Been awhile

Well it's been almost a month, so I felt like I should get back on here and give an update. The past few weeks have been filled with a lot of medical turmoil, I'm not really one that likes drama to begin with-so the past few weeks have been a hell ride for me. My oldest sister went in for what was supposed to be a routine cardiac cath, and the end result was that the dr. performing the cath perforated one of her arteries. The perforation caused clotting, and the release of enzymes from the tear which in turn resulted in a heart attack during the procedure. Once that was under wraps, they put 3 stents into her right coronary artery. The worst part, we learned what all happened a week later-at a different hospital, when a 2nd cath was performed. Little did the initial doctor realize, one of my other sister's is a nuclear med tech in a heart center out in Colorado-we knew very early that his description of what happened during the procedure wasn't exactly accurate-too many things weren't adding up. Because of that, it was no surprise to many of us that we had to admit her a 2nd time (yes, at a different hospital) and we were on pins and needles as to the damage that might have been caused. The good news is the 2nd cath showed blood flow was good in the right coronary artery, it also showed the perforation had begun to heal. And while it will take a while for it to heal, she is expected to make a full cardiac recovery.

She had surgery this morning, a week and a half later to remove a hematoma from her groin area, which was a result of the stint (which the cath is inserted) being removed improperly during the initial procedure. The surgery went well, and we are all hoping Sherry will have a nice hiatus from dr.'s and hospitals for a very long time.

It's moments like these, where you receive a phone call and have to listen to your own mother cry on the other end that makes you realize how hard life can be sometimes. Sherry endured the worst of it all, and will only come out a stronger person because of it; but I still went to bed every night with a deeper appreciation for my own family. Life is short, you don't realize it til it's too late-if you haven't hugged your sister, mom or dad lately-do so the next time you see them.