Time To Celebrate

Porky Pig Looney Tunes

I NEVER THOUGHT I’D MAKE IT past my seventy-fifth birthday. Here I am, heading to my seventy-seventh birthday in a little over a week.

How nice is that!

I have miraculously outlived chronologically my grandparents, who passed away in their sixties and early seventies when I was a young lad. Both my parents made it to their mid-80s, but they certainly took better care of themselves than I have.

Even with a few complications this past year, which resulted in hospitalizations, I feel pretty darn good here in early June as I approach my birthday.

I hadn’t been a hospital patient for about fifty years. Yet this past year, I visited hospitals two times for emergencies – in Traverse City and in Grand Rapids. My care at both hospitals was superb, for which I am most grateful.

My medical issues kicked off with a bleeding ulcer in September. Four months later, heart complications came to the surface again in Traverse City, eventually leading to emergency surgery in Grand Rapids, where a surgical team replaced a defective mitral valve and thinned down an overly thick muscle in my septum using a robotic procedure that was selected at the last minute. This was spearheaded by a cardiac surgeon who felt I was an ideal candidate for this less invasive approach to my heart defects.

I’m sure glad he showed up on the scene.

For those interested, the problem was named Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy (HOCM) with an SRT Septal Myectomy. You do not have to remember this name for any future quiz.

As a humorist at heart, I’m now suggesting, through my family’s encouragement, that we honor our Asian brethren and celebrate the Year of the Pig a little early. You ask - what does this have to do with this story?

Well, my new valve is fabricated from a pig’s aorta (porcine for the refined amongst us). The pig is revered in Asian culture. As the final animal in the Chinese zodiac, pigs symbolize abundance, good fortune, and a deep appreciation for the simple pleasures of life.

This knowledge has deepened my appreciation for the amazing medical discoveries throughout our universe that I was the recipient of. I had a very different take on pigs before this valve became a part of me. Let’s hope I’m around to celebrate The Year of the Pig in the Chinese Lunar Calendar (2031).

Hooray for my good fortune.

I’m sticking with turkey bacon for a couple of good reasons.

That's All Folks!