An entirely new life

[Lunajammer]

As Oldnslow said, the only constant in life is change and I've always believed that we need a few life altering experiences to keep us understanding new perspectives and to re-appreciate the things we have. We'd rather it be not so drastic, but it helps me believe that it's part of God's plan for you to live much longer so you can take with you this experience and share its value where needed. Keep paying your hard dues Harry and watch for the payoff when you're past all this. My sympathies just the same.

[Roger U]

Yes this will be a big change in your life. But, you can adapt to it and, most importantly, you are still here with your family, close friends, and this forum family ready to support you. Wishing you the very best in the future.

[426-Hemi]

Harry,

Hang in there..... I know what your facing (YES, I at 24 went through a heart-related issue needing full blown open-heart surgery, and BEAT a heat attack! BUT that too, Drastic life-changes, and other things cropped up afterwards (I been Diabetic most my life (since I were 2) so. add them all together things had to change! And as you, way of life 20 plus years be turned upside down.....

As mentioned, take one day at a time, there is hope..... And prayer to help get you through the rough times of it all!

[Erik Smith]

Take care of yourself Harry. You are very fortunate to have family helping.

You are a benefit to this community and I have appreciated learning from your skills and enjoyed your talent with photoshop. Thank you.

[Phirewriter]

My family has you and yours in our prayers. Be strong and prayers also to your family to face this with you.

 

[kobuzz]

Honestly Harry I feel for you in this situation. I have had a couple heart related issues and it can be tough at times to deal with. Look at it this way, life is the favorite model of your choice. Everyone would like to be a Tamiya or heck even a Revel or Monogram. Sometimes life is a Palmer. It sucks to build and will not be 100% accurate but it's still fun to build and enjoy. Stay strong and keep building my friend. We will all enjoy the under glass pics.

[IceMan Collections]

Be strong Harry.....You got this, bud.  A major change for a tremendous man but you'll get through it at your own pace.  I know it's easier said than done but be strong...

[Canso65]

I'm sorry to hear what has happened Harry.

I wish you all of the best Harry. 

[kpnuts]

Take care Harry, life is an uncertain thing and can be cruel, stay strong my friend wishing you all the best for the future, onwards and upwards is the way.

[Tom Geiger]

The very best to you Harry.  You will figure it all out.

[crazyjim]

BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH Harry.  We've been talking/joking about getting you to move for some time.  I never expected it to be under such circumstances.  Prayers and thoughts will continue.

[Harry P.]

Yeah, I'm moving to a smaller home in downstate Urbana. Close to my daughters and grandson. A whole new world.

[BIGTRUCK]

Harry you will adapt to a new city, a new home,  your only concern should be to get better and stronger and with the comfort of knowing family is near , and the support behind you here , you'll be back. Maybe new life styles mean you may move a little slower and maybe need some help to do things you normally did on your own. So I hope and pray you continue to get better everyday. ..Ken

[High octane]

Harry you will adapt to a new city, a new home,  your only concern should be to get better and stronger and with the comfort of knowing family is near , and the support behind you here , you'll be back. Maybe new life styles mean you may move a little slower and maybe need some help to do things you normally did on your own. So I hope and pray you continue to get better everyday. ..Ken

Ken is right, take it slow and don't concern yourself or try to do too much. Things have a way of working out.

[Earl Marischal]

Glad to see you're still with us Harry.

steve

[Skip]

Harry, glad to hear that things are on the upswing.  (Haven't been around for a week or so, finishing up a project at work; all of this was a real shocker to hear).  I've been concerned over the cancer, now this; you're a survivor and with God's grace you will make it through.  Yes, God has a plan for your life, sometimes he has to bring us to a point where we will listen for sure he got your attention this time.    Now get back on the Chemo regime and wipe out any remaining cancer (if there is any), my Dad went through a bout with the same type of cancer with the help of God some great doctors, supporting family and a positive attitude lived another 25 years.

Now for the really bad part, prepping for the colonoscopy, (isn't that just a treat) you get to do that more frequently from now on.  I think my Dad was on a three year cycle, had to drink a gallon of that horrible tasting stuff that gets you all pooped out.  First two I had done I had to drink the gallon of sodium somthing-or-other, cleans everything out that's for sure.  Just had another colonoscopy done about three weeks ago, they gave me something to mix with 64 ounces of Gatoraide, to not make it taste like Gatoraide!  Drank half the night before, half the morning of, that alone was an improvement!  The found three polyps ranging from 75 to 13 mm, so now I'm on a three year cycle to have my exhaust system checked out too!!  This getting to be a seasoned citizen bit sure ain't for sissys is it!!

God bless you Harry, you definitely have something to be thankful for on Thanksgiving this year!  May God give you more to be thankful for many years to come!

[Harry P.]

It's been decided that I will now move from the hospital to a long-term cardiac rehab facility, where I will be spending the foreseeable future. If I make enough progress to where I get to the point where I can once again function independently, I will then sell my house and most of my possessions, and buy a small place in Urbana or Champaign. I think the one solid decision that's been made is that I will sell my house and move downstate within the next few months.

I cannot work anymore... can't keep up client deadlines and expectations. I will be totally reliant on medicaid and disability, which is quite a shock to a guy like me who has never accepted a dime of any sort of public aid, welfare, food stamps, unemployment, or disability of any kind. Like I said, my life as I have known it has been taken from me.

[Zoom]

I don´t know really what to say, but I hope that your decision make it better for you and yours recover.
And I hope you get better, and in some way, can come back. 

[crazyjim]

You gotta do what you gotta do Harry.  You are the important one here and need to get your head straight. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

 

I cannot work anymore.. I will be totally reliant on medicaid and disability, which is quite a shock to a guy like me who has never accepted a dime of any sort of public aid, welfare, food stamps, unemployment, or disability of any kind. 

You and I share that, and it's always been something of a point of pride for me to be able to make that statement.

However, if I were in your situation, I'd be very thankful that some government safety nets exist. You've supported yourself and your family by working all your life, so you're fairly entitled to whatever assistance there may be.

I know it's a massive change, and will take some head-readjustment, but things WILL get better in time.

As always, my advice is to try your dammedest to stay focused on the positive, don't bite off too much worry, stay strong, and put your energy into getting well.

 

[10thumbs]

Hi Harry,

I've been following all of the infos and posts concerning your health status.

Things will not be the same anymore for you.  You will handle this with time and get along with the new environment.  The change is difficult for sure, no one chooses this path voluntarily.  You had a very close call recently, and your existing condition adds greatly to your concern.

Personally, I've had one big health incident myself that was life threatening and very painful,  most of the details of before and after I don't even remember.   Later though, during reconvelescence, the self pity drove me nuts.  I hated myself.  Oh God, why me?  What have I done?  

To myself; "I almost died", and the feeling was laming.

This stuff is normal, and I can only hope that you are in a state that can allow yourself to get over it as quickly as possible.  You are not alone.  You are alive, and with your health care so far, I'm confident that you'll get along.

As Jim wrote above, you have to get your head right as soon as possible.  You'll get there, this situation sucks for sure, good that you have folks that help you, that's maybe the clue to half the battle.

Good luck to you Harry.

[crazyjim]

You know Harry, I used to feel sorta the same way towards the VA.  Why should I accept VA health care when I have a decent job and pretty good healthcare.  It was many years later that I was told I was completely wrong because the VA get funded partially by the amount of Veterans in the VA system.  Supposedly I was cheating Veterans out of healthcare because I wasn't in the VA system.  That was corrected after getting prostate cancer from exposure to Agent Orange when I was in Vietnam and I now take anything and everything I can from the VA.  I no longer look at it as a hand out.

[Skip]

Harry,   Jim makes an excellent point, about both paying into the system and being a part of that same system.  You've paid into everyone of these programs from the first day you worked your first job, you funded others in their time of need; unfortunately now you are in a time of need yourself.  You paid for it, you may as well collect on it.  I myself know how humbling it is to have to utilize one or two of the programs set up as a safety net in my own time of need.  At 25 years old I was a mechanic in a dealership, I was coming down the stairs from the machine area with a Porsche 911 head in my hands.  Slipped on probably the only spot of lubricant grease, hung onto the expensive aluminum head, struck my right elbow on the edge of the stair tread.  Ouch! I learned a few hours later that between the bone and tread I'd partially severed my ulnar nerve.  That's your funny bone.  I was off of work on disability for five years, three surgeries and more poking and prodding than I care to remember because a lot of those pokes were with sharp instruments to make sure I still couldn't feel them like I did before I fell!   Long story short, lazy ex-wife refused to get a job while I rehabbed, and went back to college, on my dime after the doctors told me I couldn't and wouldn't be returning to my old occupation.  I did end up taking Medicaid to replace the health insurance I lost as well as food stamps after losing almost 2/3's of my take home pay.  Was I embarrassed, you're darned right I was.  I also had two kids five and under to take care of.  Utilizing programs that you've paid into while it may be a blow to your ego (it was mine) you've earned that's right to use those benefits, unlike freeloaders who never pay a dime and use that safety net as a hammock.  You unlike so many of those on the lifeline programs are willing to and would work if you were able, it isn't your choice, it is your physician who made that decision for you on the basis of your current health condition.

Now, you are a very talented artist.  You have a commodity that sells on a stress free and probably stress relieving basis. Not saying you become a poor artist, but it's not a bad way to supplement things is it?

[cobraman]

Very depressing news and I am sad to hear this. As others have said stay strong and take it one day at a time. For what it's worth you have a lot of friends here that care about you.

[High octane]

It's been decided that I will now move from the hospital to a long-term cardiac rehab facility, where I will be spending the foreseeable future. If I make enough progress to where I get to the point where I can once again function independently, I will then sell my house and most of my possessions, and buy a small place in Urbana or Champaign. I think the one solid decision that's been made is that I will sell my house and move downstate within the next few months.

I cannot work anymore... can't keep up client deadlines and expectations. I will be totally reliant on medicaid and disability, which is quite a shock to a guy like me who has never accepted a dime of any sort of public aid, welfare, food stamps, unemployment, or disability of any kind. Like I said, my life as I have known it has been taken from me.

Over the years throughout my working career, I've had some rough times when work was slow more often than I care to remember. I've collected food stamps, unemployment benefits, workman's compensation, and also social security disability benefits as well. A lot of these benefits were covered by the companies I worked for paying into unemployment benefits, and insurance to cover workman's comp. I had been paying into social security since 1962, and If I needed any of these benefits so be it as I had contributed my share. If one doesn't collect the benefits that are entitled to them when they need them, then they are cheating themselves.