Shame on me for taking so long to post an update to my website. Who knew retirement would be so busy!? Knock on wood, all is well. I appreciate everyone who’s checked in on me!

A few months ago, I was cleaning up and came a cross an old friend of mine:

Other than being a nice souvenir from the surgery, this heart pillow actually played a vital role in my recovery.

To be able to do what they needed to do to my heart, the surgeon literally sawed open my ribcage to get access. After the bypass work was completed, the surgical team wired the ribcage back up. Here’s a picture of the actual X-ray that depicts the wires used to wire my ribcage back together:

After the surgery, I had to avoid any motion that put stress on these wires (envision a pushup being performed). I was told stories of the (very) bad things that can happen when these wires break, as you can imagine!

During recovery, while sitting or lying down, I kept this pillow on my chest. When I needed to get up, I would wrap both arms around the pillow and engage my core. The wrapping of arms around the pillow helps bypass patients resist the natural temptation of having the hands and arms push down in order to help you get up. Instead, you are forced to engage your core in order to get out of bed or a chair.

During the first couple of months of recovery, I was limited to lifting no more than the weight of a gallon of milk. The worst-case pushup exercise was permitted a few months after that. After around three months, the ribcage was good to go, and I was pretty much unrestricted.

Lastly, I am sure at least one of you has this question: Will those wires be detected by airport scanners? The answer: Nope

That’s all for now. I welcome and appreciate the prodding for more updates!