What I am Thankful for this Christmas Season

         So here is the thing: Everyday I would come home from work, and literally collapse in exhaustion. Once I sat down in a chair or stretched out on the bed, I was out like a light. Some days it was a major effort just to get out of the car and go in the house. I didn't think anything was wrong because as long as I was working, I felt fine, so I just wrote it off as fatigue after a long days work. But during the summer, I liked to ride my bike to work on nice days, and that is when I started realizing that maybe something else was amiss. I took pride in being able to ride my bike up a long hill, but gradually, I was getting off my bike further and further from the top, because it literally felt like my chest would burst as I put out the effort to climb the hill.
          So I told my Cardiologist and he ordered up some tests. To make a long story short, I ended up having my Aortic valve replaced with a mechanical thing-a-ma-bob. That was six weeks ago on October 30th. What is another artificial part, when you have an artificial hip, elbow and assorted other scars and pieces throughout your body?
          If I hadn't gone ahead with the surgery, I was taking a big risk that eventually I would drop dead. That is the kind of thing that will motivate you to do what you need to do.
          I am very thankful that this condition was caught and rectified before it could do me in. I am very thankful for my wife and the rest of my family and friends for being so supportive and helpful during my recuperation and rehab. I have a lot to be Merry about this Christmas season. How about you?