Back In The Saddle Again- My Recent Surgery

Hey gang-

For those who may not have known, I recently went through a cardiac double bypass.

Last month my doctor discovered something he didn’t like on my EKG during my quarterly physical, so I had a stress test, which saw a blockage. I was scheduled for a heart cath procedure to see if a stint(s) was needed. My cardiologist found a 60% blockage in one artery, and a 100% in another- AKA “The Widowmaker“. He also found evidence that I had a heart attack in the past but didn’t know it. The good news was he didn’t think any permanent damage was done and my collateral arteries had taken up the slack- the bad news it would require heart surgery. We met with my heart surgeon soon after. I was feeling a lot better after hearing nothing but great things about both of my cardiac doctors- and my surgeon’s dad performed the first successful cardiac by-pass. I was literally in good hands. 

My wife Nicki and had already had a mini-vacation to New Orleans scheduled for my birthday and our anniversary, and the doctors gave us permission to get away for a few days as long as I took it easy. After the past month we really needed to get away for a bit, relax, and get our minds off the heart situation before surgery. We walked around the French Quarter a lot, visited some shops and art galleries, ate at a few restaurants, and did the WWII Museum and Mardi Gras World tours (I’ll post Have Geek Will Travel blogs on those). It was a nice break from all the health craziness we’d been going through lately, and we got to spend some fun time together before I would be incapacitated for a bit. Nicki’s been great, and I can honestly say that I wouldn’t still be here without her. As an artist and a longtime bachelor I didn’t have the healthiest lifestyle. She helped me change my diet, and kicked me in the pants until I mad my first doctor’s appointment. We’ve gotten my blood pressure back to normal, blood sugar waaaaay down, and I’ve lost some weight. Now we just have to deal with this curve ball we’ve been thrown.

 

I had to stay a week in the hospital, but the medical staff all seemed to think I was back up on my feet quickly and off to a good speedy recovery. Our cats have taken turns being my shadow and/or foot-warmer.

Am back in the Batcave and working on some new sketchcovers and sketchcards to have for sale at the new Comics Cellar location in Bartlett, TN (now known as “The Cellar Table Top Games and Comics“.). Am staying away from commissions and deadlines, and looking forward to focusing on things that seem fun to draw and have been on the back-burner for a while. I’ll be taking progress shots and sharing them here and on Facebook and Twitter. Next up is a JWS Flash from the new series.

Oh, I also have some tees and prints for sale at the DeSoto Arts Council in Hernando, MS in case you are looking for some fun holiday gifts.

Thanks for stopping by- will have a new art blog post up soon!

Lin

Back In The Saddle Again- My Recent Surgery
Tagged on: