Well that’s strange. She says, “high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes or kidney failure . . . can accelerate the build-up of plaque and calcium in arteries.” But at the same time, she says it has nothing to do with diet. Pretty much everyone else thinks that these conditions are related to diet.

Whatever causes plaque, I guess. Stands to reason!

I have alpha-gal allergy (from tick bites) and have been off of all mammalian products (including dairy) for almost 7 years now. My cholesterol levels have been in the normal range, triglycerides a little high. My carotid artery was completely clear, echocardiagram good, EKGs normal, etc. Stress test showed a slight blockage, and that's what prompted the heart catherization, which is the gold standard for seeing what's actually going on.

I continue to make good progress in recovery, with improvements in healing and energy each day. Today is day 17 since surgery, and I've got at least four more weeks to go before I begin cardiac rehab and can really put my heart and its new arteries to the test. Until then, it's all about staying the course and, if anything, not overdoing it.

Sr. Renee, Director of Heartland Center for Spirituality (where I work) has encouraged me to take until at least the end of the year as a health sabbatical, and I have accepted her offer. I had hoped to begin meeting with spiritual directees in late November or early December, but now I am still too weak for that, and so will use this sabbatical time to focus on getting well and recovering my strength. Barring complications, I should be fine by the end of the year, and will contact spiritual directees in late December and early January about scheduling options. In the meantime, anyone who has an urgent need can surely email me and we can find a time for a brief session, if need be.

I will be keeping up "A Daily Spiritual Seed" and other Internet tasks, but am canceling the Forum session scheduled for December 7th. We'll get back to that and much more (I hope) in January.

As the author of Ecclesiastes puts it, there is a time for this and a time for that, and now is the time in my life to continue recovering from an unexpected bypass surgery. All for the best (a la Rom. 8:28), I'm sure, especially with your ongoing prayer support.

Please continue checking in here for updates, which I will post when something significant turns up. I am happy to reply to questions and comments here as well.

Thinking of you, Phil. Rest up!

Happy Thanksgiving!
I'm especially grateful this year for a new start on the rest of my life with a heart that now works better than before. This morning marks three weeks from surgery, and I can already tell the difference at times in energy, though not yet stamina. That will come with time.

I'm grateful, too, for those of you who've been supportive in prayer and encouragement. I have been positive and peaceful all along, and I'm sure that's why.

Finally, I'm most grateful to my wife, Lisa, who has been called on to help take care of me in many ways, even as she struggled with her own health issues. That's all getting better, too.

May your day be blessed, and thank you for your continuing prayers.

So glad to know things are progressing well, Phil, and belated Thanksgiving blessings to you and Lisa. I was in the US of A for Thanksgiving many years ago and it was a wonderful day full of exotic delicacies like Pumpkin Pie! Of course, we don't have Thanksgiving Down Under but we do have the Black Friday sales!!! Can you believe it?! It's that auspicious Friday today and Australians are worshiping in the cathedrals of consumption! Anyway, I'm thankful for your wisdom, teaching and example (befriending you online is a bonus

...you're truly a blessing to all of us. Go well, mate!

Thanks, Tim, and good to hear from you.
I'm not sure what's "black" about black Friday, but a good sale is a good sale, no matter what you call it.

Lisa shared this picture on Facebook yesterday. We are well as in "not-sick," but I'm still under quite a few restrictions with a lot of healing left to go. Still, things are better every day.

thanksgiving23.jpg (137 Kb, 137 downloads) Phil and Lisa - Thanksgiving 2023

We had quite a snowstorm (10 inches) on Sunday, and this was stressful for a number of reasons. First and foremost are my ongoing restrictions on doing anything strenuous -- like shoveling snow, for example, or prepping backup heater options, generator, etc. As it turned out, we lost power for only a brief period, but it was still difficult to relax and just enjoy what was really a beautiful downpour of snow. No strong winds or bitter cold! In the end, Lisa got out and did some shoveling, which allowed her to go out and about, running errands.

Today is our 47th wedding anniversary, and we will try for a special meal somehow. It's also day 25 since surgery, and day 39 since my heart cath. What this means is that I have been either in the hospital or confined to home all that time, with several weeks yet to go. Health is still good, so at least that, and if we can be done with the winter storms, even better!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Phil,

It's now four weeks since surgery. Yesterday evening I went to Mass and it was the first time I'd been out of the house since returning home. Lisa drove there as I have to avoid any possibility of an airbag deploying on me for another month, so I sat in the back seat, with a pillow cushioning my seatbelt.

There is mostly no pain these days, even when coughing. Sneezes are the worst as they come up suddenly, sometimes before I can grab a pillow to hug. Still noting improvements in strength and energy each day, and rather enjoying this slow-paced, relaxed lifestyle, on the whole.

My surgeon has cleared me for driving short distances, so today I hopped in my trusty van and rode around the neighborhood, looking at waterfowl in some of the local ponds and lakes. The overwhelming majority of birds were Canada and Cackling Geese, though I did get some pictures of a few duck species as well. Attached below is a decent photo of a drake Common Goldeneye.

It was good to be out and about! Overall healing and strength continues to improve and I'm grateful for your prayers, which support this process.

cgeye.jpg (178 Kb, 116 downloads) Common Goldeney

That Goldeneye sent me to a happy place. So serene! Great to know that you're able to enjoy the outdoors again. Blessings on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. Tim

Brief health update: I had appointments with cardiologist and surgeon today and both thought things were going well. It was my final visit with the surgeon, so I guess that's something, a "graduation" of sorts. Local driving permitted and weight limit increased to 20 lbs.
- Feeling good, overall, doing lots of walking each day. That seems to be the main therapy.
- Cardiac rehab starts next week and that should help me fully transition back to an active lifestyle.

I am grateful for your prayers and support the past few weeks.

I started Cardia Rehab at Wesley Hospital yesterday and now have clarity about when these classes will meet -- M, W, Th from 12:30 - 1:30 p.m., starting this week. I know we'll be off for Christmas, and most likely New Years Day as well. Classes will entail times for education and supervised exercise programs that monitor heart function. The plan is for 12 classes in all, so I should be done by mid-January if I stay healthy.

Now that I have this info, I will begin contacting spiritual directees about scheduling appointments beginning in January. My plan is to try to pick up where I left off, and I will initiate contacts with a suggested meeting time based on past patterns. No doubt, this will be a messy transition period, with lots of email and text exchanges going back and forth.

Health continues to improve. I can cough now without using a pillow, but sneezes are still difficult! I am almost at the 7-week mark since surgery, and from what I've read, the sternum is fairly well healed by now. Still restricted to 20 lb. weight load.

I hope your Advent is filled with blessings. Thank you for your prayers.

It's great to hear that you're progressing from strength to strength. Have a blessed Christmas with your family!

Another brief update with positive news to report. Cardiac rehab is going well, and I have begun work again, attending a staff meeting via Zoom yesterday and meeting with a spiritual directee. Almost everyone I was meeting with before has been rescheduled, so it feels like I'm starting to pick up where I left off.

At this time, the only restriction that remains is that I'm not supposed to lift more than 20 lbs. I suspect that will increase, in time. For now, it means no shoveling snow tomorrow or Monday, but hopefully the storms will be light.

Wishing you all a happy new year!