Tick, Tick, Tick...

So a little update on the ticker--my achey, breaky heart. I went to see the good doc this week for a follow-up on my MRI. I knew there wasn't any bad-bad news, because the MRI was a couple of months ago. I am now going to specialists (i feel special) who specialize in adults with congenital heart defects (people born with heart problems--I was born w/a hole in my heart and had open-heart surgery at the age of five).

Basically what came out of this visit was that I'm leaky. Well, my heart is. I have a leaky valve. We've known this since the day I was born. But what has changed is that one of my ventricles is enlarged, to overcompensate for the leak. My heart is working extra hard. Eventually it will get tired, from working so hard. Comparing to earlier tests I've had, it seems that ventricle has gotten even larger...a symptom that I'm going to need to have that valve replaced. SURGERY! Now before you (I) get all panicky, it's not gonna happen right now (unless it is), but that and those "palpitations" I had way back in May, are all little warning signs. Plus there's like a number thingy (that I don't understand enough to explain--something about your body's blood flow and your body frame/weight, etc...) that tells them stuff too, and if your number is 180, you need surgery now. My number is 135, so I'm good, for now.

So I'm going to need surgery at some point. We know this now. The words have been said. It could be tomorrow, it could be in the next decade, or later. We're shooting for later, okay? I guess, if I can hang in there for another ten years, I might not have to have the big surgery, they can just do everything through a catheter (what?!). Technology is pretty cool.

For now I'm good. They are just going to watch me extra careful. I get an MRI on my heart every year now and if I have ANY new symptoms, I need to let them know right way. Sometimes things go awry before you have the symptoms. That is totally not going to help my hypochondriac self at all. So if I look a little winded (from running up and down the stairs about 500x a day to check for comments), or faint in front of you or have palpitations (in my quirky case, muscle spasms--Just A Little Update On My Thumper-- in the heart region) you know to remind me to call the good doc. No messing around.

Other than all that, I seriously feel just fine. I would seriously never know all that was going on if I hadn't found out. Let that be a lesson to ya...get your physicals. And squeak a prayer out for me...for the next ten years, k? ((thanks))

A Toe, Some Tears and A Lot of Band-Aids

I am inspired all over the place to write some poetry thanks to this girl--The Petersons Go Public ! Girl has skills. (Don't even try to forget it, Jennifer)

So yeah...I'll work on that, cuz right now I have a Momma-So-Proud story to share. Don't be disappointed, you've got Jennifer's poem to read until I write something of equal brilliance (sheeeyeeeah).

This has to do with A-girl. Poor girl is so five-years-old. She spent the summer in band-aids. Around June, she smashed one of her big toes and it actually lifted the toe nail (sorry, I know this is hard to read). It didn't come off, but it was literally hanging on by a thread. It hurt. It looked awful and to a five-year-old, it was about the worst thing that could happen. I took her to the doctor and she suggested keeping it trimmed and wrapped, because it would REALLY hurt to take it off. We were thankfully assured that a new nail would eventually grow back, but it would take a long time. In the meantime, A-girl has this nail hanging on, and catching on everything. We kept it wrapped with band-aids for months. A-girl wouldn't let us go near it, petrified we were going to take it off, so you can guess, the nail didn't get trimmed. It was not a pretty sight.

Well, each night, for prayers, her toe nail was right at the top of the list. We prayed and prayed (that the darn nail would hurry up and fall off) for her toe. We prayed the new nail would hurry up and grow. Finally (finally, finally) the nail came off. It was a good day. We had cake.

So, I'm tucking her into bed the other night and I noticed her new nail on her toe was half-way grown out. We are half way there! She had no idea, as she had moved on to bigger and better things, since the old nail had come off. She looked at that itty bitty new nail and immediately whooped, "THANK YOU, GOD! YOU ARE AMAZING!" (insert very large Momma smile) Indeed.

I tell you, all those tears, a fat bill, and gross (gross, gross) band-aids were worth (totally worth) that 5-year-old's joyful statement.