I don't weigh very often. It's been two and a half months since my last weigh-in. It's a big ordeal for me to weigh. Three people are required to pull it off. It takes me (to operate the Hoya lift buttons), my two teenage sons (to operate three scales each), and my wife (to record all our activity. I wanted to be sure to weigh this weekend.
This weekend is a major goal reached for me. Two years ago, this weekend I was in the hospital and was told by a doctor there was no way I would live another two years. I had gone through pneumonia, two surgeries and COVID before landing in the third hospital for the fifth time in the previous two years. Somewhere in all that turmoil I had managed to acquire congestive heart failure that didn't play nice with lymphedema and caused me to quickly blow up to 650 pounds (my hospital intake weight).
I was nuts. On 6 liters of oxygen, I still registered less than 80% and watched cartoons dance on the walls oblivious to where I was at. My wife was told I would not likely survive, and she should start making arrangements. Over the next 10 days they pulled 125 pounds of fluid out of me with intravenous diuretics and a catheter. A few days later they were convinced I could transition to diuretic and potassium pills so I could go home. I checked out of the hospital weighing 525 pounds.
I was blessed. The attending physician when I hit the emergency room was a family friend from Church. My wife had sit his children when he and his wife (both doctors) had to work those crazy 12 and 16 hour shifts those young doctors work. Because of this he would tell us when he would switch between doctor and friend mode to give us his honest thoughts.
At checkout he gave me three months to live. He said I should get everything in order that I could to reduce the burden on those I love. I ask if I might survive a year. With much reluctance he said maybe. So, I argued for two years. He just shut me down and said, "No way".
This is two years later. I'm still here. Major goal reached. I've lost another 90 pounds on top of the original 125 making a total of 215 pounds down. I went from daily visits at home with Doctors, Physicians Assistants and Nurses upon getting out of the hospital to one about every six weeks. My vitals amaze them. O2, BP, kidney, etc. are all normal or doing much better than expected. Many prayers prayed. Many prayers answered.
In the past two years I have seen my youngest daughter graduate, my middle daughter get married, and the birth of my seventh grandchild.
Next goal: I want to see my two youngest sons graduate.
