A great big sigh of relief

After my first visit with Dr. Phillip Styne since an endoscopy in January, I have one word: Whew!

That's because Dr. Styne affirmed Dr. Miner's observation that my chest pains were, indeed, caused by spasms to my esophagus. He said the nitroglycerin-based meds I'm on do relax smooth-muscle tissue such as a heart -- its most common destination -- and the esophagus.

With that behind us, along with a brief amount of schmoozing, we agreed I won't have to see Dr. Styne for four months, and I most likely will not need another endoscopy until January, a year after the previous one.

In other words, my body finally is healing as it should. Before all this began, the docs said it would be a long road and would take a year or two for me to heal. They were not wrong.

With the expertise of my medical team, Dr. John Pfeiffer, Dr. Styne, Dr. David Diamond, Dr Lee Zehngebot, Dr Joe Boyer and many other docs and nurses and techs and assistants, I'm pretty much back from the brink.

In September 2007, I wouldn't have believed it. The news was so grim, the odds so low and external factors in the tank, I wasn't hopeful at all.

But today, I must say my optimism is back. I might even think about buying some stock. Well, that one I'd have to think about.