.
I was the youngest person in rehab (one was 87, and I was 47 at that time), which felt a little weird at first, but honestly, it motivated me. Watching the older folks show up and put in the work reminded me not to complain—just show up and do it. Once rehab ended, I transitioned to doing walks, weights, and stretching at home.
Walking outside has become one of my favorite things. I like the smells, the sounds, and the quiet. I sing out loud sometimes. I take pictures of sunrises, lakes, flowers, trees, shadows, clouds—whatever I think looks beautiful. Our new house in Minnesota has a walking trail behind it.
I have my workout clothes ready in the mornings. Hat, sunglasses, AirPods, Apple Watch, and my iPhone pumping out music. I check my blood pressure before and after — it’s been perfect since the heart attack. I walk a mile to a mile and a half, about 30 minutes. Anybody I encounter, I smile and say “good morning.” It’s always a very pleasant site seeing people and animals.
A few weeks ago, we joined the Monticello Community Center which has an indoor pool for Nina and Niko and a fitness center for me. I’ve really enjoyed walking outside this summer, but now I have options — and when the Minnesota cold rolls in, the indoor fitness center will win every time. Best of all, the community center is only ten minutes from home.
As for my diet, I will give myself a 5! Where I need help is inhaling more fruits and vegetables. I gave up beef right from the start and have only had it a few times and I save those times for “special occasions.” I was struggling bad with sweets, but gave them up on July 3 and have had only a few since then. Again, saving it for “special occasions.” Also, I struggle with stick butter as I cook and use it for everything. But, I am trying to use avocado oil for cooking and avocado butter for toast and pasta, and rice – healthier and better for me.
I also need to strive to be better when eating out and get something healthy and not fried, like I did yesterday where I had fried fish and onion rings.
Sometimes, I feel like I am a 13-year-old kid eating junk food because my parents are out of town! Yesterday, I told Niko to hide a box of Mac and Cheese so I wouldn’t be tempted to eat it. Because, I have been known in the past to eat a box on my own.
I have lots of room for massive improvement in the diet realm, and I am hoping next time, I can bring my rating up.
