As some have you have noticed (hopefully), it’s been a LONG while since I had a flying blog update. However, I am EXTREMELY thrilled to say that blog posts will re-commence in short order as I received my temporary medical certificate this morning from the FAA New England Regional Flight Surgeon and the regular certificate will be in the mail next week.
I apologize to those who didn’t know what was going on (and that you find out this way), but the long and short is that in June of last year, I had an angioplasty with three balloons and two stents. (I know, right, ME?!?!) That was an automatic grounding for 90 days during the summer while I did cardio rehab. Unfortunately, the September stress test ended with some sketchy readings, and a second angiogram found significant scarring around the stents that couldn’t be repaired, so in early October I had triple bypass surgery, fixing issues once and for all.
All went exceedingly well, including recovery. I passed my 6-month mandated stress test with flying colors in April and in early May visited Dr. Chien out in Bolingbrook for a flight physical. We were dreading a 130+ day backlog, but as noted above, the Regional Flight Surgeon turned this around VERY quickly and I’m good to fly again.
My enduring thanks to Michiko for being a rock star throughout this “adventure” and to a fantastic group of friends and colleagues (who I know truly as friends) for all of your love and support. The day after I was cleared to fly as a passenger with a fresh scar on my chest, Dan came up to KBDR and we did some much needed aviation therapy. Ditto with Milton and Len over the last year, giving me some air time, camaraderie and instrument approaches. Thank you, to all of you! You have my heartfelt (seriously!!) gratitude and love!
I’m looking forward to continued good health and fitness and, as Michiko understands, FLYING THE HELL OUT OF MY AIRPLANE. Adventures (and updates) to follow!