You've Gotta Have Heart

As some of you may have noticed, I've been missing in action for a few days, so thought I would catch everyone up.

My sister Jane when into the hospital a little more than a week ago. She had gone to her cardiologist for a follow up visit, and was as pale as the sheet on the exam table. Her blood pressure had been dangerously low for a few days, and while she was doing all the right things to try and bring it back up it remained low.

Her doctor told her that he'd had finally received all her records and had a chance to review them -- and he thought her situation was much worse than what he had originally been led to believe.

They began running a series of tests, and then compared them with test results from Indiana.

We now know that she has a gall bladder full of stones, which could account for why she's been having trouble keeping food down. BUT, the surgeons in DC think they can improve her heart condition with surgery.

After reviewing the options with the surgeon she is now scheduled to have bypass surgery on Thursday, June 11.

She was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday, and is now relaxing comfortably at home. Her cat Sam, and my two dogs were sure glad to see her! It's nice having us all back under one roof again.

She will have the heart surgery first, and then a few days later the surgeons will remove her gall bladder. We are optimistic that all the surgery will go well, and that once done her quality of life will vastly improve.

I can't help but think the reason the surgeons here are so willing to do the surgery is because we live in an epicenter of stress! DC surgeons probably do a lot more of these procedures than surgeons Indiana.

I jokingly said to Jane, if Dick Cheney can survive open heart surgery, you can too!