Tomorrow is the return trip home.
I have tried to be a good boy & eat right. I have tried to get my dad eating right.


He is not eating well. He has very little appetite, and since he is fighting off illness, we need to get him to eat whatever he can get to stay down.


Unfortunately, that leads ME to eating whatever he can keep down.


I HAVE worked out while I was here. Not as hard as I might have at home, but at least I did some exercise. SO, that is a good thing.


Now, I have also weighed myself and checked my BP while here. But the scale here is not great, and the BP cuff is one of the automatic ones. So it is tough to be sure I am getting numbers consistent with those that I would get at home. IF I am seeing consistent numbers, my weight is up, just a pound or 2 and my BP is within the usual ranges considering what is going on with dad.


HOWEVER, I am terrified to get home and weight myself & have Ashley take my BP. I am afraid I will be way up on both.....I guess only time will tell.


Gotta get home (driving PA to home tomorrow) in time to see my son in his play, and then check myself. THEN it is time to look at the calendar and see how quickly I can get back up here.


Wish me luck at the roadside eateries tomorrow.


Good night & God bless.

One bright side to my situation has been my new more healthy lifestyle. Eating better and being more adamant about finding time to exercise has done wonders for me.

Yes, a strong body DOES help build a strong mind and strong spirit.

Another related silver lining has been the increase in the number of new foods I have tried.

I would not TOUCH fish as a child, and while I will eat it as an adult, I still have a limited horizon; tuna, salmon and sushi pretty much totaled my menu of fish.

Tonight I tried some crusted Cod. YUM-MY!
It was a wonderful dish. More surprising was that it was from the dining hall at my father's community. I was very surprised to get such a tasty dish out of an institutional kitchen.

It has become harder and harder to stay a good boy at meal time. Little cheats keep finding their way to my plate. Fortunately,  so do new dishes like the one I had tonight.


Since I was able to keep myself honest on the trip up here, and have found another meal I can fit into my new menu, I am feeling pretty good about my eating habits right now.

If we could just get my father healthy...or at least as healthy as we CAN get him.

Say a prayer for him ...and for me, thanks.

Good night & God bless.

Thanks to my wife for saving me from actually ENJOYING my dinner.

No, just kidding. She kept me from making a very bad mistake for some short term satisfaction.

I called and asked if I could have 1/2 an order of my favorite crab dip. Her response..."Sure! Just be VERY good for the next 10 days!!"


Whew! No I so t want to have to worry about my food for 10 days, so the crab dip is out and some plank grilled salmon is in.

It isn't fair, or course, but it is what it is and either way, I am sitting here enjoying dinner at a waterfront.

Every day, and every meal, this is what is necessary. I need to actively make sure either I am going to watch myslef, or I need to call my "food muse" and ask her permission to eat what I want.

She wants me around another 50 years ( William says that I need to go for 100) so I know she is going to make the best possible choice for me.

Well, other than asking for prayers for my dad who is sick again, that is all I have for tonight. I'll be getting to his apartment late tonight, so I am posting a little earlier than usual.

Hope you all enjoy dinner...whatever you chose.


Good night & God bless.

I have to take a road trip tomorrow.
That scares me...

I am not worried about a heart attack while I am driving. I am not worried about my family being okay. Ashley, you have taken care of the family without me before & you will be able to again.

I am not worried about the traffic or an accident...

...I am worried about lunch.

Yes, lunch terrifies me sine it will likely come from a roadside stop at a fast food place or <<gulp>> a convenience store. Otherwise known as a salt mine and a fat factory.


I have been really good about not falling off the wagon, and I have been pretty good about coming up with a lifestyle of food that keeps me trim, and heart healthy. I have pretty well hit a balance of low salt, low fat and still keeping a diet I can hold myself to...forever.

Tomorrow will NOT derail me & make me fall off the wagon, but it COULD put me in a bad place and it could give me a few days of worry.

Yes, each and every meal still gives me pause to wonder if I am within my boundaries. Yes, I am STILL in a place where I worry about getting beaten by a single meal. Silly as it sounds, I fear getting a meal that doesn't fit my allowed parameters and having it impact me in a bad way later. I mean where does damage begin? Do I have to eat badly for a WEEK, a DAY, or just a MEAL for it to hurt my heart? Where does all of the hard work I have done so far get undone?

Yep, like it or not, I am terrified that I will be okay on my trip.

Say a prayer & be thinking about me at lunch time tomorrow.

Good night & God bless.

So maybe I'm tired because I have 3 active kids.

Two of them have been begging for practice at the pooI and one has needed to be held and carried all day.

Of course this is after 2 soccer games, a theater rehearsal yesterday, and a last minute visit to the Dr. today.

Seems the little one has a fever....man, C'MON!!! How do you get a fever while you are on an antibiotic?!?!?!?

If that isn't enough, the middle child wants to go to putting putt and the big one needs a ride to the store for ingredients to make his next desert.

Yep...add all of that to a heart attack recovery program, and I guess I am rightfully tired.

Of course, I also have great kids. My 2 year old melts my heart (what's left of it) with a quick, "I love you daddy." The big one is now cooking lemon squares, and yes, the middle child is folding clothes.

As tired as active kids make me, these 3 give me the energy to keep going. They make it fun to be a daddy, and make it a necessity to stay healthy.

This family is my inspiration. These people are my reason for being here still....and here they are :

Good night & God bless

I'll tell you gang...I am getting a little tired.
I am feeling good, no pain, no really concerning symptoms of anything...

...but I have to admit, I am tired.

I am mentally tired. Every day starts, is, and ends with me thinking about what to do & what to eat & how what I do and what I eat will impact me.

I won't say I am worried, I think I am over being "worried". But thinking about every decision, and every action IS quite tiring. Deciding if I "can " or "can't" eat everything I see, it tiring.

Once, I 'd like to just eat. No looking at the nutritional label.

So, yeah, I am tired.

Good night & God bless

Happy 5 months to me

Happy 5 months to me

Happy 5 months after my heart attack

Happy 5 months to me

Yes, it is 5 months since my heart attack & I am still here.

Think I'll stick around for awhile.

Good night & God bless.

Writing a little early tonight. I am at my son's soccer practice at the YMCA. I don't much like soccer (sorry honey) but I'll tell you, right now...there is nowhere I'd rather be.

Seeing my son run around without a care in the world, knowing he couldn't really care less what happened almost 5 months ago, makes me so happy. It is also a testament once again, 'cause I can't say it often enough, what a GREAT Jon all of my medical professionals did.

Wait...WHAT?

Someone out there just realized, like I did, that tomorrow is my 5 month-adversary.
TOMORROW is April 22nd...exactly 5 months after my STEMI (anyone who can remember what that stands for should leave me a comment).

I am 30 lbs lighter, can run 3 miles 3 times a week and have recently had my blood pressure measured at 98/52.

My cholesterol is 112 and I have continued to build on my good eating and exercise habits.

I will say this, unless you really want to be disappointed in our eating habits as a nation...don't look at the nutritional menu for your favorite restaurant.  :(

Thanks for reading.

Before I go, please pray for my friend and neighbor. She went to the hospital last night. I have yet to be able to find out why, so I can't be specific, but for now, please pray for a quick recovery for her.

Good night & God bless.

Affirmation, it is a wonderful thing....especially when it comes from your CARDIOLOGIST!!!

Yes, folks, you heard me, I stopped in to see my cardiologist today for my 3 month follow-up (which actually occurred closer to 4 months), and he was happy with what he saw. He told me I was doing a good job.

SO, they take an EKG, they interview you and listen to the heart and lungs.

Here's my EKG from today:

Apparently, this EKG is "pretty good". Further, apparently, in some cases, the EKG never really gets better. People with severe attacks often have tell-tale EKGs forever. The nurse said mine looked pretty good and that there were only small signs of a possible heart attack. If you look closely, near the top, it says "Borderline".

Otherwise, things were very good. They liked my numbers for blood pressure (107/79) and I thought they were HIGH. They liked my heart rate & in fact thought it was a little slow.

Most of all the doctor liked my cholesterol (112); liked it well enough that he cut my Atorvastatin (cholesterol medicine) in half.

So, I have dropped the iron pills totally, and the cholesterol medicine is 1/2 of what it was. I am still on Brilinta and metoprolol, but it is getting better.

Another day of rehab therapy tomorrow.....can't wait.

Good night & God bless.

Continuing on with yesterday's theme...

Today was the birthday celebration for William in his class.

Part of this celebration is affirmations for the birthday kid. The class sits in a circle & everyone says something nice about the child. Kids talked about the usual; William is funny, or nice, or a good friend. The comments were nothing special individually, but together they painted the picture of a pretty great kid.

We have done this 11 times now and so you would think it would be pretty simple. But this time, I couldn't help myself. I started to cry. The comments didn't make me cry...looking at William and seeing a young man that I get to watch grow up....THAT made me cry.

I have said any number of times that I am so glad that I get to watch my kids grow up. This was one of the first examples of "the rest of my life."

I was thinking about how many times I will get to do this, how many birthdays I'll get to see and how many things I will get to hear as affirmations for my kids.

Those EMTs really did a great thing saving my life. They made it possible for me to be at the celebration today. They made it possible for me to think about the future, because they GAVE me a future.

Thank you Forsyth County EMTs....thanks SOOOO much for giving me that future to look forward to.

Good night & God bless.

Good evening!  Tonight I will be guest writing for my sweet husband!  It has been a wild weekend of family and blessings...and some frustration. I will choose to write about one particular blessing:  William.  

 You see, we gained a sweet new niece on Friday, which means sweet William is exactly 11 years older than his brand new cousin!  Our amazing boy woke up on HIS birthday and the first thing he asked about was whether or not "Maddy" had arrived.   Upon learning that she had, indeed, been born on his birthday, he said, "well, that is my first birthday gift!"

I guess I was so taken by his response because in one sentence was summed up his giving nature and love that he has for others.  Isn't it amazing?  Our 11 year old young man taught us so much, so quickly, about how making others important can make us so content with our own lives.  William could have had a "typical" reaction about having to share his special day, instead he welcomed it.  

Maddy is, indeed, perfection!  I would hope that any of us would want to share our special day with such a miracle...however, this ( as with many things in this life) is just one time when we often "get it wrong"...I wonder how different my life would feel if I chose to look through the unselfish lens that William has chosen to use.  So, tonight I challenge you!  When given the opportunity,  make someone else's situation important by sharing our lives through the unselfish lens...

Good night and God bless

O n e    H u n d r e d....

Yes, this blog is now 100. That is, I am now writing my 100th post to this blog.

I have 8 or so consistent reader & I thank you all so much for sticking with me.
I was really hoping I'd have 30 or 40 readers at least, but if even one of you is finding strength or inspiration in my words, I will continue this blog for the year as promised.

Equally important, my oldest turned 11 today.
Now usually, 11 is not a birthday of note. 10, 18, 21 30, 50, those are the "BIG" birthdays. But for me, for us, this was a B-I-G day because it was the first family birthday after the event.

I really wanted to thank God for the chance to be here for this birthday.
There are no words for the joy I saw in my son's face today.

Good night & God bless

Yum! I think I found some Thai food I can eat.
Silver noodles and chicken. Not much in the way of sauce and lots of veggies.

I am very excited. I love Thai food.
So, today was a good day.

Apparently, I am finally at my base weight.

Over the weekend, I actually did something I have not done in months....I GAINED weight.
It was only 2-3 pounds, something most folks would probably write off as a big weekend, and go on about their day.

For me, that was a bit of a let down, and a bit of a scary thing. Why?
Well, I didn't think I did anything THAT off the right path, and yet there was a notable gain.

See, to gain weight, I need to either eat a lot more calories than I burn, or I have to eat a lot more salt than I should, thus retaining water weight. In either case I am putting undue strain on my heart.

The OTHER scary thing is that it was EASY to do. Not that gaining or losing is easy, per say. What was easy was eating like I ate over the weekend. THAT is scary.

It was too easy to fall off the wagon, grab a bit of food here and there, eat food for which I didn't find the salt content. I have been getting better and better for almost 5 months. FIVE WHOLE MONTHS have passed and not another problem. That is a long time. Yet, it has ONLY been 5 months.

I am too close to the heart attack to forget about being careful. This weekend showed me that.

This recovery is about decisions & every day...every single day...I have to make the best decisions I can if I am to stay strong and healthy.

Wish me luck, and if you see me, remind me that I need to take care of myself.
That is how you can all help me recover.

Good night and God bless.

Okay, so tonight should be a WHOLE LOT BETTER than last night.
It isn't midnight & I am not exhausted from watching kids and fighting them into bed.

I am not sure if my writing will be any better tonight than in the past, but the information will be MUCH better. Tonight, I will channel Charles Dickens and I am going to use the opening of his book, A Tale of Two Cities. I am going to take a LITTLE bit of literary license though.

It was the worst of times, it is the best (or close to it) of times.

Tonight I want to talk about my progress and show you pictures of my progress. I don't have good pictures to use of MYSELF, so no selfies in this one (yes, you can all clap).

I wanted to show you the progress I have made at rehabilitation, and discuss what that has meant to my health.

The first two pictures are my progress cards from physical therapy:

The first card is just that...my first card of progress; day one.
That day, I weighed 157.5 pounds, my heart rate was 86 and my BP was 104 over 68. Also, that day, I walked for 30 minutes and got my heart rate to a high of 112.

Now let's look at the other picture.
That card is the 3rd card I have had, and shows where I am now.
Notice that my heart rate, and BP are not that much different; 65, and 108 over 66. That is a testament to the hard work my pharmaceuticals are doing keeping my heart rate and blood pressure consistent.

What IS different is that I weight 131 pounds less, and I am RUNNING for 30 minutes. And, I am consistently getting my heart rate into the 160's.

In 36 sessions I went from worrying about walking too fast to worrying about making sure I actually hit my goal of 3.1 miles (5 kilometers) and getting my heart rate HIGH enough.

One more picture for tonight:

This is the important one. This picture shows my cholesterol numbers both on November 22, 2015, and April 6, 2016. I am VERY happy to be able to show you these numbers.

My cholesterol has dropped by more than HALF. In fact my total cholesterol is less now than my "bad" cholesterol was on the 22nd. All of my numbers are within the good limits and my "bad" cholesterol (LDL) is almost 1/3 of what it was.

I feel so much better than I did 3 months ago and I can't wait to tell you all how things look on November 22, 2016.

Thank you all for sticking with me & supporting me. Believe it or not, knowing that someone reads this blog MAKES me keep going to rehab, and MAKES me continue to eat right & watch myself.

Thank you all.

Good night & God bless.

I am sorry guys.

I have started 3 times tonight, and 3 times I have fallen asleep.
I just can't tonight. Check back again tomorrow & I'll have something for you all.

I am just too tired tonight.

Good night and God bless.

Another crazy weekend taking kids from soccer to acting to soccer, and back.

We got caught up in the furor over a new law in NC, when Bruce Springsteen cancelled the show we were gonna see tonight.

It was COLD,  so I built a fire in the new fireplace, and burned my finger.

So, this weekend was some good and some bad, but one thing that stuck out was a little twinge in my chest.

It was just a little shot of pain, but pain none the less.

After a second or two of panic, I realized that I had just turned wrong or tried to move in a funny way and got a little muscle twinge; fortunately, no problem.

Good, bad, warm and cold, this weekend had it all...


...and I got to be here to be a part of it.
Thank you God for giving me that.

Good night and God bless.

My baby girl is VERY snuggly when it is bed time.

So what????

So, she gets me to lay down with her at bed time, I fall asleep, I wake up long enough to write my blog tonight.

So what????

So, tonight will be short, and MIGHT actually make sense.....

I have been in rehab long enough that they wanted to check on some of my numbers. So, they measured my waist; I lost 2 1/2 inches. I got some blood taken; my cholesterol was 112. Yep, 112. My cholesterol dropped to less than half of what it was when I had my heart attack. They weighed me; 142 and change fully clothed.

My heart rate today was 60, and my blood oxygen content was 99%.
My blood pressure was 102 over 58.

All in all, this was sort of a record day. My BP was a record low. My waist was smaller than it has been in years. My cholesterol was less than 1/2 of the highest it has been.

Very glad for those numbers, now if only I could find a test to tell me if I was watching my salt intake enough.

That's all tonight.
Love you all.

Good night & God bless.

Well, here we are again.

It is 10:30 at night & I have just finished work for the night.

Yeah, another sign that the heart attack is getting further in the past...I am up late working. This is not exactly one of the things I was hoping would be a good indicator that I was in fact getting past November 22.

Oh, well, you do what you have to do, right?

Right...and what I have to do is finish today's post & get to bed.

So, to make this a more positive post, let's talk about a good thing that is a result of the heart attack.

Urban legend says that a glass of wine a night is good for the heart.
Well, my rehabilitation folks have reiterated that fact and suggest a glass of red wine a night....no, REALLY!

Apparently the alcohol in a good cabernet helps keep the bad cholesterol down and boosts the GOOD cholesterol. I sure hope so. I have taken the advice and had a glass of wine most nights for the last 2 weeks or so.

I hope they are right because I have blood test results coming back tomorrow to see how my cholesterol level is. Since cholesterol is what we believe started this whole thing, I am very anxious for the results tomorrow.

I have to apologize for being bad.
I have been a bad boy food wise; a burger and 2 bowls of ice cream over the weekend.

I know folks are counting on me to be a good boy, but sometimes ya just gotta be bad.

Worse, I have been bad about posting recently. My consistency has not been what you all deserve. Please keep checking back daily and I will improve on my posts.

There IS a silver lining to all of this bad stuff...

While I hate to seem as if this blog is falling in priority for me, I am letting other thing get in the way; a new house, kids activities, time with Ashley.

The silver lining  is that my blog is still VERY important to me, but other things ARE getting in the way. THAT means that maybe, juuust mayyybe, I am starting to get my life back from this stupid thing called a heart attack.

I have slipped a little in a number of ways, and. I need to get back to my careful lifestyle,  but it dawned on me this evening that maybe it isn't the BLOG that is falling in priority.

Maybe it is the heart attack itself that is falling in priority.  Maybe I am starting to grow past it.

As I have said before, I hope in some ways that I'll "forget this ever happened", while in other ways, I hope I never forget what almost happened to me.

As my blog approaches 100 posts (how many TV shows never make 100 episodes) maybe I am starting to file my heart attack into that place in my mind where it SHAPES my decisions, but doesn't CONTROL my decisions.

I hope so, that would be a nice place of balance in which to live the rest of my life. And I hope the REST of my life is a good long time.

Good night and God bless.

So here we are sitting in church today; me in my seat and my son on my lap.
He is a BIG lap sitter in church. Little guy doesn't like to sit by himself.


So, anyway, here we sit, and for no reason he turns & says...
"I wanna be just like you."


A little whisper, a 2 second comment...and a reason to be so grateful that I am alive.


My "combo-kid" as I call my son (he is the middle child, so he is the only one who is a combination of a BIG brother and a LITTLE brother) is a hugger. He always has been. He just likes to be around people. He loves being with mom & dad, and being "in our space".


Today was different because of that quick little comment.


He didn't just say he loved me. He didn't just say he was glad I was alive.


He said that he wanted to be like me.


Wow...a little pressure?


He's only six, but he still knows everything that has happened since November. But more, he sees me in all of my imperfect self. He knows I can get a little "loud" when I am mad, or frustrated. He has seen me cry. He has seen me at my best and my worst, and still he can say that he wants to be like me.


So, now, I need to give him something GOOD to emulate. Yet another new perspective on my life since November.


My kids.......pretty incredible huh?


Even without thinking about it, they give me reason to stay alive, AND they give me reasons to stay fit and continue to stay within the guidelines of my diet. And they give me reasons to make myself better every day; better than I was yesterday and better than I thought I COULD be.


I've told them & I'll tell you all....my sons & my daughter make it fun to be a daddy. Now, they make it necessary to STAY a daddy...for a good long time.


Good night & God bless.

I have 3 words for y'all...

Ham bur ger......

Okay, okay, that is one word, but it tasted good enough for 3.


I ATE a hamburger today and man was it good. It was go-od. It was well worth the fact that I am gonna have to be so good tomorrow.

I'll tell you, I have survived a trek through New Mexico, living on dried food substitute for 10 days; yet I have never thought I would appreciate a burger the way I enjoyed that one. It was my first hamburger since sometime well before November 22.

So, that was my day; pretty normal for most, but a real memory maker for me. It was all because some cow, I've never met gave it's life so I would have a topic to write about tonight....my yummy dinner.

Have a good night yall.

Good night & God bless