We thought Pops was going to be discharged today since his angioplasty went so well yesterday.  No such luck!  Really, why should anything be easy?  He developed hematoma (swelling filled with blood) at the puncture site.  They rushed him down to do an ultrasound to make sure that was the only complication and it was.  Pops still had high hopes he was going to be released tomorrow.  Nope.

The doc came in and told him on MONDAY they are going to lance the hematoma.  He could possibly be discharged on Tuesday.  Why are they waiting until Monday to do it?  Because the procedure isn't done on the weekend because everyone is off.  Seriously, this amazes me.  Pops is pissed he has to stay there until Tuesday. 

After Mouthy Mom's successes, I went to Barnes and Noble afterwards to pick up the South Beach diet book, the cook book and their guide.  I started reading some of it and it's good for heart patients!  Woooohooo, we're all doing South Beach. 

So, FMM came over.  Watched TV.  Talked.  Laughed.  One thing led to another.  My world got rocked.  Again. 

Today went well.  Very well.  I'm so excited!  After the catheterization, they found one blockage.  The artery was 99% blocked.  That wasn't a typo either.  It was really 99% blocked.  The docs are very surprised Pops didn't have a heart attack let alone any chest pain.  Kind of scared the crap out of me for myself since the woman who gave birth to me had a heart attack in her mid 30's.  I'm pushing 30 right now.  My son's former pediatrician had a heart attack and died at age 33.  Ok, it's time for changes.  Big changes.  I'm going to call my doc and see if I can get a stress test and get my cholesterol checked. 

Back to Pops.  His four arteries from the quad bypass are doing fine...it's the other one that's not.  They were able to do angioplasty though.  Still going to be some recovery time but not as much as it would be if he had another bypass surgery.  The angioplasty went fine.  He's doing good.  He needs to stay still for 12 hours which is the hardest part.  If everything stays good tonight (so far so good) he could be discharged around 12 tomorrow. 

FMM, who is one of my BFF (other than PIC), is going to sit with me for a bit tonight.  He called me constantly today to find out what was going on.  Heck, everyone has been calling me.  But he left a message.  He NEVER leaves me a message. 

My job has been really cool.  My boss is allowing to bring DJ into work me with me indefinitely.  How fun is THAT going to be?  I was talking to my girl Hez on the phone and was telling her.  She was telling me how lucky I am.  I told her to stop for a minute, close her eyes and picture son2 (who is an aspie) spending the day in work with her daily.  She started laughing.  Yep, she doesn't feel I'm lucky anymore:)

I was really worried about what I was going to do with DJ.  FMM said he would watch him the days he doesn't work.  DJ should love that.  FMM has a Playstation.  I can just picture the two of them playing Madden all day.  DJ will never want to come home.  FMM has the ultimate bachelor pad. 

Pops always thinks of me.  I work, take care of DJ, take care of him, clean the house, do the laundry, cook, buy groceries and run various and all errands, not to forget I'm in school full time.  Pops' heart today decided I really don't have enough stress in my life.  Dropped him off (yes I took off work to take him to his appointment) to have a stress test.  Of course there are abnormalities.  They admitted him in the hospital.  Wasn't once this year enough?  *sigh

I'm really hoping he's in and out this time.  He's having a catheterization tomorrow.  From there they will decide whether or not they are going to do a balloon or if they need to do heart surgery.  I'm really hoping they DON'T do the surgery.  They last time he had bypass surgery (a quadruple, circa 1999) he caught an infection on the operating table that wasn't identified for about 6 weeks.  That's where all of his problems started.  This will be the 5th time he has to be hospitalized in 5 years.  We only missed out one year of hospitilzation (oh darn). 

DJ was my comic relief for the day.  We went to the hospital while Pops was waiting for his room.

DJ:  Pops, is that your naked butt I see?

And the roller coaster begins.  I won't disappear this time.

Have you heard about Blogathon 2005 yet?  A bunch of bloggers stay up for 24 hours straight and post every 1/2 hour to their blog to raise money for charity.  Nope, I'm not doing it.  I KNOW I can't stay up 24 hours straight nor will I be able to post every 1/2 hour.  BUT there are people who can!  I am sponsoring two blogs who 1) I read daily and 2) whose charities affect/have affected me personally. 

So, if you want to be a part of this event head over to Mouthy Mom who is blogging for the MISS Foundation.  The MISS Foundation is a non profit organization providing support to families who have lost a child through different initiatives.  As most of you know, I lost my first son, Warren, to SIDS in 1996 when he was a month old. 

I'm also sponsoring Moi over at Bloggg who is raising money for the Autism Society of America.  Now I'm certain you all know why this organization is important to me.  If you don't you must have been under a rock or something.  My son, DJ, was dx'd with Aspergers (an Autism Spectrum Disorder) over a year ago (OMG, has it been a year already????) 

So, please, take the time and support these wonderful ladies! 

A New Chapter
posted 08/07/2005 @ 9:10pm

What A Tangled Web We Weave...
posted 08/07/2005 @ 01:42am

Not So Fast
posted 08/05/2005 @ 11:51pm

Oooopsie
posted 08/04/2005 @ 11:59pm

Looking Good
posted 08/04/2005 @ 09:06pm

Just Hold A Bed For Me
posted 08/03/2005 @ 10:50pm

Blogathon 2005
posted 08/03/2005 @ 01:06pm

It's so good to be home!  I loved our time away, but now I'm broke:) 

DJ had SO much fun on the beach.  We were there every day first thing in the morning until mid afternoon. 

DJ loved the boardwalk and all of the amusements.  He definitely didn't get my genes.  I'm the biggest chicken when it comes to rides!  He wanted to go on everything (minus the "baby" rides).  I put my foot down on the upside down rides.  Luckily he had GF and GD with him to go on all these rides.  I just stood with my feet planted firmly on the ground snapping pictures. 

I did go on a few rides with GB.  Ok, only one.  The train.  But at least I went on something!                                         

                         

                                        

Tomorrow is the day!  We are headed down the shore.  For those of you non-Philly people this translates to vacationing in New Jersey.  DJ is very excited as you can imagine.  Of course, I'm last minute with everything.  I have all my packing to do today and I need to go out and buy a cooler...and more food.  I refuse to pay boardwalk prices every night.  I just don't have it like that!

We are going down with DJ's best friend (GF - goofy friend), his dad (GD - goofy dad), his brother (GB - goofy brother) and a friend of the family (GFF - goofy family friend).  It should be an interesting experience.  We've spent loads of time with them over the course of the year, but never a whole week together.  Here's the scoop.  GF has Asperger's and IS JUST LIKE DJ (yes, there is another one out there exactly like him).  GD probably has Asperger's.  Trust me, you can tell.  Though he is undx'd.  I believe GB has PDD-NOS but I'm not certain of that dx.  I do know he's lower on the spectrum than DJ and GF.  And GFF and I?  Well, let's just say we are not on the spectrum.   

I expect lots of fun times, loads of wacky explanations, and echolalia running rampant.  DJ and GF get together and start doing the whole movie/tv thing.  Once they start...

I still get a little thrown off when I see my page:)  Over the next few weeks, you might see some new things here or there.  Or might not even notice at all!  But I'm sure you've noticed the new design and hopefully it's reader friendly!

DJ's about ready to lose his other front tooth.  Now he's going to have that cute little gap when he smiles!  I can't wait.  His tooth is hanging by a thread again.  He likes to lose his teeth while we're on vacation.  Since we're leaving for Ocean City, NJ on Monday...I'm sure he'll lose his tooth as we're crossing the bridge or somewhere else where I can't pull over!

Tonight we're headed out to dinner with the family I don't talk to.  My cousin is up from Texas and we're taking her out to dinner.  DJ just can't wait to get a salad.  He's so goofy sometimes!

Yes, these words came out of DJ's mouth.  Who would have thunk it?  Today was THE dentist appointment.  I've been preparing DJ all week for this moment.  I had him so excited to go see the dentist, he was up at 5am.  He didn't cry one time.  Nor did he get upset.  The staff there was SO wonderful, so patient. 

The sedative actually worked a bit this time, but he was awake the whole time during the cleanings.  He let them take xrays - no problems.  They did have to assure him about 100 times that they were NOT pulling any teeth though.  This time he believed them. 

Unfortunately his baby teeth SUCK.  He has tons and tons of cavities.  The dentist explained to me that this sometimes happens and when their adult teeth come in, they are perfectly fine.  She sealed his molars today to be on the safe side since he was extremely cooperative and didn't move around much. 

She had a wonderful technique with him.  DJ's a big cuddler.  So he cuddled against her shoulder while she did everything.  She explained to him the importance of jobs.  How she had a job to do and how she did it.  Then she told him HE had a job to do as well.  He had to hold on to a stuffed animal laying on his stomach while she did her job.  He was so proud he had a job to do as well.  She said after the next couple cleanings, she'll see if he's ok with letting the hygenist do it. 

She does want him to get a few teeth pulled (as you all know we've been waiting another year for this).  She doesn't want to do it in the office though.  She wants to send him to an oral surgeon where he'll be put to sleep while they do the pulling.  She's also going to write a letter to my medical insurance company telling them she refuses to do it in office because of the autism.  Then hopefully they'll cover it. 

As I've said before, I didn't care how much money I paid out of pocket.  I do have dental insurance but their office isn't on the list.  I still had to clear my head a little bit after I forked over $500 for dental work.  The most expensive was the sealant put on his teeth to prevent cavities.  They were $50 a tooth times 4.  Then the sedation was almost $200.  A very expensive, but happy, day!  DJ even got a huge stuffed whale for being so good and doing everything the dentist asked him to do.  I was so proud of my guy!!!!