The Journey

The old Mother Goose nursery rhyme has to do with going to the market to buy a pig. For me it is not a carriage, a long boat or fishing gear. Mine is one little obscure definition in Webster’s which calls it a “spot.” I am back in my spot – much as Sheldon Cooper claims his spot… the perfect place. I added the thought of dancing a jig… a celebration of something special – the Irish Jig. It was celebrating my coming home after thirteen days in the hospital… back to my spot.

Well, the Pillsbury Dough Boy lost over 30 pounds in those 13 days… mostly fluid, and became stronger – able to walk greater distances at a little more rapid pace. Before, I couldn’t walk more than 25 yards without feeling weak and out of breath. Now we are walking the hall (greater than 25 yards) three or four times a day. I am not ready for the olympics but I am a lot better.

I have had great teams of doctors; Internal Medicine at Cone lead by Dr. Tom Vincent, Dr. Steven Klein, the electrophysiologist and his team, and Dr. Dalton McLean and his cardiology heart failure team. They looked at every angle and tried every protocol they could to get my numbers in a better ratio. I had many bags of IV Potassium and IV Lasix, plus taking all sorts of meds – some newly added and some old-time favorites. They will be designing a protocol for treatment at home. These doctors are good teachers, compassionate docs and good listeners. The docs and their teams made these thirteen days much more tolerable. And the nurses have been fabulous.

Dr. Vincent did say that a couple of cans of Campbell’s Chicken Noodle soup (a salt factory) will get me right back in the old – bad numbers. Therefore, I am on a low sodium diet (1200MG daily). That is going to be a tough one because that means that most of what I eat must be homemade from fresh vegetables and low or no sodium items. It looks like most of my going out to eat days are over. I have looked over the menus at several restaurants only to find they love that sodium. If you know of any recipes for low sodium meals or items, please let me know.

I do want to thank all of you for holding Shirley and me in your daily prayers. It really does make a difference. Keep praying that we can meet the requirements of this diet with a positive attitude and good success.

And so, I pray: Lord, thank you for the calling and training of people like Dr. Vincent, Dr. Klein, Dr. McLain and their teams… people who really care. Help me to do the right things, follow the protocols designed for my better health, and keep up with the exercise regiment needed to produce a stronger heart. Amen.

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