10/26/2024
Six days ago was a year to the day that I was half way along hiking the Northern Circuit Route of Mount Kilimanjaro. On that anniversary day I went and had open heart surgery. It stemmed from the pure luck I had to being one of the 1-2% of the general population born with a bicuspid aortic valve. This makes your heart work harder to pump blood and extra work can lead to heart failure. Turns out that over the last year, though being a-symptomatic, I got to a point where I had severe aortic stenosis and needed an aortic valve replacement. I have 2-4 months of recovery time and then I can start working out and get fit again and not fat, and start hiking again, which is what I love to do. So, next year, 2025, will be all about exercise and fitness so that in 2026 I can do another hiking adventure fundraiser for the National Ataxia Foundation.
