05/29/2026
Tomorrow will be one week since being released from the hospital. I was so excited to be able to come home last Saturday.
Two weeks in the hospital (one week spent in the ICU) is not what I was expecting when they wheeled me into the OR for heart surgery on May 12th. I thought surgery was going to go smoothly, but it didn't. There were complications and honestly every day I am grateful I am still here.
I thought recovery was going to be a little easier than what I've been feeling since returning home.
It's actually been a lot harder than I expected.
I've been struggling mentally and physically. I am extremely tired.
Also physically I've been doing great too. I can now shower on my own and I can walk without a walker. I can go up and down stairs on my own, brush my own teeth, eat solid food without fear of choking, etc.
Those are huge things that we often take for granted. It's amazing how quickly the body can become weak, or how quickly we can forget how to do the things that come naturally to us. Even if it's only been a few days since doing them.
I've been pretty hard myself because I was expecting my recovery to be far more ahead. I keep being reminded that my body has been through a traumatic experience. Recovery isn't going to happen overnight.
I have not been able to do the caregiving for the animals. Mike has completely taken over all animal care for me. I'm hoping maybe next week I will be able to do more.
Mike has been amazing. Not only has he been taking care of the animals, he's also been taking care of me too.
Today I was able to take Jackson for a walk. I only lasted ten minutes before I was completely wiped out and had to come inside to rest. Those ten minutes meant so much to me though. It felt so good to be out with my Jack Jack.
He hasn't missed a beat.
Jackson immediately went over to the strawberry garden and got three strawberries. Then he made his way to the chard garden and I picked him a nice chard leaf to eat. Then he headed over to the kale area and enjoyed a couple of small leaves of kale. His kale has bolted, but he doesn't care.
I think he knew I was starting to feel worn out because he made the decision to go back to his run. He decided to call it for our walk.
He's a tuned in chicken when it comes to me. We're very connected and I'm grateful that, over the last three weeks, he hasn't lost that connection with me.
It made my day spending time with him.
I miss spending time with everyone. I especially miss my walks with Jackson.
Hopefully I'll be getting away from posts about me and back to all chicken posts soon. They are the ones who truly matter here.
For now though please bear with me as posts include updates about my recovery. The animals will get lost in the FB algorithm if I don't post. I worry that their page has already gotten lost because of lack of posts.
I cannot wait until life is back to normal here and all of this is behind us.
I truly thank you for the beautiful cards and messages. I apologize that I haven't had the energy to respond or reach out personally and thank you for your kind words, thoughts and love.
Please know your support has meant the world to me. ❤️
