Toward the end of December, almost the last day, my husband received a call from the electrophysiologist’s assistant who was going to set up another CT Scan to get the process going for the cryoablation. However, after everything my husband had been through he thought, “What if the fluid in my chest cavity was contributing to the AFib symptoms.” He decided to take and “wait and see” approach, he wanted to see after having the fluid drained, getting over the pneumonia, getting more acclimated to the CPap machine, would all these positive changes still show he was in AFib?

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I am happy to report that he has not had a reoccurrence of those symptoms since the fluid was drained! He began working for another employer, who’s processes were very different than what he was used to. He began to make changes and learned to adapt to the CPap machine, which has really helped him!

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My husband was beginning to adjust to his “New Norm” when at the beginning of April he happened to be checking to see if his current employer had posted a job on the internet when he saw an opening at another facility. He was not satisfied with the way the new employer was doing business and he applied for this new position.

He went for the interview not expecting too much, and he ended up being there over one hour. He was immediately called for a second interview, and that peer interview lasted over an hour where he was given a tour of the facility. Within a few days he was offered the position!

In May he started his new position that required him to have an extensive physical with required blood pressure level, able to lift so much weight, able to walk a good distance. He passed with flying colors!

In June our daughter and her boyfriend started a daunting fence project! The HOA required a 4ft. Shadowbox Dogeared Fence. At first they investigated having it installed by a fence company, but that was not a budget friendly option. My husband has done fences in the past, so our family worked with them to accomplish this project…one picket at a time as we could not find one company in our area that sold 4f. Shadowbox Dogeared panels to consumers!

When a person has to go through what my husband went through, it is human nature to think, “How will this turn out?”, “Will I be ok?”, “What can I expect with all of this?” The hospital surgical process is daunting and scary. We were fortunate we had each other to support one another. I have not mentioned at all the amazing support our daughters were during this time…thats what is so important, the love and support of your family members. Our eldest daughter would swing by the hospital after work, and stop by once her dad was home to spend time with him. Our youngest daughter is a nurse, so she was wonderful to ask questions, to help us understand everything. The day her dad came home from the hospital, she met us, helped with the discharge questions, she got all his medications.

Our daughters had a blanket for the hospital and a bathrobe ordered just for their dad! It was these small gestures of love and kindness that I believe helped him to heal and recover and come back even stronger. There is a “Light at the end of the Tunnel”. It is possible to “Get To The Other Side”…it just takes consistent work, doing the cardiac rehab, making sure to take the medications as prescribed. The love and support of family and friends can get a heart patient over those “not so great” days. He had his share in the autumn of 2018. He persevered and he kept moving forward to “Get Himself to the Other Side!”

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Thank you for reading my series The Journey!