Followup cardiologist appointment ...

I went for my followup appointment with the cardiologist yesterday. It's really the first appointment I've had with him since I was diagnosed with the cardiomyopathy. He said the results of my heart catheter showed that I didn't have any blockages, which is good, and that my heart function is better than the echocardiogram showed, but not by much. He is recommending that I go on disability because most likely I will need a heart transplant in the future. He is maximizing my medications for now and we're in a wait-and-see mode. I go back in September.

I talked to him about weight loss since I seem to be at a stand still with NutriSystem. He recommended lap-band surgery. I'm going to give him a call when we get back from vacation for a referral. Hopefully weight loss will improve my heart function so the transplant will be something in the far-off future. I know what my mom went through with hers and I just don't know if I'm strong enough mentally for that challenge. My grandmother still has no clue about all of this and I know I'm going to have to tell her soon. My sister is in Boston and won't be back until next Tuesday so I'll probably just wait until after my vacation and we can all be together to tell her. I know it's going to break her heart since she lost her only child (my mom) from the same thing I'm battling now.

All I can do is ask for prayers now. I'm 32 years old and hope to at least live to see my nephews grow up. I suppose all hopes and dreams of having my own kids are shattered now so I can only pray that God allows me the time to see my nephews grow up.

Ugh, the pain!!

I ended up at the ER Monday afternoon. I had a bit of chest pain Sunday night or early Monday morning that woke me up. I didn't think anything about it because it went away instantly. I woke up Monday morning very dizzy, lightheaded, and my vision was very blurry. I showered, shaved my legs, did my hair and makeup, and went to the ER. I also packed a bag because I figured they would keep me to do the heart catheterization. They did admit me after I sat in the ER for 8 hours. They did the heart catheterization yesterday and I got to come home yesterday afternoon. I love my cardiologist!! The heart cath wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I only felt the needle to numb my groin area and a bit of pressure from the catheter. When he removed the catheter, my whole body got hot, it was really weird, but normal according to him. I have a small incision and was able to get up and move around after only two hours thanks to a new closure they use on the vein. There is no way I could have laid there for 8 hours like my dad had to because my back was killing me and I was having back spasms. I now have to stay reclined or in bed for two days so I'll be up and around again on Friday. I'm still a bit sore at the incision site, but not too bad. I look like a junkie because they had a hard time getting a vein in my arms for the IV lines. I think they stuck me about 9 times between both arms. I asked if they were going to start between my toes next. That's about it for now.

Happy Thursday!

I finally got my insurance issues straight so I called the cardiologist to reschedule the heart catheterization. They're supposed to call me tomorrow to let me know when it has been reschedled to. I'm ready to get it done and over with.

Only three weeks from today and we'll be leaving for vacation in Newport, Rhode Island. We have tickets bought for the two big things we're doing while up there, the Schweppes Chowder Cook Off and the Whale Watch Tour in Boston. We're also renting a sailboat in Newport and sailing around for a day, but we'll take care of that when we're up there.

I'm going to my sister's house Saturday to take her and my grandmother out to lunch for Mother's Day. I'm not sure where we're going yet, but I'm sure my sister has some good ideas.

Tomorrow night Tommy and I are going to boxing in Tampa, another event that's going to be on ESPN2. It should be fun. This one is at a more upscale location than the one we went to last month. That's about all that is happening around here.

Weekly update

Well, more bad news. Tommy lost his job at the attorney's office on Friday because she (the attorney) said he wasn't socializing well with the other employees. There are three other female paralegals in the office, one of which is planning her wedding. All they do is talk about female stuff and the wedding; how is he to socialize when he's into sports and guy things? He was under the impression that he was there to do his job, which they had no complaints about, not socialize. He did interact with them and even ate lunch with them. We already knew it was coming because the attorney that my husband was paralegal to hired a friend of hers (female) that had worked there before and been fired. It sounds like sexual discrimination to me, but oh well. So now he is just going to finish his medical transcription course and get going with that.

I've not been doing so well with NutriSystem. I've been under a lot of stress and let myself fail. I started back up on Monday and hope to lose 10-15 more pounds by June 1st when we go to Rhode Island for vacation.

My heart catheterization has been postponed because Cobra hasn't processed our enrollment yet so unless I want to pay for the test and wait for reimbursement, I have to wait until they process their paperwork, which could take 30-60 days. I would rather get it over with, but I'm not paying and waiting forever for reimbursement. No thanks.

In better news, my friend Tammy that lives in Miami is planning on coming up the end of the month. I haven't seen her since she moved down there and I'm so excited!!

We went and saw Justin on Saturday. He slept most of the time, but woke up about 30 minutes before we left. He's really starting to notice things more and is more vocal .. not crying, just "singing" to himself before he goes to sleep and making baby noises. He's such a little angel.

That's about all that is going on around here.