Free Friday

Thursday afternoon update on Pop:
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Change of plans! We got a call from Pop about 8:15am today that they were flying him to Albuquerque to have the pacemaker/defibrillator put in. Mom hurried up the hospital and then found out that she will be flying with him to Albuquerque. So Ellyn (my sister) and I to are flying around trying to get everything packed, animals and watering looked after by neighbors and etc for--we're not sure how many days. Those of you who know me know that spontaneous isn't exactly my middle name but there's not much else to do in this case! :)

As far as this pacemaker/defibrillator, I read the pamphlet on it last night about 1:30am and IF I remember right, I think they call it an ICD, which I just looked up and it is short for Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator. Basically the pacemaker regulates his heart rate. If the device senses that his heart gets out of rhythm, the defibrillator immediately shocks his heart back into rhythm. According to the pamphlet, some patients never need the defibrillator. Patients who do however report that some never feel the shock, some notice some sensation and others say it feels like being kicked in the chest by a mule. Hopefully Pop doesn't have the mule experience if he ever needs it, but it does sound like the best choice for him and should keep his heart from doing the dangerous ventricular fibrillation it was doing yesterday.

As of yet, we don't know when exactly they will be doing the procedure. Pop's doctor last night was saying that usually the first day they evaluate him and then do the procedure the next day. We're hoping then that they do the procedure tomorrow (Friday) because otherwise it will be Monday before they do it. I'd hate for Pop to have to sit in the hospital waiting for 3 or more days before they do the procedure, but I if that's the case there's nothing we can do about it.

I just spoke with Mom a few minutes ago and she said they would be flying them both to the Heart Hospital of NM (NM Heart Institute) around noon (MST) which is just about any minute now. For those of you that are out of state, Albuquerque is about 200 miles south of Farmington/Aztec. The Heart Hospital is off of I-25 near the downtown area, so it's basically in the (pardon the pun) heart of Albuquerque.

So I will try to keep you updated if I have internet access to do so. Keep us all in your thoughts and prayers!

Love,
Laura
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I think this means the prayers worked, and Pop won't have to have bypass surgery, since they are afraid for his chances of survival. But, he is still having surgery, so please keep him at the top of your list this weekend.

For another bit of danger averted, we had a small tornado fly-by on Wednesday. There were at least two confirmed touch-downs within five miles of our house. I had the cats in their travel boxes, all useless electricity turned off and unplugged, and the laptop with me in the bedroom near a huge heavy blanket, a battery-operated radio and a flashlight. We just had wind, which can sometimes be more damaging, and rain. Lots of rain. The circulation was visible from my front porch, moving due north. The whole storm was only an EF Zero. There were gusts recorded at one of the Television Stations around 120 mph, but most of the storm was moving near 55 mph. The Meteorologist was amazed, and said on the air that he didn't believe the measurement. But, the storm broke a tree in their yard near their building. Their own staff were hiding in the central bathroom.

For all that worry and preparation, nothing happened. I am thankful, don't mistake my meaning, but... I am a little disappointed. Not that I wanted our house to get hit. I just wanted to SEE it! I have missed so many storms that had awesome clouds, visible circulations, and moving funnels. I just wanted to see one! Up close, but not dangerously close. I suppose it is a craving for something dangerous. My sense of adventure was piqued, and I can't help but feel that cowering was the right thing to do, but I also feel I missed a great chase. How twisted does that sound? (I hadn't thought of it as a pun, until I read it again. Ha!)

DH was at work preparing to leave for the day when the sirens went off. He and others decided to stay at work, and save the computers, while not driving home in the storm. The line of the storm was bearing down on us at 5:00 pm, and was well past us, and weakening, by 5:30 pm.

I still have a few thoughts to type for the final installment (maybe two) of the Vacation story. I am doing laundry today, and building a paper budget, so it will still be a day or two before those get out there. I am truly sorry, because I don't want the people who were visited at the end of our trip to think that they are any less important than the people we saw first. Too bad, because the longer I wait, the less detail I get saved.

Happy Weekend!