Happy 4th of July!

While I am sorry that I have escaped from the blogging world, I am not pleased to report that the events that have been happening in my life have been far from a fairy tale world. Poppa C (my mother's father) was put in the hospital Monday, June 22nd. They had scheduled to do a cardiac ablation. The reason for the procedure was because the nerves sending the signal to his heart to beat were sending too many signals and not in the right rhythm. Poppa's cardiac doctor at home referred him to a surgeon in Plano. Normally this procedure can be done as a day surgery and the patient would be sent home the same day. However, Poppa's was a little more extensive than that. They were also going to go in and smooth out the inside of one of the valves. Jeremy said, "He's basically getting his heart ported and polished." Car terms. The Plano surgeon is the best. He wrote the manual on this surgery. Who better to do the surgery than the one who wrote all the details about it? He has been at the Baylor Heart Hospital since the 22nd. The nurses are amazing, the facility is gorgeous, and the menu is to die for (of course it is all healthy heart conscious). Several months ago they performed a cardio-version (like in the movies where they shock the person's chest). This was done to try to get the rhythm back to normal. It worked for a couple of days and then went back to its old way. So much for teaching an old dog new tricks. The surgery worked! But Poppa's oxygen level and blood pressure were screwy, so they've kept him at the hospital. Some time earlier this week, his heart started an irregular rhythm again. So Wednesday, they were going to perform another cardio-version. I was off on Wednesday so I went to the hospital to sit with MurrC and Poppa. This procedure was suppose to take place at noon. He was not allowed to drink or eat anything before they came in to do this. Noon came and went. The doctor had a surgery that was suppose to be over by around 11:30. He had some complications and it wasn't over at 11:30. Poppa kept asking why he couldn't eat, if he could have a coke or even a piece of candy. FINALLY the doctor was done and he came into the room around 5:15p.m. The procedure took all of 5 minutes to sedate him, shock his heart, and wake him back up. However, it worked, they only had to shock it once and at the lowest setting. You know in the t.v. shows where they say, "Set it at 300, CLEAR! Push it to 350, CLEAR!" Well the lowest setting is 100, so that was a good thing. So good, that Thursday afternoon they discharged him and sent him home. If only the adventure would have stopped there. Uncle Andrew went with MurrC and Poppa home to the lake. They were to receive oxygen when they got there. The delivery never came. He continued to get short of breath so they called an ambulance and took him to the hospital in Athens. After conversation with the surgeon in Plano, they decided it was best to transport him back to the Baylor Heart Hospital. So at 3:30a.m. he took another ambulance ride back to Plano. When he got back to Baylor, they drained 500ml of fluid out of one lung and 700ml out of the other. Having a nurse in the family isn't always a great thing, don't let us fool you. Mom felt the need to take the bags out of the Hazardous Waste bucket and show it to us. Not something I particulary wanted to see. Of course, she put gloves on and washed her hands afterwards. Poppa looks good, he is still a little weak, but his oxygen levels are good, his breathing is okay (that's another story, something about his diaphram), and his blood pressure is good.

Jeremy's uncle, Mike, was also taken to St. Paul's Heart Hospital in Dallas on July 1st. He had a valve replaced due to a birth defect. This is his 3rd heart surgery. He had one when he was 3, one at 18, and one now. From the reports I've heard, he is doing well or as well as you can be doign after heart surgery. He has been up walking around and eating.

This next couple of weeks are going to be a busy one for sure. We don't have much planned for 4th of July. After spending an hour and a half to get through the light at Seven Points last year, to get to MurrC and Poppa's house, we passed on that this time. We'll probably end up at C.C.'s house in Forney, eat BBQ, swim, and shoot off money, oh I mean fireworks. Sometime this weekend we ought to take a load of stuff to my parents' house. Next weekend is the big move out of the apartment and into my parents'. We're doing this to save money and other things that can't be discussed, because they aren't etched in stone yet. We'll be there Monday and Tuesday and then Wednesday we leave for the family camping trip to Tyler. Why this is done in July, I don't know! It would make more sense to do it like in oh say, October or April. Oh well, this is how they've been doing this since Jeremy was little.

Hopefully, next time I update there will be happier more joyous news to report.