Well, as I continue my recovery at home after heart surgery, I’ve found myself blessed with extra time to reflect. I wanted to take a moment to share a few thoughts from the heart with all of you this week.
I’ve been attending Cardiac Rehab at Madison Healthcare three days a week. As many of you know, exercise and I don’t usually see eye to eye, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how much I truly look forward to my time there. My rehab nurse has been an absolute angel—so encouraging, wonderfully pleasant to talk to, and dedicated to helping me grow stronger every single day. I have 30 sessions left, and I’m taking it one day at a time!
It’s definitely been tough missing out on broadcasting high school sports—a passion that means the world to me. Missing the conference cross-country meet right here in Madison on such a gorgeous day had me tempted to sneak out to the golf course! I’m missing football and volleyball terribly, too. But my heart is full of gratitude for Bart Hill, Terry Overlander, Duane Hastad, Dick Newman, and Sue Volk. Thank you all so much for stepping up and filling in for me—you are doing an incredible job. As section fall sports kick off this week, doctor’s orders keep me on the sidelines until Thanksgiving week. Though my body is gaining strength daily, my voice is still recovering from an extra day with the breathing tube during surgery. My surgeon mentioned it could take a couple of months to return to normal, so even with a full tank of energy, I couldn’t call a game just yet! But I promise you, I’ll be back stronger than ever after Thanksgiving.
On a fun note, my rehab nurse encouraged me to get a smartwatch, and I am so glad I listened! I absolutely love it. It has been such a wonderful motivator to get up out of my chair and move my body. Whether it’s reaching my goal of 8,000 steps a day, tracking my calories, or keeping an eye on my heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen levels, and Afib alerts, it does more than I’ve even figured out yet!
Most of all, my heart is overflowing with love and pride for my amazing wife, Roxie. This past year has brought so many heavy challenges her way—from her breast cancer diagnosis last year to my heart surgery now. Through it all, she has been my unwavering rock. I honestly don’t know how she manages to do everything she does with such grace, and I find myself loving her more deeply with each passing day.
I’m also so proud of our new healthy journey together. Roxie is such a wonderful cook, and together we’ve been eating much cleaner and avoiding processed foods. Since coming home from the St. Cloud Hospital, I think I’ve eaten more chicken and turkey breast than ever before! Roxie has been making delicious meals from scratch, like a homemade flatbread pizza topped with chicken, fresh tomatoes straight from our backyard garden, onions, and Swiss cheese. For breakfast, I’ve been making a mean two-egg omelet with a splash of salsa, or enjoying oatmeal or Greek yogurt—always topped with fresh blueberries! Combined with my daily walks, keeping my daily calories around 1,600 has helped me shed a lot of weight, and I’m feeling so good about the progress.
Finally, I just want to express how profoundly thankful I am for my family, co-workers, and friends. The sheer outpouring of love—cards, letters, gift cards, gifts, calls, and visits—has completely overwhelmed me in the best way possible. Even some high school sports teams have reached out with sweet social media posts and gifts that have brought tears to my eyes. God has truly blessed me with the most wonderful people in my life. Words alone feel inadequate, but from the absolute bottom of my heart: thank you, everyone. I love you all!
