June 13: In Stow at Judy’s for my rehab.

June 12: Had a descent night’s sleep at my home on Saturday evening, in my own bed to boot! So the sleep quality seems to be improving by the day. Was also able yet again to do a bit of sleeping on my left and right sides. Though I think the negative byproduct of that is a bit more chest pain in the morning because of my putting more pressure on the chest cavity when sleeping in the fetal position. 

Now I’m still kind of moving slow compared to pre-surgery days. And I think I’m noticing this because I’m getting more active lately. So as I’m gaining more energy, I’m seeing that I have a ways to go yet before everything is feeling totally back to normal. It’s kind of hard to describe actually, but I notice I’m moving in slow motion compared to the good old days. I just don’t have that “spring” in my step yet. 

So back at Judy’s I did my walk, going for about 4.5 miles in 1:30 hrs. I went just about 5 minutes further down the trail today than my previous longest walks (this equalled about 10 minutes further round trip), which I’ve been trying to keep at the 4-mile mark. What with the weather being so cool and agreeable, I just felt like going a bit further. Felt pretty good from a cardio standpoint, and I was happy to feel like my legs were getting tired from the effort. I have tracked various points in this walk with respect to time, and I seem to be walking dead on consistent in my pacing. So I know I’m not upping the pace and intensity as I increase the distance. Hoping to get a bit more direction this Thursday from my cardiologist as to just how long and far I can go. 

I mean I’m a bit hesitant to go much further and longer than where I’m at right now. So I’ll keep the distance at or less than where I walked yesterday up to my Thursday doc appt. If he gives me the green light to continue to increase the distance, then I’ll be super happy to go like 1:45-2 hrs on my walks. If he backs me off from where I’m at now, then I’ll do as he says. 

The rest of the day was a kind of visiting day for us. First, my friend Tommy from Dover did an hour up and back to come up to visit for a couple hours. Then later in the early evening Scott, Angie & their daughter, and Wendy all stopped by to visit us. Angie and Wendy even brought us some prepared dinners. So really, between Tommy in the early afternoon, and then Scott, Angie and Wendy in the late afternoon, our day just flew by. As I’ve said before, it’s just great to have people stop by. This totally makes the day easier to deal with. Think about it, I mean other than my walk and a few ancillary trips to the grocery or my house, my life consists of just sitting here watching the world go by. At times it’s a bit like being in prison. 

I guess it’s a huge overstatement to compare being stuck here all day to being in prison. How about “Home Confinement”? So anyway, when we have folks over, it’s just so refreshing to sit around and catch up on life with others. I think we ended up spending the whole afternoon out on the patio enjoying the day with friends. And again, I’ve said it countless times, but all of you have been so amazing what with your phone calls, cards, and taking the time to stop over here to visit. We can’t thank you enough for your friendship and support. Love you guys!