It's good to be back.

I am back after an absence of 14 days. Amazing how one minute you think you are healthy and the next, you know you are not.

Firstly I would like to say a very big thank you for all the support, prayers and words of encouragement to me and Suzi-k, I cannot even begin to tell how much these meant to us.

It all started with the heart attack, which was the easy part. A bit of pain in the chest and shortness of breath and then it was over, but by then I was in casualty. I was still hoping it was a case indegestion or stress.

From there I was transferred to the cardiac care unit, connected to machines, drips and oxygen. I felt like a complete fraud and would have happily left, but the blood tests showed evidence of a heart attack. My condition appeared to be reasonable and the perception was that I would probably need a stent and could go home after a few days.

The angiogram came two days later. It said, "Sorry bud, no stents for you - you definitely need a bypass, make that four". The cardiologist pointed out that the area that had suffered the attack had received colateral support from the arteries on the other side of my heart, which minimized the damage. A few more tests showed that my heart had suffered no major damage. One of the nurses told me I was obviously being looked after by a higher power.

The consensus was that I was a walking time bomb and would need the bypass, sooner rather than later. "How about tomorrow," I suggested. That settled it.

Then followed a series of meetings with the surgeon, the anaethatist, the physiotherapist, a psychologist etc, etc to prepare me for the operation and the post operation recovery. Nothing prepared me for what I was about to experience.

Day three I was sedated prior to going into surgery and was as high as a kite, so remember nothing of being prepped for the operation.

The nightmare of coming aound from the anaesthetic is something I will never forget and may write about that another time. My four days in ICU were tough, with respiratory problems, but I survived and was glad to get into a general ward on day seven, with only a drip.

Day ten - home. Recovery is slow and each day I feel stronger, but have little stamina and have to push myself to do my exercises and take regular rests.

The past two weeks have taught me two things about the human body. One it is very fragile, a small change in the balance can be fatal. Two it is very resilient, with one being able to survive a tough operation, like open heart surgery and be restored to full health over time - in fact I have been told it will make me 15 years younger.

Well guys and gals that is what I am looking forward to - five more weeks to full recovery. And as I have no intention of going back for seconds, I will be undergoing a change in life style.

It took me all day to write this post but it is good to be back.