VTB: Visiting the Blog

I started blogging for two reasons: to communicate better with my friends and family and because I needed the creative outlet. I stopped because I got out of the habit. I have been feeling the need to blog again. At this point it is not a lifelong commitment or even a 2010 New Year's resolution, but here I am.

It doesn't seem possible that Mom has been in Port Orange for 8 months. This was definitely a good decision. Mom had the second surgery on her wrist, removing all the hardware that was originally put there and she has regained as much use as possible. Adjusting to apartment life was made much more difficult by a troubled upstairs neighbor who has now been evicted. Of course, Mom easily made friends at First Baptist and is now teaching a Sunday School class. She has continued to travel, making numerous trips to Vero and Palm Beach Gardens. Her big trip this year was a Christmastime trip to Williamsburg and Jamestown. On the same trip she spent time with friends and family. Perhaps our biggest "adventure" has taken place since she has been home. Mom had not been feeling like herself since she returned from her Christmas trip. She had a dry cough and no energy. Believing that she simply needed a course of strong antibiotics, she made an appointment with her general practitioner. He discovered she had an irregular heartbeat, sent her to the ER for a work up and warned her to be prepared to be admitted. Monitors revealed that her heart rate was 130 (normal is 70-80) She was treated with medication and, at first, did not respond. After a a second medication which did lower her heart rate, she was discharged. Fortunately, she also left with an appointment with a cardiologist for the next day. That was Monday, December 21. At 2:30 AM on Tuesday, December 22, Mom called to say that she was worse and felt she needed to call 911 and go to the ER. I offered to drive her - the hospital is basically "across the street" from her apartment complex. I am still debating that decision. She was in the ER for about 7 hours and they contacted her cardiologist at 4AM. he saw her in ICU at about 8AM and because the meds still were not doing the job. she was scheduled to move to Halifax Main campus for a test that checked for clots and then shocks the heart back to a normal rhythm. She got her ambulance ride but did not have to have the test. The meds finally did their job and her heart converted back to a normal rhythm. She was discharged by mid afternoon. I spent the night with her that night. She has gradually regained her "perkiness."