Jason's surgery

I really must apologize for leaving everyone hanging from my last post.  It has been a very busy time at my house.

Becky and I followed Jason and his wife, Jackie, down to the hospital in Topeka on May 4.  His appointment time was scheduled for 12:30 p.m. but he was to be there by 11:00 a.m. for check-in.  However, it was 4:45 p.m. before they finally took him in to surgery.  A very long wait without food or drink for him, was followed by an even longer wait because they wouldn’t let him eat anything afterward either until they were sure everything was stable.

After the surgery, the doctor called Jackie, Becky and me in to explain what he had done, and we watched a xray video showing the procedure.  We were able to visualize the blockage to his descending artery, which was 99%.  The healthy arterial flow showed up as at least pencil diameter, but the blocked area was as thin as a human hair in diameter.

The doctor said it was very fortunate that he had surgery when he did, because he was most assured that Jason would have had a massive heart attack which would have damaged a good portion of his heart if he hadn’t had surgery.  He emphasized that Jason would need to take medication for the rest of his life, and would definitely need to change his eating and exercise habits.

He told Jason that he should avoid all pop, because it is “poison” to the heart.  He didn’t really restrict his sodium intake, which surprised me a little, but he did state, use it moderately, if at all.  Jason will need to cut back on the huge amount of carbohydrates and fried and processed foods that he had been eating, and watch portion sizes.

He also stressed the need for more exercise.  Jason drives a truck, hauling hazardous materials, which means many places require the driver stay within 25 feet of the truck at all times.  That makes it very difficult to get any sustainable exercise, unless they run laps around the truck.

The stent they put in the heart where the blockage had occurred seems to have been a success so far.  Jason has much more energy, is not getting short of breath any more, and is back to his usual workaholic ways.  He was forbidden to drive his truck until May 14, so he is anxiously waiting for the chance to get back to work then.  In the meantime, he is going nuts not having anything to do.

He had Dennis’ pickup at his house, so he completely detailed it, repairing a few parts, and replacing some.  He cleaned it all out, which was a huge job, and washed and waxed it.  That helped him use up some of his energy. 

I want to thank everyone who kept Jason in their prayers, his friends for coming to see him or called, and God for keeping him safe and giving him the chance to live a normal, healthy life.  So far, he has lost a few pounds, and is trying to live a more healthy lifestyle.  I pray that he is able to sustain that effort.

There has been a lot of other things going on at our house, but I’ll save that for another post.  I want to wish all mothers a very Happy Mother’s Day tomorrow.  I will be working tomorrow morning so will be going to church tonight.

Happy Mother’s Day, and Happy Graduation Day to our seniors.

Family Crisis

I’ve had a peaceful week here at home with just my dogs, and an occasional visit from my grandkids and daughter.  Did some writing, played some computer games, cleaned some house, and played with my dogs.  Even watched some television.

So it was like a rude awakening to get a call from my son, Jason tonight.  I knew he had been having some problems breathing, and was getting tired easily.  Becky and I had been urging him to see a doctor.  Finally, he did.

He saw a doctor, tests were run, and today, he got a call from the doctor that he was to have a stent placed in his artery tomorrow morning in Topeka.  His artery was almost 100% blocked.  They urged him to start taking aspirin to ward off a heart attack, and gave him instructions to follow starting at midnight tonight.

His wife, Jackie, will drive him down to Topeka in her car tomorrow, and I will follow in my car, with Becky riding with me.  It might have saved some gas money to ride together, but this would give us greater freedom to come and go as we pleased.

I have notified my mom, and we have notified Jason’s brother and sister.  I also messaged Dennis’ sister and, of course, Dennis, who is stuck out on the road with his truck.  He feels terrible that he can’t make it back before the surgery.  But he may be needed to help bring Jason home later on.

After losing Teresa thirteen years ago, this is especially frightening to me.  I cannot even imagine losing another of my children.  The thought is incomprehensible.   It is just becoming easier to live with Teresa being gone.  How can I start all over with another child gone?

So, if I seem a little distracted this week, I hope you will understand why.  I’ve got a lot on my plate right now.  But I trust in my God, that he will protect Jason and bring him through this crisis.  I trust that he will give our family the strength to be strong for Jason.  And I believe that everything will be ok.

Now, I must get to bed, so I can be alert to drive to and through Topeka tomorrow.  It’s going to be a very long day.

A to Z Challenge Completed--On to the next challenge!

April is over for this year, and so is the A to Z Challenge, wherein I post every day on a subject starting with the letter corresponding with the day of the month.  For example, on April 1, the alphabet started with A.  So I posted my blog beginning with A on that day.  The 2^nd of April was B, and so forth.

I don’t want to lose the momentum I started, so I hope to continue posting every day.  I plan to use my writing idea book to write either short essays, post recipes, pictures, or short flash fiction pieces.  I hope you will continue to read my ramblings.  And please feel free to comment.