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Showing posts from August, 2024

It's Been a Weird Week

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Last weekend, Faith seemed to be struggling with a cold. On Sunday morning, I thought she had slept it off, but unfortunately, it hit full force that evening. Because she was so stuffed up, and had a lot of drainage, she did not sleep well that night. I tried to put her adjustable bed up as much as I could, but it still wasn't enough. Around 3 in the morning I put her in her chair where she slept for a few hours. After I put her back into bed, her sleep was still pretty disruptive. Finally, around 8:30 she had had enough and just wanted to get up for the day.  On Monday, we called to cancel her Tuesday therapy sessions. She was bummed about having to miss aquatic therapy and occupational therapy but took it well. I was trying my best to help her feel better by giving her nose spray (which she was actually asking for), keeping her humidifier going, and also doing this face mask thing that makes steam so that she can breathe it in. She calls it her inhaler.  On Wednesday, she ...

50 Years Ago Today: My First Open Heart Surgery

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I'm tired today. And a bit stressed. I've been dealing with trying to get approved to go to Mayo to get my pacemaker replaced and it hasn't been fun. But today I'm also thinking about how it was 50 years ago today that I had my first open heart surgery. It was called a Waterston shunt and was supposed to improve blood flow and cyanosis. It didn't help my cyanosis much, though because I still had blue lips and fingernails afterward.  Me as a baby with my parents and brother.  Me at 5 1/2 months old, 2 weeks before my first open heart surgery.  It's amazing that my parents were even able to navigate the medical world at that time. They lived in rural Montana and then western North Dakota. Somehow, they managed to find a pediatric cardiologist in Bismarck who referred them to the University of Minnesota. Up until I had a heart catheterization, they had no idea what was going on with my heart.  The doctors just thought that I had a hole in my heart, which is why I ...