Cancer, Heart attack, open heart surgery, loss of hearing, vision not what it once was, broken wrist, arthritis everywhere, foot operations, shoulder operations

 I ran out of space for the title of this blog entry.   Too many physical problems to fit there.

I could have shortened the title to one word, I guess, and titled it:  "Aging."

This has been a good week on the "recovery" road, and I wanted to share it.

When you are in your upper 70s, "recovery" means something different than when you are in your 30s.  For one thing, the expectations are lower.  In your 70s, you will likely never recover to where you once were.  One reason is what I said earlier:  You are aging, and your body is always one step ahead of anything you can do to hold it back.

But I believe many people can beat it back quite a bit, and not let aging or illnesses be all there is.

One thing about my physical ailments is that none were life-style caused.  I had been taking care of my body, exercising (a LOT), eating right, maintaining a good weight, having regular vaccinations and preventative doctor checkups.

But some things you can't control.  Instead, nature controls them.

I had to have open heart surgery to replace a valve and an aorta.   The cause was that one of my valves (which was a tricuspid valve) had fused, so that it in essence became a bi-cuspid valve.  The cardiologist had no explanation for this and, apparently, had never seen it before.  With the bicuspid valve I was getting "regurgitation" back into the aorta which was enlarged as a result and threatening to burst. I caught it just in time.

Because of regular medical checkups, the sound from this regurgitation was caught by, of all people, a Urology P.A., which sent me on my road to the surgery.

Although the heart was repaired, it set in motion a number of other heart problems, like Atrial Fibrillation and an abnormal heart beat that eventually resulted in a heart attack.

And it also resulted in the necessity of a pacemaker.  

Then, five years ago I was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of prostate cancer.  I was treated for that with hormone depletion therapy and radiation.

This morning we got the latest of my blood tests, and it looks like I may have beaten a cancer that kills many men.  We'll know for sure when I have my appointment next week with the cancer specialist.

Then there are all of the "little" things.  Broke my wrist last fall hiking.  Need hearing aids, have arthritis in my wrists that will probably someday require a wrist rebuild.  sigh.  

I also had three shoulder surgeries and three foot surgeries in the past 15 years. 

And Vicky whose back never fully recovered from being rear-ended 30 years ago, is dealing with a bike fall she had last year and slipping on the ice this winter and breaking her wrist.   

Her back problem alone would have derailed most normal people, but she has valliantly fought through it and has thrived with our cycling, camping, hiking, and dancing.  Takes more than a broken back to stop her.

And it has taken more than the sum total of our medical problems to stop us.  We just kept treating the problems and, what do you know, they are better!!!

My heart's better, my cancer has all of the look of being licked, we are both wearing braces on our arms to facilitate healing and to prevent a problem if one of us falls again.

This morning, before sunrise, we were up again and walking on our beautiful golf paths in Leisure World.  By ourselves (well, plus a couple of coyotes who stopped to admire us).

We keep each other going.  Through this 7-year ordeal for us with my heart problems and cancer, my Vicky has kept us with our routines.  She acts as a buffer for external stresses.  (and we have no internal stresses in our marriage so that's not an issue).  Her energy and enthusiasm for life has to be a healing factor for me.  I have to think that having a stress-free day-to-day life is good for my body's healing.  And she's responsible for that.  

For example, here is a photo I just snapped of her re-arranging my heart medicines in anticipation of having a tooth pulled next week.  Everything is trickier these days.  But look at this photo.  Can you see the love in it?  She's doing that for me.  

We got an excellent report on my cancer status this morning. 

 Chances are that I can give her more years of the good life that she so richly deserves and has earned.   She has chosen me (ME) out of all of the men on the planet to trust to do my best to give her that.  I know I am good for it.  

Tomorrow we will walk once again in the early morning.  And then we will dance.  It will be 14 years tomorrow that I first saw this girl across the dance floor sparkling like nothing I had ever seen, and rushed to get my dance shoes on so I could ask her to dance before anybody else got to her first.  I made it!