Monday, August 21, 2006

Life in the the 2000's

I haven't been keeping up with this very well, so here I am trying to write something.

We were in Klamath Falls and Medford during July to be part of my family reunion and 80th birthday for my Dad. It was quite an event and all went well. We worked hard on the food, and discovered we will do things differently next time. We want to do it again in 2 years.

Found out my Dad has an abdominal Aortic Aneurysm that is about 3 cm in size. Operations are not performed until they are 5 cms. Even then, he is opting NOT to have the surgery, because he does NOT want to die on the table, which is the most likely scenario with his COPD and age. I don't blame him and I want to support him in this decision. But I found info on a much less invasive prcedure that has just been developed, where a material is placed inside the aneurysm by means of a catherization, which expands and blocks off the aneurysm. The doctor said he could live up to eight years, just think of the advances of medicine in that amount of time. Maybe this procedure would be just the thing for him. I hope he looks into it. I sent him a link for a story from a TV station here in UT. I guess I've done all I can for now.

My former BIL, Joe, had to have a quadruple bypass done last week after suffering a massive heart attack last Monday. He's doing well and really dodged a bullet. He was in the right place at the right time with the right person. A friend Matt performed CPR and kept him alive until the paramedics arrived. He was in the airport in San Diego, having just gotten off a flight there. He really is lucky it didn't happen while in flight, although they do have defibulators and such on board, but it would have meant a longer time until he got to the hospital. He's doing very well, and they expect a complete recovery. Thank goodness. Even though he and Dolly are divorced, he is the father of their children and a friend to us.

I guess that's all for now.