Regaining My Strength

June 17, 2022 - In regard to regaining my strength, I am really starting at rock bottom. What I mean is: I break a sweat and get lightheaded just standing up from my bed. I have been able to sit up for a maximum of 40 minutes but with great difficulty.

This morning, I endured more occupational therapy, specifically upper-body exercises while lying in my bed using two-pound dumbbells and a two-pound stick held in my hands. I have been using one-pound weights before today.

This afternoon, I endured more physical therapy, specifically sitting in a wheelchair and walking short distances in the hallway using a walker.

I had quadruple coronary artery bypass surgery on March 9, 2022, and two plastic reconstructive surgeries on my chest last month. For my surgery on May 19, 2022, my plastic reconstructive surgeon removed metal sternal plates from within my chest due to an infection. For my surgery on May 25, 2022, he cleaned out the remaining infection from within my chest, and he closed my chest by clipping off the tips of my ribs and reattaching my chest muscle flaps to my body. He used seven spaced-out sutures to close the eight-inch-long, vertical incision from my open-heart surgery in March, leaving me with seven holes in my chest to heal.