Updates
Dec 15, 2005 04:38 PM Filed in: Personal
The month leading into Christmas is a typically hectic time for Melissa and I. Shopping for presents, finding places we can hide presents from each other AND not have them covered in cat hair because the cats are sleeping on them, etc. It gets pretty crazy. But then the reward is spending Christmas with family, and having a calmer time of it.
It started a little differently this year. As some of you may recall, last year (Sept. 15, 2004 to be exact) Melissa's mom had a very mild heart attack. The doctors found some blockages, put in a stent, and thought the rest could be treated via medication. From that point on, Brenda gave up smoking (cold turkey!), started going to the gym 4 times a week, and totally changed her eating habits (except for a little indulgence around Thanksgiving, so nothing major). Basically, doing everything the doctors said to do.
Fast forward one year. The week before Thanksgiving this year she went in for a stress test. And a few weeks before that had a mild pain in her jaw when exercising. The doctor looked over the result, went "hmmmm..." and then would not tell her what he saw. The Friday after Thanksgiving, he called her at home and told her she needed to go back too the hospital to get a catheterization to look at her heart, because the stress test came back with some problems.
To make a long story short, the three blockages that they thought could be treated with medication had gotten worse, and the area right after the stent had also developed a blockage. The good news was there was no other new areas with problems. So the doctor said they could do four stents, but the way she reacted to her existing one made her a poor candidate for them. He recommended quadruple-bypass surgery. That was the week after Thanksgiving.
A week after that, Brenda was back at the hospital, and went in for the surgery. I am happy to say she came through with flying colors. She was very discouraged that even after all her changes she still needed the surgery, but the surgeon told her she should be happy she had a year to get into shape for the procedure. It has dramatically helped her recovery time.
She came home on Monday of this week, and will be recovering for the next 4-6 weeks. I will not get into the procedure or limitations here, for those that want to look them up, WebMD is a great resource. But suffice it to say, she will be keeping Jake company for a little while at home. Melissa also took this week off to help her mom come home and cope.
Everyone is doing well, and the prognosis looks good. As the doctor said, hopefully this will last 20-30 years, and if there are problems after that she can come in and take the pill that will fix it all that they will have developed by then.
But it does put into perspective what is really important in the holiday season. So everyone give your family members a hug, or tell them how important they are to you. Take a moment and appreciate your family...
OK, that's enough. I hear Bed, Bath and Beyond is having a 20% off sale now. Go go go!
It started a little differently this year. As some of you may recall, last year (Sept. 15, 2004 to be exact) Melissa's mom had a very mild heart attack. The doctors found some blockages, put in a stent, and thought the rest could be treated via medication. From that point on, Brenda gave up smoking (cold turkey!), started going to the gym 4 times a week, and totally changed her eating habits (except for a little indulgence around Thanksgiving, so nothing major). Basically, doing everything the doctors said to do.
Fast forward one year. The week before Thanksgiving this year she went in for a stress test. And a few weeks before that had a mild pain in her jaw when exercising. The doctor looked over the result, went "hmmmm..." and then would not tell her what he saw. The Friday after Thanksgiving, he called her at home and told her she needed to go back too the hospital to get a catheterization to look at her heart, because the stress test came back with some problems.
To make a long story short, the three blockages that they thought could be treated with medication had gotten worse, and the area right after the stent had also developed a blockage. The good news was there was no other new areas with problems. So the doctor said they could do four stents, but the way she reacted to her existing one made her a poor candidate for them. He recommended quadruple-bypass surgery. That was the week after Thanksgiving.
A week after that, Brenda was back at the hospital, and went in for the surgery. I am happy to say she came through with flying colors. She was very discouraged that even after all her changes she still needed the surgery, but the surgeon told her she should be happy she had a year to get into shape for the procedure. It has dramatically helped her recovery time.
She came home on Monday of this week, and will be recovering for the next 4-6 weeks. I will not get into the procedure or limitations here, for those that want to look them up, WebMD is a great resource. But suffice it to say, she will be keeping Jake company for a little while at home. Melissa also took this week off to help her mom come home and cope.
Everyone is doing well, and the prognosis looks good. As the doctor said, hopefully this will last 20-30 years, and if there are problems after that she can come in and take the pill that will fix it all that they will have developed by then.
But it does put into perspective what is really important in the holiday season. So everyone give your family members a hug, or tell them how important they are to you. Take a moment and appreciate your family...
OK, that's enough. I hear Bed, Bath and Beyond is having a 20% off sale now. Go go go!
Nostalgia
Dec 12, 2005 07:25 PM Filed in: Personal
My friend Beth had a blog item about nostalgia today on her site. I was thinking about that as I was at Costco today and saw the big tub of biscotti that they sell. I have not had any of that since I did the Costco shopping for Cambria. It brought back a lot of memories of the office in Philly, and the people who worked there. Miss you guys!