Today I had my first visit to the Cardiac Rehabilitation Clinic.  Though I had been looking forward to going since I was still in the hospital, the reality of going *right now* had me extremely agitated.  The Buddhist, who I need to repeat has been amazingly supportive through all this, had taken the day off…

My husband made a statement pretty early on in this recovery process that’s become an aphorism we say to each other on a fairly regular basis now. It’s a simple truth: Heart Attacks aren’t Magic. I know this may sound like a very obvious statement, but you kind of expect them to be. A major…

Dear Bah-Kaboo* and Wisteria,* Forgive my delay in responding to your recent voice message serenade in honor of my birthday.  It was timely, lovely and very much appreciated.  As I’ve often noted, you ladies really do have dulcet, melodious voices that are genuinely agreeable to hear.  I regret to inform you, however, that while your…

Since my recent heart attack, my diet has been severely restricted by the combination of the low fat/low salt changes you would expect, but also by the myriad food interactions that can occur with my laundry list of medications.  Added to the mix is that I am vegetarian – well, pescatarian… I do occasionally eat…

It’s my birthday.  If things had gone differently 28 days ago, I wouldn’t be celebrating one.  That’s such a weird thought, but it’s true every day, isn’t it?  Today is my birthday, but if things had gone differently Saturday when we dropped off and picked up the kids from their friends’ houses in the car…

My life was pretty sedentary before.  As a lawyer, most of my work time was spent sitting down.  Court appearances and client meetings move you around a little, but mostly, it’s a sit down job for most types of attorneys.  When I’d finish my workday, I’d sit on my couch and check email and FaceBook;…

This is my new normal. Sitting in the lobby of the Anticoagulation Clinic at the hospital for another INR check to see how quickly my blood clots on the blood thinners I am taking.  They are not really blood thinners; that is a misnomer. They don’t thin your blood, they simply prevent it from clotting…

When I went to the hospital, folks were really vague and uncommunicative about what was wrong with me.  I’d been in the ICU for almost 10 hours when a nurse who I was pretty much disobeying asked, “Do you even understand what’s happening here?  You’re having a heart attack. You know that, right?” I was…

It’s 5am.  I can’t sleep.  Well, I’ve been sleeping most of the day and eve, but have awoken.  I’ve been having weird dreams since the heart attack. Even weirder than before it, which were already dreams that soundly fell in the weird category. I’m drinking a cup of rice nog, a treat we allowed ourselves…

I ate my dead rabbit’s oats today.  He always enjoyed them as such a treat.  He would eat out of my hand and tickle my palm with his whiskers.  He was awesome. Since Peanut died, the big canister of oats has been untouched. Then I had a heart attack. It’s really hard to figure out…