Last Week In Chris: 6.14.26

Heart break/brake

❤️‍🔥🏥👨🏻‍⚕️❤️‍🩹

More than ready to go home

I had a “mini” heart attack on Thursday. That's the newsletter. Roughly 75 hours and two stents later, I'm not at 100%, but I'm at least six feet above ground. 

Tomorrow I should be able to use my right arm, where they performed the angiogram. On Tuesday, I should be good to pick up the cats (along with other things). I'll also be able to drive. By then, I'll be pretty much self-supporting.

In the meantime, my Dad — who flew into Austin from NC late Friday night — has been driving me around and handling household tasks. Before my pops booked his flight, my friend Ashley graciously offered to drive in from Kerrville to be with me during my Friday morning procedure. My local buddy Tom stopped by for a bit after I came out of recovery. Many other Texans offered assistance and good thoughts. I was really touched.

I'm now on about eight medications, including baby aspirin, nitroglycerin, blood thinners, Lipitor, Ozempic, and a couple of others I can't spell. One is causing some pretty serious side effects (I'll spare you the details), so I'll definitely be talking with my medical team on Monday.

While I was still in the hospital, I ordered a healthy cookbook from one of my favorite magazines, Everyday Food. Each recipe is under 500 calories and has reasonable amounts of saturated fat and carbs. Maybe not as tasty as the food I used to make (biscuits!), but not unappetizing.

My new cardiologist even told me about a Cardiac Rehab program that my insurance will likely cover. I believe it's equal parts nutritional guidance and personal training. I plan to apply what I learn, sign up for a gym membership, and get into a routine. In the meantime, I'll walk around my neighborhood and/or the Domain.

As the saying goes, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.