I just wanted to reach out here for a moment and give some encouragement to those here who might need some today.
Above all .... Don't. Give. Up.
I had my CABGx3 9 months ago. 3 months after that I had to go back for additional stents. I've suffered with stable angina every day. Every morning when I stand in front of the mirror I see that scar. I stare at it. Now that the weather is cold every day I feel that angina ...
Until .... one day I didn't. I can't point to that day. I can't pin point the time but I have realized lately that there are days now when I go to bed and realize that I had not felt nor thought about my angina that day. Then another day I would get to work and realize that I had not stared at my scar in the mirror that morning. Then another day I realized that I was thinking and planning about what I wanted to do in the spring/summer. Where I wanted to go. What I wanted to do. It wasn't a light switch that got turned on. It's more like a dimmer switch that very very slowly gets turned up.
I think what I'm getting at here is if you are in that place we've all been where you wonder if you will ever feel normal again or if you will ever think about things differently, just get through today. This is not something that we go through that will be there one day and will be gone the next. It's so very gradual that you don't even notice it's happening. But you will wake up one day and realize .... I feel good. And feeling good, even for an hour, is an accomplishment in itself. Enjoy that hour. Relish that hour.
Stay with your rehab. Keep talking to people who will listen. Keep doing what your doctor is telling you. I know it seems sometimes like it will never end. Trust me .... I've been there. But it will. There is always tomorrow.
Hope this helps someone today :)
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Craig Ellis
Bremerton WA
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