Winter Solstice & Treatment Plan Update

Dec 21

Written By Cindy

"But I also say this: that light is an invitation to happiness, and that happiness, when it’s done right, is a kind of holiness, palpable and redemptive."
-Mary Oliver

I have a love/hate relationship with winter. The shorter days coupled with the classic gray skies of Michigan winter feels oppressive to me after weeks into the season. The sun shows itself rarely and when it does, it is often too cold to enjoy outdoor activities for long periods of time. We live in a snowbelt area and while I find winter a beautiful season, I do not enjoy extremely cold weather and just getting around in deep snow takes energy I no longer have. I have always been an outdoors person and too many days indoors causes cabin fever. It’s a real thing. By the the time we reach winter solstice, I am more than ready for longer days. I’ll take those few extra minutes of daylight, thank you very much.

As far as my treatment plan, I met with the interventional cardiologist this week. He was very thorough and explained my condition well. My aortic stenosis is now in the serious stage and the valve has narrowed and thickened to the point where my heart is working too hard to keep my blood flow moving. I definitely need a valve replacement. It is a serious and risky procedure, but the risks are much lower than not replacing the valve. It is a progressive condition that will only become worse.
Since radiation would be damaging to a new valve, his suggestion was to get my radiation therapy done before the heart surgery, so I will be seeing my radiologist in early January.

For now, I am catching up on some much needed rest. I had 5 medical appointments this month, and that has been my ‘norm ‘ for the past year. Some days I felt as if I was running on pure adrenaline, so I’m going to take advantage of this much needed break. If I do nothing more than sleep and cuddle with my husband and Mojo, I’m very ok with that. I’ll keep up with my journaling, perhaps paint a bit and check in on Post.news now and then. It is a new social media platform, and while still in beta, I’m finding it to be a breath of fresh air. I hope to see some of you there eventually.

Peace.

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*I have a GoFundMe account to help us afford transportation for so very many medical appointments and a mountain of medical bills. Any and all donations are appreciated as well as your good thoughts. My heartfelt gratitude to those who have made this a bit less difficult.
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