I rediscovered this blog I started a couple of years ago. Reading over the posts I had made, I quickly realized how in about 3 1/2 years my life has gone completely differently.

The blog was supposed to be about my introverted thoughts and struggles with my body and mind. I instead missed an opportunity by not keeping this up to date and left an enormous gap that should have been filled with details of the seismic shift that occurred. So now having to choose between a detailed account and a quick summary, I think I’ll sum it up in a paragraph and let my future posts fill in the details.

In August of 2019, I had an aortic dissection. It was an emergency and extremely serious. I was flown to UHN for a 9+ hour operation. They made some repairs and put in an AMDS (stent) to hold things together. I now live with the the dissection from the left iliac artery (leg) to my right carotid artery (neck/brain). I have daily medication to regulate my blood pressure and heart rate. There has been a huge effect on myself, my family and even my work. Besides the constant pressure on my back and core, there are spontaneous episodes of profound sadness that I can’t explain. The cause was a combination of hereditary factors, poor conditioning and hypertension.

I’m coming up on three years since that episode and there is more to say for certain. But the context here on this blog is what I do for myself, for my well being and self improvement. I may have fell into an abyss but this blog serves as a reminder that the journey still exists and that I must not forget that.

I’ll try not to dwell on the dissection too much but it does permeate every day living. Who knows. Maybe this will turn into a blog more about surviving.