September 29th marks the day that my father entered into this world back in 1937. If he were here, today would mark his 80th birthday. My Dad was absolutely the smartest man I have ever known. In his almost seventy-three years here on earth, he held many different jobs and traveled all around the world. He was indeed my “Superman.” He was a military man and served as an Air Controller, Cryptologist as well as a Russian Linguist. He…
Once I awoke from surgery and knew I had, in fact survived, I had it all planned out. My Recovery Agenda. I would continue to ‘blog’ the whole open heart surgery thing that I had started, making jokes along the way of all the little details, but once the magic “Six-to-Eight Weeks Recovery Period” came around, (I would choose the “six weeks”) all would ultimately transform back to normal. Or actually, BETTER than normal. I remember how my cardiologist in…
It was a late fall evening, a Friday a few years ago, and my son and I had just arrived at a local raceway a couple of hours away from our home. We were there to attend a very intense weekend driving program I had signed him up for. My husband had actually worked for the racetrack years ago and that’s how we found out about the driving program. It was a dual program for both the beginner driver and…
Ahh! The cozy compounds of my house!! It was great!!! I was so glad to see my son, my daughter, my grandkiddies and pets again!! I think my big orange tabby must have missed me the most though, over two months later and he still won’t let me out of his sight! (I say this as he lays in my lap while I type…) Home was a fan-tabulous place to be!! But, being home didn’t mean all was back to normal…
I’ve been asked by friends on several different occasions to accompany them to events when they needed a last-minute escort. One time it was wedding. Wedding=food+cake. “Sure, I’ll go.” Another time, many moons ago, it was a blind date. Blind date=food+entertainment (for me anyway). “Sure, I’ll go.” If my bosom buddies happen to find themselves in a pickle needing a last-minute companion, if I’m asked, I’ll most likely go. The following was a particularly unusual circumstance… A friend called me…
Discharge Day When I asked my husband how he felt on my day of discharge, this was his response: “A little scared, unresolved, and confused as well. Actually, pretty close to when we brought home our first baby…” Well thanks…. Good thing I didn’t pick up on that at the time. He camouflaged it very well, thank God! “Let’s get the paperwork started to get you outta here!” Nurse Sherry said in her chipper voice. What I…
“The waiting is the hardest part Every day you see one more card You take it on faith, you take it to the heart The waiting is the hardest part…” ~Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers From the album, Hard Promises 1981 Let’s hope it’s the hardest part! So far, it has been the most grueling! The waiting will kill ya, won’t it? It can drive you in-T-total-sane! I attempted to take on this whole heart surgery thing as if…
The time for excuses was over. I had exceeded every last reasoning I could possibly think of to delay the fact that this surgery had to happen. My husband constantly began reminding me of this. It was time to make the call. After a few idiotic temper tantrums, I came to realize that I needed to pick up the phone and schedule the surgery. I had it all planned out: Late March, early April. Even though there was…
Meeting The Doctors So I’m thinking if I ever decide to make this story into a rock opera, it would have to include the 1990’s Extreme hit, “Hole Hearted.” And there ya go. For those of you who don’t know me personally, (or my husband) yes, I was part of the hairband movement of the ‘80’s. Back at a time where your boyfriend’s hair was most likely longer than your own. (For those of you who are…
“When we last left our story, our protagonist had just made a fool of herself in the cath lab…” There was some conflicting information regarding the catheterization results. Being an optimistic person, I took this as a good thing! One cardiologist thought that the mitral valve was still the most important issue and needed attention. Another cardiologist thought the mitral valve fell second to the new problem at hand, which was the ASD that actually needed the prompt…