What a day

Hello all,

Yesterday I went up to Omaha to be with my dad and family as he had a higher risk procedure performed on his heart. At 1:00, he was wheeled into the cath-lab at Clarkson hospital in Omaha Nebraska. While in the lab, they inserted five tubes into his heart to measure his blood gases, heart strength, blood volume pushed, temperature of blood and electrical stimulus to the heart muscle. From start to finish, it took close to two hours to complete.

When mom and I were told we could go see him upstairs, I was a little curious to know why the doctors that worked on my dad did not come and speak to us immediately as other doctors had done while we had been waiting. As soon as we turned the corner into his room, I found my dad awake, but very groggy. He had a hard time talking for extended periods of time. But he looked relieved to have that finally over.

The good news is the doctors today may have an idea of why my dad is so sick. They believe his heart is not resting long enough between beats. Sounds simple enough.. Yeah right. But the good news is that he now has hope that he will walk out of the hospital. I know his worry has always been that the doctors will never find what is wrong with him. Now, at least he has hope again.

I left the hospital later than I had planned. I called Jen once I was on the road to let her know my ETA for KC. We talked about how good it was to see my dad and family again. I needed some cheering up, so Ali and I talked on the phone for a minute. She told me all about her day. It seems she is quite the talker ( just like her dad ). After a few minutes of riveting conversation, Zac picked up the phone and said "hello", "dadda", "elmo", "Dora" and "Bye-bye". It was a perfect start to a long drive home.

It was a long drive, but easier than expected. I hope dad starts feeling better today.

-Andy