Pain Within Healing

October 23, 2022

PHOTO: Here I am in the Intensive Care Unit at Boca Raton Regional Hospital in Boca Raton, Florida, on March 10, 2022, the day after my seven-hour-long heart surgery. My wife took this photo of myself.

As you may know, I had quadruple coronary artery bypass surgery on March 9, 2022, and two reconstructive chest surgeries: on May 19, 2022, my surgeon removed metal sternal plates due to an infection; and on May 25, 2022, my surgeon clipped off the tips of my ribs and reattached my chest muscle flaps to my body.

During the past few months, the pain has mostly dissipated. The eight-inch-long incision in my chest has been closed for several months. While my chest continues to be sore, swollen, and numb, these days, I am noticing more pain within my chest as my sternum (breastbone) broken by my heart surgeon, my clipped ribs, and my internal chest tissue all continue to heal. I suppose my heart is also still healing. By the way, I still get an occasional twinge of pain in the inside of my left thigh near my knee where my heart surgeon removed a long section of my main vein there. He used four segments of the vein for my heart surgery.

I mention all of this because, this morning, I felt a slight, but noticeable increase in my usual chest pain just by lifting a regular-sized mug full of coffee and vanilla almond milk creamer.

I am a little dishearted by this occurrence, but I know that it is all part of my healing process. I was told that I will be mostly healed after one year, which means around the end of May 2023.

While I still require the use of a metal walker for stability, I am stronger than I was. I just need to be patient with my healing process, which seems to be quicker than I expected; to continue to walk and to engage in light exercises; and to make an appointment with my cardiologist.

Again, I thank you for your heartfelt prayers and your much-needed support. I, of course, also again thank my wonderful wife and my terrific mother for their selfless help, more so in recent months.