So I started this post over a month ago. I guess life has just kind of gotten in the way recently. I'm just going to start it all over. Recovery from the surgery is still going very well. I would say that I feel about 98% back to normal. I think it will be a while before I get to 100% (if I ever do), and that's okay because I don't want to be back to what I was before this all happened. I'm going to be better.
I started back to work about a month ago, six weeks after surgery. It has been good to get back to a normal routine. I'm also trying to take on a new role at work, which brings its own set of challenges. I will be helping with coding and software implementation, so I am going to be using an entirely different part of my brain and it will require a lot of problem solving and a whole lot more patience (especially for the first few months). I started programming when I was in elementary school and I forgot how much I enjoyed it, so I'm happy to be giving it a shot.
The same week I went back to work I also started cardiac rehab. It has also been going well. Basically for cardiac rehab I go to a gym, which is affiliated with a hospital (I go to Galter Life Center, attached to Swedish Covenant Hospital). I put on a heart monitor and there are several nurses there who monitor my heart while I exercise. I can't run yet (I'm allowed to give it a shot 12 weeks removed from the surgery), but it's been great to get some real exercise in. Having not really done much except for walking since July, it doesn't take much to get a good sweat rolling. I've been getting stronger and can't wait to start running!
When I started this post back in October I had intended for it to be a giant manifesto on why I am going (and in turn everyone else should) to become vegan. But life happens and I just don't have the time, so instead you're going to get the Reader's Digest version. Shortly after the surgery, Vanessa and I watched the documentary Forks Over Knives. In my now defunct manifesto I was going to point out much of the statistics and talking points from the movie. The gist of the movie: a growing number of people and doctors are treating patients with various diseases (heart disease, diabetes and cancer) by putting them on a whole foods, plant-based diet. They believe that not only can it help treat the disease, but also reverse the disease. It was pretty eye-opening and really made me wish I had seen this before I decided to go under the knife.
But decisions have been made and you can't change the past. All I can do now is be the best possible version of me that I can going forward. And it seemed to be coming more and more clear that version of me might not be eating any animal products in the future. And I love eating animals. Then came Chicago VeganMania 10, an all day vegan festival with numerous different restaurants serving vegan fare, a chef demo kitchen, and culture cafe, among other things. What drew me there was one of the keynote speakers, Dr. Kim Williams.
Dr. Williams was delivering a speech titled "Nutrition and Cardiovascular Disease: Taking the DIE out of DIET." When I googled him to make sure he wasn't some quack, I quickly discovered he was quite the opposite. Undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Chicago, president of the American College of Cardiologists, and chief cardiologist at Rush Hospital sealed the deal for me - he clearly knew his shit. When I got to the speaker room, you would have thought Jon Bon Jovi were there. People were lined up to take selfies with this doctor and shake his hand. I had no idea how big of a celebrity he was. His presentation was very convincing.
Becoming vegan is a very daunting task, especially for someone who loves meat and cheese as much as I do. But if doing this is going to give me the best chance of living the longest and potentially reversing my cardiovascular disease, do I have another choice? It's not going to be easy. I'm going to slip up and eat meat occasionally, and even sometimes intentionally. I'm calling it "vegan-like". I am going to do my best at every meal not to put any animal products in my body. I am going to try to put as many whole foods on my plate as I can - vegetables, fruit, nuts, grains, seeds. I've been at it for the better part of 6 weeks and I don't really miss having meat and cheese on my plate at most meals like we used to. Have I eaten any meat or cheese? Was I supposed to not eat delicious turkey on Thanksgiving?!? As long as I'm trying my best to do my best...