Hi everyone.  Ricky here... I have been asked by numerous people to add an update to this site.

Since our visit to Fairview in Minneapolis on March 4th and meeting with Cardiac ICU in St. Cloud on March 5th, I have continued to attend cardiac rehab twice each week.  I'm walking well, but the ECMO site does get tender at times.  I was able to walk a mile in under 15 minutes, so that feels good...just that area makes it difficult to both lift the leg (so no stationary bike) and bend over (tying shoes on the right side).  I had an ultrasound of the ECMO site on Tuesday, March 12th.  It appears they did find a hematoma in that area. It sounds like I will have some physical therapy for that to help with healing.  Those appointments are scheduled in Princeton for March 26th and April 2nd.  I'm hopeful that will help me have less pain and allow for more mobility.

It was an honor to meet Dr. Elliott on March 4th at Fairview because I'd heard great things about her from my family.  She had helpful information for Amber and me to process.  I can't put into words how strange it is to meet someone for the first time but for them to say, "Oh, I know you really well!"  Of course, this was because I was unconscious for the entirety of that week when I was transferred to Fairview from St. Cloud.  It was difficult emotionally for me to see Amber cry just by seeing Dr. Elliott due to the traumatic association she had with that event.

Dr. Elliott told us that she can’t say 100% that the blood clot in the LAD which led to both a heart attack and cardiac arrest was from Covid, but most likely it was because no other factors led to certainty (no plaque was discovered, my cholesterol was at healthy levels, no family history). Cardiologists have seen multiple cases of heart attacks after Covid, so I am hopeful more research will help others in the future.

We had a similar experience the following day (March 5th) when I was able to meet the Cardiac ICU team at St. Cloud Hospital. I’m glad I was able to meet them.  On January 29th, these people stuck with me for over a half hour of compressions to resuscitate me and did all they could to keep me from passing away.  They said they were grateful as well to see me healthy, since so many of their patients don't have the same outcome I had.  I'm forever grateful to them.  Within days of meeting the Cardiac ICU team, I also found out St. Cloud school district employees had donated to my paid time-off account, which was depleted as of mid-February. I was so surprised to see that I had enough time-off hours to get through this spring.  I am grateful to multiple school employees from the school district who donated their PTO hours to me so I can recover. Wow.

After processing all of what I've been told, I think it's safe to say that the events on January 29th (the nurses visit while at school, getting to the ER, ECMO, etc.) needed to line up consecutively and quickly or I'm no longer here.  Numerous people (friends, neighbors, etc.) have told me my recovery is a miracle.  Because I didn't experience this consciously (and I have no memory of the "cardiac event"), it is difficult to process and make sense of.  I am grateful to God for the miracle of me being alive and well after all that has happened.  My perspective on each day has changed for the better.  I read this recently one morning and it stood out to me:

"O Lord my God, I called to you for help and you healed me. O Lord, you brought me up from the grave, and spared me from going down into the pit. Sing to the Lord, you saints of his; praise his holy name." - Psalm 30:2-4.

We celebrated Lydia's 11th birthday this past Tuesday. I'm so glad I could be with her, Elli, and Amber this week to celebrate.  I was able to join my counselor colleagues for 5th grade registrations at two local elementary schools this past week – one of those being Lydia’s classroom.  I plan to start partial workdays at North Jr. High this week.  I know I don't have the energy for full days, but hopefully soon.

Thank you to everyone who has offered me support over the last 2 months -- it has meant so much to us.