picture
taken June 17, 2009

It has now been 336 days since I had my aorta valve
replacement surgery and 336 days since I have had a cigarette!!! I am
still surprised that the latter has been so easy for me after smoking 3 packs a
day for over 55+ years and, more so, haven't even been tempted!

This month has been one of good news and bad news
regarding physical health so I will touch on all of it.

Regarding the operation
the scar seems almost invisible though it is more itchy now than it has been at
any time but I can live with it.

I am, always have been
and, probably, always will be, obsessive about my weight. June 23, 2008 I
weighed 191 pounds, 6 pounds more than I like and 11 more than I should be. This
week I weighed in at 201, 16 more than I like and 21 more than I should be and
upset that I have gone over the 200 pound mark. Adding insult to injury too many
people have made remarks about my looking fatter! I am now, once again,
getting  serious about the situation
and going for 185 by the end of July.

Whether it is the weight or age or the medicine I am
taking (I would rather blame the latter two than the first LOL) I am having a
little harder time breathing and a very hard time walking!

I had a procedure done by
the vascular surgeon last week and the prognosis wasn't too good at least as far
as the legs and walking goes. I did try, for the first time, today, to walk
around the whole perimeter of Gateway (really have no idea how far it is) as I
would eventually like to be able to walk up to the Gateway center and movie
which is a little less than a mile away. I had to stop three times making this
trip as the pain in the calves ripped through me and the breathing was getting
labored, so I am going to get out and do some more walking EVERYDAY plus get
into pool and do kicks and walking in the water.

I was, also, warned by my
primary that the heat and humidity will affect my breathing and he doesn't want
me to stay out during the day for too long periods of time. Guess my walking for
30 minutes a day and breathing (yeah, guess I have to do the latter!!!) will be
a challenge but I will do it.

I have been having trouble with my eyes: red.
burning and itchy. The ophthalmologist has given me three different kinds of
drops the past month but none have worked. I, also, am having a hard time
adjusting to the hearing 'echo' problem caused by the operation.

It's not all bad news, folks! As I said I haven't
smoked in eleven months which has to count for a lot!! It also seems like the
shingles vaccine will be given to me in the very near future and, very important
to me, my old sleep patterns are returning and I have very few, less than one in
two weeks, bad nights. I am going to sleep around 1:30-2 AM and getting up
between 9-10:30 PM--even slept until 11:30 AM yesterday!!!

Allen will be gone the
first two weeks in July and I will be having his car so I am going to do the
'specialists' rounds: cardiologist, urologist,ophthalmologist ,  dentist,
dermatologist, etc., which goes along with cutting back on all my doctor's
visits. The specialists once every 6 months, unless one requires a necessary
call back, and my primary once a month. My NET recommended a 'swallow and
speech' therapist so I might include that with the specialists if I can find a
convenient one.

All in all I am one heck of a lot better than I was
8-11 months ago and have come to realize that age will, in all probability,
prevent me getting back to being the 100% I was but I can deal/live with
that.

Hey, 'kids', age is NOT
just a number and you are NOT as old as you feel--wait until you learn, and
experience, the wisdom of the aging!!!  LOL