Matthew Costello’s Recovery Days

Please forgive my long silence here. It's been quite a journey. My mom passed last April and, after caring for her for a long time & along with a lot of other life events, I needed time to renew. Herewith is my current update:

Recent Heart Tests – Quick Update Post Heart Surgery

In November I became very scared. I was experiencing chest pains and shortness of breath on a regular basis. These are not uncommon after the surgery I was told, but it came to a point where I went to the hospital to get checked out. Err on the side of caution I remind myself.

I ended up staying for a few days and had stress tests done. I’m glad I did. There is no problem with my heart. I managed the stress test better than I had in the years before my operation. The conclusions: my heart is performing at better than 75%. No signs of A-fib or Congestive heart failure. And my cholesterol is 25. Yes, you read that right, 25.

It seems that my symptoms were the result of the daily whole aspirin I had been taking since the operation. It was aggravating my hiatal hernia, which affects the diaphragm. Altering that medication has reduced all of those symptoms.

So grateful I got good news. Am feeling a lot better overall. Now to keep rebuilding the business and catch up on financial issues to relieve those areas of stress!

Thanks to all of you who read these posts. I feel very fortunate to have you in my life.

Changing My Mind – the Decision to Walk a Different Path

1989. I had reached a decision point. I recognized repeating patterns in my life that were not serving me. It was important that I change that. And I did. The most important step I took was to change my mind.

There is more to this article. It can be read at my Blog:
http://matthewcostello.com/recent-heart-tests-and-choosing-to-change/

Heart Bypass Anniversary (Late)

February 17, 2018 was exactly one year since I had a four-way CABG (Coronary Artery Bypass Graft).

I wanted to do a post on that date about my continued recovery, but various events distracted me at the time..

So how am I doing? It’s been a long hard road in many ways physically. My chest feels better for the most part though recently I’ve been having some chest symptoms that I’m still trying to get a test to check out. There are some issues with my timing of paying my health insurance that are preventing me from getting an authorization. Still working on that.

It took me a long time to get back into the seat at work. The drugs they use really slowed my mind. It was about three months ago that I finally felt like my brain kicked in and I could multi-task and do creative problem solving again. I’ve been working but trying to make up for all those months of not working, or working less than I did before the operation, is difficult.

There have been many, many generous people and family members who have helped make up the gap for a lot of those months. I am eternally grateful. But I am always facing the financial issues.

Also, I have the responsibility as power of attorney for my mother to take care of her affairs. Three months after my operation I had to kick into gear to help her. During this year I have managed her move from Assisted Living in to Long Term Care. Long Term Care always requires constant attention to be sure she is receiving the care she needs. Recently she was in the hospital twice with heart issues. The second time she was in, this past weekend, they also found she had a terrible urinary tract infection. Fortunately she’s back at the facility and is feeling better, though they’ve added more medicines.

Some days I think there’s likely to be more coming at me to make it even more difficult. Yet I keep myself clear by recognizing that how I respond is up to me. So even though I’m seeing many, many challenges that seem overwhelming, I still look for a solution. “There is always a way” is what I tell myself.

I increased the goal on my Go Fund Me Account as during the year my premium on my health insurance increased to over $1000 a month (It’s COBRA and there are no plans in the state of Virginia that cover what this plan does.). And there are other debts from last year I have yet to start settling.

Any help is always appreciated good words are too.

If you’re in need a website, please reach out to me and let me see if I’m a good fit for your project.

Blessings to everyone and I hope you’re doing well.

Thanks for reading.

Matthew

This is from Matthew:

I appreciate everyone who has extended help. Thank you so much!!

While things improve physically, with occasional bumps in the road, my financial situation is still extremely stressful and it's extremely challenging getting ahead.

I finished up some projects and a few new ones have come in the door, but the backup of bills has become serious.

If you have helped, please consider sharing this link to your Facebook or Twitter. To those who may be seeing this, please consider helping out.

Thanks to all!