Update

It is now Tuesday September 28, 2010. Ann will be out of replacement hip surgery for three weeks by this Thursday, and it will be four weeks since my heart attack the same day. As you may imagine, September has been an eventful month, but today sees us very definitely on the mend.

For the first week after my heart attack, our daughter Alexandra, http://stillenjoyingthejourney.blogspot.com/ was with us to see me home from hospital to ensure I wasn’t attempting teenage feats and to shepherd us through Ann’s surgery. Following her stint, our daughter Heather from New Zealand was with us for two weeks to bring Ann home and help her through basic skills required of a toddler!

Their help was invaluable, especially as I wasn’t allowed to drive for a month after a heart attack—Alberta law! That also terminates this Thursday! Our daughter Karen, who lives locally, filled the vacant spots and is providing taxi service for this last week. It was a great opportunity for our three girls to be together for a few of days as they live so far apart.

This last weekend, we travelled with some friends to Edmonton for a writers’ conference we had registered for a few weeks earlier. Both our doctor and the surgeon saw no problem providing Ann could move around during the journey. However, she slept for two hours in each direction! In addition, the week end provided some welcome exercise, that might not have happened had we stayed home.

Today was eventful. Ann is getting more adventurous, and while in the garden checking her tomatoes, fell to her hands and knees. No damage or pain, but getting her upright was another matter, accomplished with a series of imaginative moves! But her mobility has increased remarkably, thanks to the weekend in Edmonton.

For myself, today I underwent a stress test. I stayed the course for most of the full time—ten minutes—with increasing effort and no ill effects. Apparently, few people my age get that far! Also an echo-cardiogram a few days previous showed a normally functioning heart. Seems I’m not a candidate for heaven just yet.

We realize it’s early days, but we are thankful to God for his healing process and for the family and friends he has provided during the recovery. Thank you all for your prayers. We already have articles of our experiences in the City Light News, October edition. So don’t count us out yet, we will still be invading your lives with our ideas and opinions, and, we trust, revealing the goodness and majesty of God in our writings.