It’s been an interesting July

It has been an interesting month for me. I started the month at Saint Marys Hospital, where I was scheduled to have an aortic heart valve replaced.
To begin with, hospitals are not a place I have spent a lot of time at. It’s always either to visit someone or a little bit more when my parents were hospitalized when they got older.
Fortunately, they did not have to replace the valve through open heart surgery, but still the idea they were going to be putting this object in my heart was a little unnerving. There were two other people at my church who had the same procedure in June, so I did get some insight into how it went.
Still, I was a bit apprehensive about the fact they do not give you full anesthesia, so I was aware during the entire process, especially when they started the process of running the new valve up the artery to the heart.
But all went well. I was first in line that Tuesday morning, and it was over by 10:30 a.m., including the prep time. When the procedure is over, one has to stay flat for a couple of hours, but I was back in my room about 2 p.m.
I was discharged from the hospital Wednesday morning.
There weren’t a lot of restrictions. For three days I couldn’t lift anything over 10 pounds. That turned out not to be a problem. Since I stayed with my cousin in Owatonna for the rest of week, my 15-pound dog was at his groomers.
In fact, what annoyed me the most was wearing the heart monitor for three weeks. The three weeks ended today (Tuesday). The instructions from Mayo said I could take it off after 9:45 a.m. and by 9:50 it was back in the case and waiting to be taken to a Fed Ex drop off location for its return to Mayo.
Anyway, I returned to the office last Wednesday, just in time for opening day of the Dodge County Fair. I was there only for a short time, at least short for me, but true to form, my first stop was at the Dodge County Dairy Association’s malt stand for my customary strawberry malt. I know it probably doesn’t fit with my new diet, but a fair is a fair.
As usual, the fair was great. We have pictures and 4-H and FFA results in this week’s edition of the DCI.
With the county fair over, we can turn our attention to Survival Days in West Concord this weekend.
It kicks off with the Guns vs. Hoses softball game Thursday night and the Miss West Concord Pageant, Citizen of the Year and Mayor’s Key to the City program on Friday night. Activities continue Saturday and end with the parade on Sunday.
It’s the 40th anniversary of Survival Days, and it is somewhat ironic that Highway 56 is closed from Dodge Center to West Concord. The event began 40 years ago when MnDOT reopened Highway 56 after closing the highway for an extended period of time, leaving the community to wonder if it could survive. West Concord did survive, and the celebration became a yearly event.
There are still plenty of events to enjoy this summer including Kasson’s Festival in the Park, Hogfest, and Marigold Days.