Dear Tom,

I have to echo all of the comments above.

Life is so fragile, but yet we as humans can survive amazing feats...chemoradiation, cardiac events, veterans of war, and all things between.

Thank you for sharing your experience. I can only imagine what kind of toll it has taken on you and your loved ones. Like all of us, I am so happy to hear that you are still with us and hope to be here for many more years to come!

You mentioned your trismus. I often think, that If I ever have to be intubated again, I could be in for some real trouble. Firstly, I have a very small mouth, so with the addition of trismus...not good, not to mention to pain. It's funny that I got an email from my SLP and she told me that the Therabite is not covered by my insurance, but I am paying for it myself regardless. I had intended to do so, but reading your recent ordeal, I will be on the phone tomorrow with the company.

Thank you so much. Please take it easy for a while. I'm not sure if this has been mentioned to you, but cardiac rehab can be a great experience for those like you. Not only do you get well, but you make friends such as we have here, who share their stories with people who "get it". Also, I'm not sure where you are in AZ, but please avoid shoveling snow. I have a colleague who has worked in cardiac rehab and he has noticed a trend over his many years of experience...he will see an influx of new patients about a week or two after a major snow storm, and being in the Boston area, we tend to get hit badly!

I wish you all the best in your recovery. Thank you for the reminder to always tell those that you love them how you feel. I learned that long ago. I never get off the phone or leave the house without saying "I love you" to my spouse and my children. I do it with lots of others, too! It only gets easier to say, the more you practice.

So, thank you again for reminding me that the relatively smaller medical issues that going on with my young daughter are not life and death at the moment, but will be taken care of in time.

Best wishes.

Love in OCF,
Kerri