Thankful, Grateful, Blessed

I'm not ready to get back to a full blogging and writing schedule yet, but I wanted to pop in and let my followers know that the heart surgery went well, and I'm home from the hospital. God has blessed me in more ways than I can count.

I had changed employers in the recent past and didn't know as much about the facilities, doctors, and coverage, other than it wasn't the hospital system I'd trusted for 20 years, or the doctor I had formed a relationship when the aortic valve problem was discovered. 

I was scared, so I asked my pastor to pray for me.

Shortly after that prayer, an unexplainable peace came over me. I was certain God was in control of my path, so I chose to turn my worries over to Him. At times, it wasn't easy. No one I worked with had even heard of the hospital they were sending me to, not even my director. 

I later learned the facility had only recently been bought. The hospital where a family member had died from malpractice years ago is now a highly rated 'boutique' hospital that specializes in certain types of surgeries, including cardiac. 

I was pleasantly surprised when I met the medical team, too. They had previously worked with the specialist I had originally been referred to and had split off to form their own group.

To make a long story short, I had wonderful care the whole way through, and, except for a fever that kept me in ICU a little longer than planned, I had no complications. I was released from the hospital on Good Friday and made it to church for Easter Sunday services, only 11 days after open heart surgery. 

Belting out my favorite Easter hymns to exercise my lungs was way more fun than sucking on that dratted incentive spirometer. 

God put many angels in my mother's path, too, as she navigated getting back and forth from the hotel to the hospital, alone, in a dangerous part of town. Sometimes you don't see the full magnitude of what He does until you look back in hindsight.

I hope this post finds you well. My next few weeks will be spent walking to get my energy back and taking it easy to let my sternum heal (no driving). I'm getting stronger every day and hope to resume writing very soon.

God is good!