What a way to end the year...

I had every intention of posting this weekend, and wishing all my Bloggy Buddies a very Happy New Year. I was even going to gush a little about how CSJ and I got to spend the first NYE together since before Stud was born, and how nice it was, etc...

Yeah, well, the best laid plans....

THIS is the gang just after midnight.

Yes, that IS a hospital room, and my daddy IS in a gown. We spent the entire day at the hospital. After about 8 hours in the ER, we finally got him in a room. VERY long story short, we were told he had had a mini-stroke. Happy fuckin' New Year, right? I'm not up to it today, but maybe I'll share details tomorrow.

One "nice" thing - my dad's room was on the 9th floor of the hospital. This was the view out his window. We had a lovely view of beautiful Oak Lawn. haha! We DID have a beautiful view, however, of the incredible fireworks that started at midnight and went for nearly 20 minutes. We could see firework both near and far, it was amazing. My niece was trying to capture the fireworks, and managed to take about 5 pictures like the one above. They're still pretty pictures, though.

My daddy had a corner room, and the hospital has a glass corridor that connects the East/West and North/South wings. We could see the corridor from his room. My niece went out to take pictures from there of the fireworks, and snapped this picture of me and Daddy watching them.

I'm too wiped out to write anymore, so I'll be back later. I'm off to go see my daddy.

Day 13

Monday, December 13, 2010
What's one thing about your body that's secretly concerning you/freaking you out right now?

Wow, this is actually a great prompt. If I have to be completely honest (and, yes, Suz says I HAVE to be!) I'd have to say I'm very concerned about the shape of my body. I don't just mean "round," I mean - how are my arteries? Are they clogged? What is my cholesterol level these days? How 'bout my blood sugar level? What does my heart look like? You get the picture.

My daddy had his first heart attack about 2 months before his 51st birthday. Stud Muffin was 3 months old, and I thought he was going to grow up never knowing his papa. That's the first time I remember feeling that kind of absolute mind-numbing fear. Since then, he's had a few more. He's had many angiograms (sp?). So many so, that he developed an allergy to all shellfish (I guess the dye they use is somehow derived from shellfish?). He's had a few angioplasties, as well. And, about 14 yrs. ago, he had triple by-pass surgery. In addition to all that, Daddy is diabetic, and has blood pressure issues. Not exactly the picture of health, huh?

My mother has had her share of heart-related issues, too. She's had an angiogram, but they couldn't do the angioplasty because her arteries are too small. So, she's on a drug regimen to keep her arteries cleared out. She, too, has blood pressure issues. And, she's a cancer patient. (Soon, we'll be able to call her a cancer SURVIVOR! Yay!)

You can see that my family has health issues on both sides. And, it's not just my parents. It extends to their families, which doesn't bode well for the future of my health, does it?

So, all that being said, I am concerned with what's going on inside my body. I've been saying for years that I need to go get a 'tune-up.' I need to have a stress test done. I need my blood tested, both for cholesterol levels and sugar levels. I'm going to really try to at least find a doctor while I'm on break. That's been my biggest hurdle (excuse?) for not doing all these things sooner. I have no general physician, only an OB/GYN. I'm going to have to suffer through what, undoubtedly, will be a LONG call with Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and see if I can find a doctor. Right now my goal is to do this in baby steps. I'll start with finding the doctor, then move up to making the appointment. And, now that I've put it here, I'm hoping some of my Bloggy Buddies will hold me to it. Ask me in a couple of weeks if I've found a doctor yet, ok? Thanks!