It would be February 10, 2021 when I would finally leave the RCH hospital with only Extra Strength Tylenol as my pain killer medication. While my sternum healed for the next two months (fully fused between 6 to 12 months), I was not to lift anything over 10 pounds, abide by the mantra "Keep my Move in a Tube", and get lots of rest. There were still Echocardiogram tests to be done, a 24-hour EKG-type Holster Monitor to see how my heart was performing, and various other follow-ups, but in general it was just a matter of time before I was back to my regular schedule and activities.

Despite my curiosity and doctor challenges to explain why for 47 years my aortic root was without disease, and then dilated to 5.5cm seven years after my last CT Scan in 2011, no one seems to have any solid, definitive answers. I suppose their job is to diagnose and replace faulty body parts rather than analyze and speculate, but it would have been comforting to know it was because of too much exercise, the food I was eating, the plethora of medications I was consuming, or any other combinations thereof. Without questioning and digging deeper we don’t learn, and most importantly, can’t help others who follow with the same conditions because everything is just a convenient mystery. I’m hoping that that will change in the foreseeable future...