A Gut Check

Well, this has been a long week.  Sometimes things happen that really give us pause to realize just how fleetingly we pass through this earthly presence. Our family had a bit of a reality check last Thursday. I got a call at 2:50AM from our son, telling me that my brother, Michael, was taken to the local hospital(  in Ottawa, IL) with an Aortic Aneurism which left a tear in the Aorta at the back of his heart.  They first did an EKG and found nothing, then a scan and found it.  He was immediately airlifted by helicopter to Peoria, IL for possible emergency surgery to save his life.

Long story short, they did further more intricate scans and decided  he didn’t  need surgery…yet.  He was put on blood pressure meds, 300 mg 3 times a day, and they kept him to observe him.  It seems you can live with just a tear in your Aorta, and you have to have it checked often. He was released from Peoria hospital on Sunday and is home now.  He will be seeing his cardio doc in Peoria in 2 weeks.  They will re-assess and keep observing him.  It is possible that at some time he WILL have surgery. Meanwhile, his blood pressure is to be kept on the low side. What they DON’T want to happen is for the aneurism to rupture suddenly…that would be bad…very bad.  Michael is a bit…a lot like my Dad.  He has no time to be sick and his patience is being tested. Luckily his wife, Helen, worked on our Sandwich Ambulance for a while, and our son and daughter-in-law (paramedic and nurse) will hover and see he behaves..somewhat. In the meantime, he cannot do any more bow hunting. He now has to use a crossbow. (My brother is an avid hunter..deer, turkey…With his beard, he looks like Uncle Si). 

As I said, this was a reality gut check for all of us.  Yes, Heart Disease certainly does run in my family.  But, it could have been much worse. Michael is alive to see our family, and they can fix this if need be…Life is good and Carpe Diem!

MacGyver was called upon by Terrie to help repair their swimming pool filter this week. We use to have an above the ground pool, so he knows lots about those filters..

 

 

Terrie is pretty good at learning how to do things on her own.  She inherited Den’s love of anything problematic and tries to fix it. After watching her Dad work on the pool filter, she now knows what happened and can do what it takes to get it running again. Apparently after the filter sits in the basement all Winter, some things are stuck...I have NO idea what he did, but Den said it probably is fixed and won’t happen again this year. Obviously I am NOT NOT NOT like my husband…John Hatch, (FD5, retired) says “That MacGyver is handier than a pocket on a shirt.”

Dennis and I were busy in our yard putting down 37 bags of mulch…and boy do I feel it!  We have been trying to deal with our Al Qaeda squirrels here in our yard.  Every morning I get up to plants on our deck and in the front of our house being nearly dug out by those nasty rodents!! I stick them back in the dirt and pat it down…every morning..This is getting frustrating!!

On another medical note, I had a Nuclear Parathyroid Scan done at Rush Copley Hospital in Aurora, IL yesterday. I was there from 9:30AM until 1:30 AM.  They injected me with some kind of radioactive juice..waited 15 minutes ..and then CT scanned my neck for 20 minutes. Why is it when someone tells you not to  move for 20 minutes your nose itches??? Anyway, after that I waited another 2 1/2 hours and they did another 10 minute scan…With the radioactivity inside my body, I very possible could have “lit up a room” when I walked in…That would be a first for me!

OK, so this blog is a mish mosh of stuff. And I will add one more item to the stew…I got a real FIND at a garage sale the other day….

We have here a Twin Star electric Ben Franklin fireplace/heater!

Price? you asked…a mere $3.00!!!! SCORE!!!!!!!