I just remembered because FB showed an old photo of my friend Tappy visiting me at the hospital (photo above). The photo was from a week later when I finally got out of ICU. I saw the photo while I was going through treatment today.
I read somewhere that all the cells in your body are supposed to be refreshed every seven years (something like that). I was really hoping 2020 would have been a good year health-wise for me. Things were going well until the lockdown happened. Then things started going haywire. I guess it's a mix of things, laced with a lot of stress and being away from family.
My 8-year old repaired mitral valve is beautiful as ever according to my cardiovascular surgeon. The last eight years have been spectacular. Here's a few amazing things I've done with my repaired heart -
1. Climb Borobudur Temple four months after surgery (I had a second one a few weeks after the first)
2. Did a treetop walk in Singapore. I remember there was a crazy zipline adventure included.
3. Braved a cold snap in Zurich. Had to skip going to the Alps though.
4. Redwoods adventure with my teammates. I managed some of the crazy activities.
5. Kept level headed through crazy boat rides.
6. Survived almost weekly travels until end of 2019.
I may not have achieved my original goal post surgery - to run a marathon. There were just some things that never went back to normal. What I lacked in physical strength I made up for it by giving all my heart in everything I did.
Looking back I should have probably slowed down after I had PE in 2018, but that's just me. I can never do anything half-heartedly. Since I was young my Mom would always bust me out at night to tell me it's time to rest. My doctors have also noted that my A+++ personality is a problem (yes they said it's A plus plus plus lol). But let's leave that for another day.
Today I celebrate my second chance at being alive. I am grateful everyday for the many people who made that possible and who supported me through the journey: my work dads who saved my life, my doctors, nurses and everyone in the hospital who took care of me, my family who took care of me, my teammates, my friends who prayed for me, and that person who wrote the book about going through heart surgeries. Remembering what I've been through when I had two open heart surgeries is a good reminder for me that the my recent and current hospital boarding is a tiny drop of what I went through 8 years ago. If I survived that, I should certainly bounce back soon.
CB///273 #StuckAtHomeDay/303 #StayHome #BeKind
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