Full circle

“It’s the circle of life And it moves us all Through despair and hope Through faith and love

“Till we find our place On the path unwinding In the circle The circle of life“

“Circle of Life,” from Disney’s animated film, “The Lion King”

What a difference a year makes.

This time last November, I was lying on an ER gurney, my heart revved up to a resting rate of 135 beats per minute, fluttering in and out of something called atrial fibrillation.

A-Fib, as it’s commonly known, is an irregular and often rapid heart rate that can increase your risk of stroke, heart failure and other heart-related complications.

Sometimes you can feel it. Other times you don’t. I didn’t.

That morning, my beloved internist had noticed the sky-high heart rate during a routine annual physical. Turns out I had severe mitral valve regurgitation. And to think I was worried about getting a darn flu shot.

Today, exactly 365 days from the infamous A-Fib episode and the official start of my heart patient journey, I am feeling better than ever and healing nicely, thank you very much.

Today, exactly six months since my mitral valve repair surgery/maze procedure on May 31 at the University of Michigan Frankel Cardiovascular Center in Ann Arbor, I am the proud owner of a mitral valve that seals shut like a bank vault along with a fierce yet steady heart that will literally stop A-fib in its tracks, if it dares to come back.

Honestly, it’s been a helluva long road.

Heart monitors, blood thinners, pre-op tests (including X-rays, ultrasounds, CT scans, MRIs, transesophageal echocardiograms), anxiously awaiting a surgery date, having the date postponed two days, the surprising level of incision pain, post-op visits with more tests and an eight-week summer recuperation, which often meant walking room to room indoors because it was too hot to go outside.

Twelve weeks of cardiac rehabilitation ended last week. It’s over. They say I’m a rock star. Can’t argue with that.

With all of that, the hardest part was waiting several months for my surgery. It seemed like an eternity. Square breathing calms you down. Writing distracts you. The support of family and friends keeps you sane.

Elton John and Tim Rice wrote a hit song, “Circle of Life,” for “The Lion King,” Disney’s 1994 animated film detailing the adventures of a young lion, Simba, the heir to his father, Mufasa. (Spoiler alert, if you’ve never seen it.) Unfortunately, Simba’s uncle conspires to usurp Mufasa’s throne by luring father and son into a stampede of wildebeests. Simba escapes, and his father is killed. But Simba returns as an adult to reclaim his homeland with the help of his friends.

The circle of life. Despair and hope. Faith and love. Till we find our place.

At this stage of my life, I understand now more than ever how nature has a way of taking and giving back. How the supremely divine universe can sometimes challenge us and be downright unfair. And how the death of one thing gives new life to another.

Talk about full circle.

Since February, I’ve written a collection of essays about everything from the power of faith and trusting science to dispelling your fears and going braless. I have tried to capture the highs and the lows of surviving heart valve surgery with a touch of humor.

Here’s what I’ve learned: