I'm Still Alive

 1:09 a.m. (ET), November 5, 2025, Boca Raton Regional Hospital

Hello, folks. I'M STILL ALIVE, but in severe pain, here in the Surgical ICU (Intensive Care Unit) of Boca Raton Regional Hospital after surgery on November 4, 2025.

PHOTO: Here are my legs after surgery. You can see the wounds in my left foot (black toes and also heel), there before my surgery and quickly caused by my lack of blood circulation, while my right foot is wound-free, still receiving lesser blood flow, but much more than my left foot. I included a basic photo (inset) of what the surgeon did.

I just awoke from serious surgery that took SIX HOURS to complete. I entered the Operating Room at 5 p.m. (ET) and woke from the anesthesia at 10:40 p.m., confused and wondering about the election for some unknown reason. I am still rather foggy, but I am fast regaining coherence.

For my surgery, I first had the main (partially blocked) artery in my right thigh cleaned out, including placement of a stent, to restore circulation to my lower right leg.

I then had a major vein within my right thigh removed and inserted within my left thigh during artery-bypass surgery. The main artery behind my left knee was, and still is, completely blocked (occluded), so I required surgery to restore blood flow to the lower part of my left leg by connecting my removed (right) vein to the two functioning sections of my left artery, thereby bypassing the blockage.

Damn, this hurts. I am experiencing severe pain in both of my legs, even with strong pain medication.

Hearing my now-strong blood flow in both of my ankles, to listen to my blood flow, when the nurse used the Doppler device, is quite nice. You don't tend to appreciate something as simple as blood flow to the lower extremities until you lose it and have it restored.