Happy Holidays!

I can't believe Thanksgiving has come and gone already. There was and is so much to be thankful for in my family this year. I think I had some angels watching over me.

I'm back at work now. The cardiologist was able to do an electro conversion on me and it was successful! My heart is back at its normal rhythm and I feel strong once again. Honest, 24 hours after the conversion, I felt almost as though the heart attack had never happened.

I'm being kept on the blood thinners for another few weeks to ward off the threat of any blood clots that may have been lurking around. I appreciate the protection, but the medicine is giving me some very bad headaches daily. I've never been one to have a continued problem with headaches. I can't take aspirin or any sinus medicine. In fact, I can't take anything that might even remotely help me with these headaches, so my defense has been to try and doze off as early as I can in my recliner each night. This doesn't leave a lot of time in the day or night to fool around on the computer.

I like the Holiday Season. This is one of my favorite times of the year. It's fun to watch Trenton get all excited about the prospect of Santa and the gifts under the tree. We're making lists at my house this year and we're checking them twice.

After my heart attack, all of the chores fell to Paulette. It's nice to be able to help her out around the house again. I also love all the aromas I'm starting to smell around the house, too.

Trenton is pitching in and doing his part to help out as well. This whole affair seems to have brought us all a little bit closer as a family and sure has given us a chance to see just how lucky we've been and how we've been truly blessed.Happy

Cold weather comes late here in Savannah, Georgia. This year, though, we've had a few cold snaps that were a little unexpected for so early in the season and record lows were set.

This is a shot of one of our lovely bushes the day after one of these cold fronts marched through. All the blossoms seemed to fall at once all together. We may be in for a long winter here this year. Of course I'm seeing the word "snow," pop up in a lot of the other blogs out there, so I guess I shouldn't complain too loudly, LOL.

This reminds me that it is time to go buy the family tree. I look forward to having Trenton here to help me decorate it this year. With Trenton here I know Paulette and Aunt Sandy will all chip in to put the ornaments on after Trenton and I finish with the lights. It will be another family event and a lifetime memory for us all. I'll be taking lots of pictures to share will Y'all.

Yes, for our family this will be a very special Holiday Season. Please keep your thoughts and prayers going for Donna over at D's Designs. Donna is recovering from a much more serious heart attack than the one I experienced. She's doing better, but recovery is always at a slow pace for what she's gone through. I know she will appreciate each and every thought and prayer.

As a final note for this post, I need to credit my Microsoft Publisher program for the clip art in this entry. The photo of the bush was one I took myself, or course.

Happy Holidays, everybody! I'll try to get around a little more and to post a little more often through the Holiday Season. See Ya soon!

Sam

On Hold Due To Some Health Issues

I just wanted to write a short entry to let everyone know why I haven't been posting or reading journals lately. After posting my last entry, I felt very weak and became out of breath easily. The next morning I drove myself to my doctor's office instead of going to work. He took one look at me and called an ambulance. It seems I suffered a very mild heart attack.

I spent three days and nights in the hospital while they did every test they could on me. The dye procedure showed that all my arteries are clean as a whistle and that there was no damage or loss to the muscles in either the upper or lower chamber of my heart. What I have is an atrial fibrillation, or an irregular heartbeat.

I'm currently on some heavy duty blood thinner medication to reduce the threat of blood clots. In a couple of weeks, the doctor will put me under and shock me back into a regular heart rhythm. If the procedure works, I should start feeling normal almost right away. Until then, I still get winded extremely easily and can feel pain in the chest area. The blood thinner makes me feel different… I don't know how to express it except to say things have a surreal quality to them and I don't do well at reading for long periods.

I'll start up here again once I have the procedure and feel my old self again. In the mean time, I hope you are all doing well.

Sam