I have written before about depression and dealing with health issues but, as they say, sometimes it is easier said than done!
And not wishing to look like I was complaining or wanting sympathy I simply felt it was best to just not write, leave it alone and wait until I was in a better frame of mind.
Since early February I had to deal with a bout of shingles for the first time which just lingered and wouldn't go away. Although I was able to get it treated quickly, the pain and discomfort went on for well over a month and it was pretty debilitating.
And then a week or so after being diagnosed with shingles, I broke a tooth (molar) which left half a tooth complete with root buried below the gumline, and it was impacting on the sinus cavity. I won't go into the issue of pain this was causing or the worry that an infection could have implications for my heart issues.
Had to deal with this and wait close to four weeks until I could get oral surgery to remove the offending broken tooth and root. And all this whilst I was still dealing with the shingles thing.
And whilst all this was going on I was finding myself reaching out for my GTN spray more than in the past with angina type issues - not surprising I guess, given what I was dealing with and the stress that came with it.
In early April, at my scheduled annual review, my cardiologist suggested I have an angiogram given what was going on with the increased episodes of chest discomfort and tightness and my increased use of GTN .
The angiogram took place mid May and this week I am due to see my cardiologist to get the full results. What I do know having been told this the day of the angiogram is that the stents and bypasses I had in 2007 when I had my heart attack are all working fine.
What got me somewhat concerned was hearing that a new 99% stenosis (narrowing) of the right coronary artery (RCA) had developed and an attempt to place a stent (angioplasty) had failed.
This new blockage was below where they put in three stents in 2007 for a 100% blockage. The good news was that my body had created a sort of natural "collateral" bypass around the new blockage. I was also told on the day that there was evidence of my body creating more "new" vessels around where I had previously had heart damage. More details about this I hope to get this week when I see my cardiologist.
Right Coronary Artery Collateral Circulation
So I think you can see that I had plenty on my plate over the past 3-4 months. Just trying to keep a positive outlook over this period was and has been challenging at times but I kept up with giving my talks to our local cardiac rehab unit and last Wednesday did my first session for the year at an ultrasound college where I have been a volunteer patient for the past 5+ years.
A couple of other things that I tried to do whenever possible was my daily 20-30 minutes of walking and probably what was for me more significant was getting out there and taking photos, photos of our wildlife visitors, photos of live music events where we live and photos in and around where we live on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia.
For me, photography has become my "go to" activity when things are not going all that well and, as I have written before, I can not stress enough for people to find or develop a hobby/interest when they are dealing with recovering from a health scare or simply when they are finding life a bit challenging.
Some of my photos can be viewed at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/paradisephotos/albums/72157659917363575
And I haven't mentioned what is going on in our household with my wife following her being diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer in early 2013 and her having an oophorectomy and bilateral mastectomy in late 2014 and the after effects. Yep, lots of medical related issues over the past couple of months have kept me/us on our toes.
Good luck everyone, life can get tough but with a bit of planning, you and I can get past these obstacles.
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