Hi everyone!
Today is Greg's first day of cardiac rehab! It's an exciting benchmark but it's also pretty intimidating for Greg and we'd really appreciate your prayers for him today. We'll be there from 2- 5:30pm - getting a tour, and learning about the plan they have for his rehab. After today's initial session he will be going to rehab three times each week for twelve weeks. Not only will they be working on his strength and getting him used to the way his new heart works, they'll also be helping him work through fears he has of getting his heart rate up. For years he wasn't allowed to or able to exercise because of the risk of having a cardiac arrest, so this is a big change and will take some time to get used to.
The last few weeks have been a roller coaster for us. Greg went off of four of his medications (sleep aids and pain pills) that he's been on for a long time. After he stopped them, his body went through withdrawal which made him really sick and almost landed him in the ER twice. He's still dealing with some lingering withdrawal symptoms but he's feeling much better than he initially did. The exciting part is that he's thinking much clearer and has a lot more energy now that he's off the medications! It's almost like he was in a fog mentally for a long time (his psychiatrist thinks he was being over-medicated) and he's coming out of it! The difficult part is that the sleep aids had some anti-depressant functions and he's having a tough time emotionally - really having to constantly fight to not slip into depression. Last week he saw his therapist for the first time since the transplant and he'll be seeing him weekly from now on, so that has really helped him with the difficult transition off the medications. Would you pray for this? The sudden medication changes have left him emotionally fragile, and we are so reliant on the Lord to give him strength and hope.
Love,
Elise