Surgery Anniversary

from husband Bill

Today (May 19, 2026) is the 4th anniversary of my 2nd of 3 heart-related surgeries, which is also my 1st of 2 chest surgeries. All 3 surgeries were in 2022. My wife took this photo of myself on May 19, 2022, several hours after my surgery.

*1st Surgery (March 9, 2022): I had quadruple coronary artery bypass surgery. As usual, a section of a vein in my left thigh was removed to be used in my open-heart surgery. I had two drains installed in my belly.

*2nd Surgery (May 19, 2022): A surgeon removed the sternal plates from my 1st surgery that were holding my broken breastbone pieces together from within my chest. The screws became loose. He also cleaned out much of a staph infection also from within my chest. A wound vacuum was then attached to my chest, sucking out the remaining infection and discharge, running 24 hours per day. My chest remained open for a week with the wound vacuum constantly sucking, except during bandage changes for 20 minutes every other day.

*3rd Surgery (May 25, 2022): A surgeon closed my chest by attaching seven sutures, leaving me with eight holes in my body from my lower neck to my upper belly. The wound vacuum was reattached and continued to suck on my chest for many more weeks. The vacuum also served to pull the wounds together to increase the speed of my healing process.

My other recent surgeries:

*September 2023: 1st spine surgery (remove abscess in infected disk)

*October 2023: 2nd spine surgery (placement of titanium metal rod to hold my spine together due to a bone infection)

*April 2024: right ankle surgery due to 2 fractures

*November 2025: artery bypass surgery (3-foot-long blockage in main artery in my left leg; removal of 3-foot-long vein in my right leg and inserted within my left leg)

*November 2025: left foot surgery (3rd and 4th toes of my left foot amputated due to artery blockage)

*April 2026: angioplasty of main vein in left leg related to artery-bypass 

Other previous surgeries: three other surgeries on my left foot; nasal/sinus; and tonsils (in 1966, age 5). Also, two plural effusions (draining of fluid surrounding my lungs) and six weeks of dialysis.