...and the roller coaster that is illness continues.

SO, today, we went to my rehab team to ask if they knew what the cardiologist saw on my EKG. Theresa, my exercise physiologist shook her head, slapped her cheeks and said, "They CALLED you?"

To make a very long story short, a resident saw a dip in the EKG signal that worried her. Apparently, this is something that can happen a lot when you exercise aggressively. And, apparently, the resident is not used to seeing people exercise aggressively in rehab.

Anyway, if it were up to my PT staff, they would not have called me. In the great majority of cases, this is nothing. It is normal for hard exercise.

Now, I am still going for my stress test. Why? Well, the Donahue's are not known for having things "just work out." I am going to get the test because I want to know FOR SURE that things are okay inside.

Thursday at 10 am we will know. Wish me luck.

Say a prayer for my dad still.

You will  likely not hear from me tomorrow night.
I have GOT to get this certain post our of my head & I will likely need tomorrow night at LEAST to finish it. So, to give me a chance to finally write my post, I am taking tomorrow off from posting and will be back on Thursday night.

Good night & God bless...twice.

Okay, so it is back to the Dr. again.

Apparently, they did not like my last EKG at rehab. They disliked it enough to have me come in f I r a stress test to make sure my heart is still good, and to make sure I don't have another artery clogging up.

Yay. Just when you get to a comfortable place....BAM...oh, hey, remember? YOU had a heart attack.

It is kind of a bummer, but at least I know my Dr is proactively checking on me. That does bring some comfort.

That's about it for today.
Wish me luck Thursday.

Good night and God bless.

Mother's Day was very nice. Not expensive...well...not TOO expensive, not exciting, but nice.
I was able to take Ashley & the kids down to Charlotte to visit friends and their son. Ashley & the woman have been friends for 20 years.


The woman needs to have Ashley come visit periodically so that she can have a few hours to herself. The husband has MS and is all but immobile, so our friend never gets to just sit & relax.


I am telling you about this situation for 2 reasons.
First, I am happy to be here to be able to give this woman some time away from her house. This is one of the little things I get to do that make me feel valuable to someone. This is one of the things that almost stopped happening 5 months ago. I am so glad I will get to do this for a time to come.


Second, these visits remind of how much I DO have even with my situation. Our friend can barely move. Walking has not happened for years. Yet, he keeps a smile in his heart and a good attitude towards God and life. You know that old saying, "Someone always has it worse than you."? Well, I know that someone & he may have it worse, but he sees the good in life every day.


So, do I like to visit our fiends because I can do a good deed, or because I find inspiration in a strong man and a strong woman?


The answer is....Yes.


Good night & God bless.

Sorry gang. I know I have missed 2 days, and I know that you won't be all,to impressed with tonight's post. I have been trying to write a tough one , and I just can not get it dight.

I'll get it soon and hopefully you will forgive my poor showing these last few days.

The only update I have for tonight is a little bit scary.

Got a call from Dr. Kutcher...my cardiologist...

He wants me to get a stress test.
He saw something concerning on my rehab EKG, and wants to check it out.

Yay, so now we are all on edge hoping it is nothing.

Guess I'll have to let you know....when I do.

Here is to being able to sleep.

Good night and God bless.

"It's not a...but..." That is now a part of my vocabulary.


As in..."It's not a heart attack, but..."


Yep, almost 6 months later, I still have to preface every little ache, and uncomfortable feeling with, "It is not a heart attack, but..."


...but I don't feel good.
...but I have a headache.
...but my chest hurts when I breathe.
...but I don't WANNA eat my broccoli....(woops, not sure how that snuck in there)


Yep, my chest CAN hurt without it being a heart attack. Of course, that is the first thing I think is happening,  but so far (other than Nov 22) it has not been the case.


I hope that someday I can tell my beautiful wife that something hurts without needing that little preamble. For now, I just need to be willing to start every sentence with, "It's not a..."


Why not just keep it too myself? Because I promised. Remember? About 95 or 100 posts ago, I told you that I promised Ashley I wouldn't keep anything from her; I wouldn't hide any bad feelings. I need to tell her everything, even now, so that she will continue to trust me.


So...why am I telling you about this now, today?


Well, because I don't feel great right now. I am stuffed up, I have sinus pressure, and I have a burning "pain" in my chest and back. Now...understand..it's not a heart attack. I can tell you from experience that it is not.


I don't know what it is & we are going to watch and see if I feel better tomorrow, but I can assure you, it's not a...


Well...I bet you can fill in the rest.


Keep those prayers coming for my dad. He is doing better, a LITTLE better today. He still needs all of the good mojo he can get.


Good night & God bless.

Tonight's post will be short. I don't have a ton to write about for now.

I am getting into a "comfortable" place with my heart condition. I am in a rhythm and have settled into my new lifestyle.

I am still going to rehab, I am still eating right for the most part, and I am still taking my medicine.
Exercise has become a habit, a way of life more than a "thing to do."

Eating right has also become a habit, but I am getting comfortable with being "close enough." This is a place I still need to get back to being more careful. I mean I still look at every label I can, but we have had to eat out more often lately, and I have been willing to cheat more. Fruit, veggies and low fat....that has to be my goal.

My meds are still my best friends, and I still have my alarms on my phone...I HAVE to have the alarms, otherwise the meds would get missed. As it is, I have almost become deaf to the alarms. They are such a part of my day, I have almost missed the alarms completely due to not hearing them...even though the phone is with me all the time. I need to figure out a way to put the urgency back into the alarms so that I don't miss.

Did any of that make sense? Did I even MAKE a point there? Sometimes I wonder.

The point is....I am glad SOME of my new lifestyle has become mindless habit, and I am scared that OTHER parts have become mindless habit. Mindless habits can be ignored and THESE mindless habits can not be forgotten...for my own good.

As I have asked before....wish me luck.

And, as I have asked before, please say a prayer for my dad. His is still not well & we need some good mojo for him.

Good night & God bless.

Well, I got home & it really wasn't so bad.
Yes, I gained a pound or two, but I was afraid I was going to see myself north of 150.


Fortunately, I was nowhere near that. What does that mean? It means I am able to be by myself in bad situations, but it also means that I need to be even more diligent. I need to KNOW that I can be in unusual situations and still be able to keep my new lifestyle.


Okay, that is it for me tonight.


Tonight I have the most special request so far.


I am going to ask you all to pray for my dad. He is very sick and needs all of the help he can get right now. Worst of all, for me anyway, is that I can not stay there with him. I am 600 miles away while my dad is alone and sick.


He was always the strength of my family, and now he needs help. Anyone who believes in prayer, please pray for him. Anyone, how does not, please just keep good thoughts for him.


Heavy tonight, I know; and a little disjointed maybe but heartfelt and sincere none the less.


Thank you.


Good night & God bless.