Me As Superman

January 21, 2023

My wife took this photo of myself this afternoon at our home during a day-early birthday celebration for my mother. I am using it as my Facebook profile photo; as my YouTube channel profile photo; as my Google profile photo; and as my profile photo and my main photo on my personal blog. (I cropped out some of the blank space at the top of the photo.)

My wife gave me for Christmas two Superman T-shirts: one charcoal-colored and one blue (her idea). The company accidentally sent her two more Superman T-shirts, a black one and another blue one, but the black T-shirt unfortunately is too small for me.

My wife now (sometimes) refers to me as Superman because I survived seven-hour-long, quadruple coronary artery bypass surgery in March 2022, plus TWO chest reconstructive surgeries about a week apart in May 2022. I relate more to Superman's alter-ego Clark Kent because I was a journalist from 1982 to 2017.

In this photo, you can see the two-inch-long scar in my left thigh from where my heart surgeon removed part of a main vein to use during the surgery on my heart; four segments were used. (I also have an inch-wide, eight-inch-long, vertical scar in the middle of my chest from my lower neck to my upper belly from all three surgeries, plus a purposely broken sternum within my chest.)

Late last year, I purchased an Army green T-shirt with the words in a crest on the front: "Quadruple Bypass Survivor/Official Member/Open Heart Surgery."

This afternoon, my wife and I invited my mother to our home to celebrate my mom's birthday a day early. We enjoyed White Chocolate Raspberry Cake, cannoli, and cookies, both Italian and Linzer. Prior, we enjoyed a small charcuterie that my wife made: cheeses (Brie and Swiss), black pepper-encrusted salami, Saltine crackers, slices of French bread, and pitted black olives.