Get Real
I've been crazy emotional lately. I guess we can all get that way at times, just comes with the territory, I suppose. I've been throwing this out to my husband and friends, maybe I'm going through the change. I'm sure it's wishful thinking but I am having night sweats. I force my husband to keep the heat off in the house even on the coldest of nights. The other morning I woke up burning up and the temperature was 64. Baby Girl asked for blankets for her bed, she's freezing (poor thing). Most nights, I can't sleep. I fall asleep pretty easy but can't stay asleep. I'm moody, more so than normal I think and (TMI, I know) my monthly friend's stays are becoming shorter and shorter. A friend says it sounds more like pregnancy than the change of life to her, but that's not a possibility, thank God.
My dad went into the hospital today for a catherization (think that's what it's called). They went through an artery in his leg to see his heart. Last year, they found out that one artery was 100% blocked and they couldn't reopen it. They put a stint in another artery that was somewhat blocked for reinforcement. He's had a pretty rough year both physically and mentally. First of all up until the heart trouble, he thought he was invincible. Most things especially sickness was nothing more than mind over matter for him and this belief kept him from even the occasional common cold. He swears he's not been sick since the 1950's. If ever he feels a cough or sniffle coming on, he'll use his mind over matter powers and not be sick. His tried and true powers have failed him over the past year leaving him not only sick on most days but also lost.
Since January, he's been having episodes of dizziness and nausea. It landed him in the emergency room a couple of times, the last time just a few weeks ago. They dismissed it as the stomach flu and sent him home . His wife had words with the emergency room doctor because she knew it was no stomach bug. Her gut instinct said it was his heart all along although no one would listen. They went to an ear, throat and nose specialist because his family doctor said it could be Inner Ear.
And so as Dad's wife suspected, it's his heart. The one artery is still 100% blocked, the one with the stint is 70% blocked and the other is 80% blocked. He's gotta have triple or quadruple bypass surgery. He's scheduling it on Monday, not sure how quickly it will happen. He has to be off Plavix for 5 days. I'm going to fly out to be there for the surgery.
He, of course, is fine and sees no need for me to come all that way because (in his words) "open heart surgery is no more than having your appendix out nowadays." Not sure it's in quite the same category but I have had 3 uncles go through it in the last few years, one who recovered on a cruise ship just a few short weeks after his surgery. I think Dad will be just fine.
I talked with Mom for several hours tonight. She had a PET Scan last Thursday and was given a clean bill of health from her oncologist last Tuesday. The doc said the scan covered the top of her head to her knees, no cancer. She told him, "Good thing, because she wasn't up for another dose of chemo," which sparked a more truthful discussion than she's ever had with him before. Why is it so hard to get straight answers from doctors?
Mom commented that she doesn't know how patients can continue life while taking dose after dose of chemo. She confessed that she didn't handle her treatment well and guesses her age was a factor or maybe weakness within herself. He told her that he's not seen any patients sail through the chemo radiation regiment she had. In fact, most fare as she did. It was a liberating conversation with her doctor which offered her a Get Out Of Jail Free Card. I hope she lets herself off the hook.
I think the doctors, nurses and staff are so focused on keeping it positive that they fail to keep it real. I remember attending the chemo class where a nurse excitedly said the treatment is much easier than in the early days and that some patients even feel better on chemo. The first meeting with her oncologist to plan out her treatment encouraged her to continue work, life, and even a planned vacation which fell smack dab between dose 1 and 2 of chemo. I know they can't be full of doom and gloom but they shouldn't blow smoke either.
More Later. . .
My dad went into the hospital today for a catherization (think that's what it's called). They went through an artery in his leg to see his heart. Last year, they found out that one artery was 100% blocked and they couldn't reopen it. They put a stint in another artery that was somewhat blocked for reinforcement. He's had a pretty rough year both physically and mentally. First of all up until the heart trouble, he thought he was invincible. Most things especially sickness was nothing more than mind over matter for him and this belief kept him from even the occasional common cold. He swears he's not been sick since the 1950's. If ever he feels a cough or sniffle coming on, he'll use his mind over matter powers and not be sick. His tried and true powers have failed him over the past year leaving him not only sick on most days but also lost.
Since January, he's been having episodes of dizziness and nausea. It landed him in the emergency room a couple of times, the last time just a few weeks ago. They dismissed it as the stomach flu and sent him home . His wife had words with the emergency room doctor because she knew it was no stomach bug. Her gut instinct said it was his heart all along although no one would listen. They went to an ear, throat and nose specialist because his family doctor said it could be Inner Ear.
And so as Dad's wife suspected, it's his heart. The one artery is still 100% blocked, the one with the stint is 70% blocked and the other is 80% blocked. He's gotta have triple or quadruple bypass surgery. He's scheduling it on Monday, not sure how quickly it will happen. He has to be off Plavix for 5 days. I'm going to fly out to be there for the surgery.
He, of course, is fine and sees no need for me to come all that way because (in his words) "open heart surgery is no more than having your appendix out nowadays." Not sure it's in quite the same category but I have had 3 uncles go through it in the last few years, one who recovered on a cruise ship just a few short weeks after his surgery. I think Dad will be just fine.
I talked with Mom for several hours tonight. She had a PET Scan last Thursday and was given a clean bill of health from her oncologist last Tuesday. The doc said the scan covered the top of her head to her knees, no cancer. She told him, "Good thing, because she wasn't up for another dose of chemo," which sparked a more truthful discussion than she's ever had with him before. Why is it so hard to get straight answers from doctors?
Mom commented that she doesn't know how patients can continue life while taking dose after dose of chemo. She confessed that she didn't handle her treatment well and guesses her age was a factor or maybe weakness within herself. He told her that he's not seen any patients sail through the chemo radiation regiment she had. In fact, most fare as she did. It was a liberating conversation with her doctor which offered her a Get Out Of Jail Free Card. I hope she lets herself off the hook.
I think the doctors, nurses and staff are so focused on keeping it positive that they fail to keep it real. I remember attending the chemo class where a nurse excitedly said the treatment is much easier than in the early days and that some patients even feel better on chemo. The first meeting with her oncologist to plan out her treatment encouraged her to continue work, life, and even a planned vacation which fell smack dab between dose 1 and 2 of chemo. I know they can't be full of doom and gloom but they shouldn't blow smoke either.
More Later. . .
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