The Cleveland Clinic is one of the best aortic hospitals in the world, but a seventh open-heart surgery seems to be a rare event even here.
I’m not sure whether it makes me a medical marvel, but I’m happy to report that I underwent my latest open-heart surgery on Wednesday and am now on the mend. It’ll be a slow process — my chest and back are killing me, they’ve got to deal with my blood pressure, I’m connected to all kinds of movement-restricting wires and tubes, and I’ll probably need physical therapy — but I’ve been through it all before.
Personally, all that really matters is that I’ll be able to go home with my wife to my three-year-old son, but bigger picture, the stakes are high for everyone: that I was able to get my heart fixed so soon after the MRI found the latest issue is a privilege that too many Americans could never hope to enjoy right now.
Politics can leave you cynical, but that jadedness quickly fades when you remember that so many activists and organizers are working to extend that opportunity to all Americans. It also makes the endless Senate ads depicting Medicare for All as godless socialism — I’m in Ohio, where Sherrod Brown is trying to return to elected office — much more bearable.
There’s a solid chance that this reads like woozy nonsense, because that’s how my brain feels right now. My plan is to recuperate and take it easy for a bit before getting the newsletter back to a regular cadence ahead of the midterm elections. There’s too much at stake to rest for long. I’ll probably send out a newsletter with a lot of my live streamed interviews this weekend, including pieces with big primary winners who support Medicare for All, so keep an eye out for that.
Thank you to everyone who offered kind words, donations, or held to their paid subscription as I work through this illness. We lost quite a few paid subscribers over the last three weeks — which honestly was expected and totally fine — so your loyalty means the world to me. And again, thank you to the Cleveland Clinic for saving my life again.
Thank you to our latest crowd-funding donors: John, James, DT, Margaret, Thomas, Richard, William, Peter, Tom, Matthew, Joseph, Elizabeth, and Erin!
Glad to read this and hear the news. Wishing you all the best in your recovery. Appreciate your take on the “luxury” of healthcare— always good to have perspective to not take healthcare for granted.
Great to hear and best wishes for a full recovery. I went through heart surgery a long time ago and never had a problem since(1990s). But like many Americans I had to deal with the insurance company and only because I was a state legislator was able to overcome their opposition. Have always been an advocate for Medicare for All but have been a stronger voice since then.