Wow! Time has flown. Life is hard to keep up with and my hobbies seem to be the first to go on "Hold".

Bummed! The day after my last post, I had another migraine headache! Ugh! Here I thought they were over since I'd gone 2 weeks since the last. Ugh! We cancelled the kids' library obligations and called Grandma for help. After a 3 hour nap, I felt better and the kids came back home. So inconvenient. Such a bummer for my kids who had done their chores SO faithfully that morning. Such a blow to my momentum of getting our household caught up. Yes, I was quite discouraged!

My precious husband, called Dr. Pizlo and together they decided to have me go back on Plavix (the one that caused bruising). Now 3 1/2 weeks later, I've only had 2 headaches that were "managable" and a bit less dizziness when I get out of bed in the morning. (I won't miss that after October!) Right now it seems that it's just a matter of waiting. I do have about 5 bruises on my arms and legs, but they cause no pain and are much easier to endure than migraines. Ultimately, I think a tan will be my best way of dealing with them. :)

Follow-up.... On Monday, June 16th, I had my follow-up appt with Dr Hoyer at Riley. The echo and chest x-ray both looked great. I also took Teagan, Erica, & Titus to meet Dr Hoyer since he was so instrumental in fixing my heart. This has been a big deal for our whole family and I knew they would appreciate being able to put a face with the name.

Dr Hoyer was able to show them a sample of the occluder that is now in my heart. Teagan was TOTALLY fascinated by that. (Hmm...a little engineer??) He also showed all of us the 2 pics from the chest x-ray showing little white dots were the occluder is sitting. I really appreciate the time he took with us each time I've met him. I know he was paid handsomely for his work, but his willingness to answer our questions thoroughly made it easier to see that he earns everything he makes.

Relief. Coming home, I realized that hearing such good news really helped me relax about my recovery. Not only, did Dr Hoyer remove any restrictions I had (lifting & running/exercise) but just having him see that the progress was going well, made me feel more "normal". At this point I'll stay on the Plavix for 2 more months and then go to 325mg aspirin. He doesn't think I'll get the migraines later on because I'll be farther along in the healing process. We'll see. I assured him that his email box would be full if I ended up with those again. :)

Well, this blog is more boring and factual than most I enjoy writing. Perhaps we can move on to more interesting things now that I've been given the green light to "carry on with life as normal". Whatever that is!!