I typically post something related to bipolar disorder every day, but today I am speaking on a strictly personal level.

My children were all sick over the weekend but they all went back to school yesterday. The school nurse called me around 10:00 and asked me to bring cough medicine for my youngest daughter. On my way back from the school, my cell phone kept going off but it was in my purse on the other side of the truck so I ignored it. It just kept ringing so I stopped as soon as I got in the driveway and answered it. My husband told me that my mother had been trying to call me because my stepfather had a heart attack. I went to the hospital and stayed until after 7 PM. Right now I am waiting to leave again. He has a heart cath scheduled at 1 PM today.

He went to the local hospital yesterday morning after my mom spent several days begging him to go. They did an EKG and said that he had definitely had a heart attack. Cardiac enzyme levels are normally around .4. His were 30.0. He had the heart attack more than 24 hours before he went to the hospital and they believe that he suffered extensive damage to his heart. The doctor said he didn’t know how he walked in there and he was very lucky to be alive. He was transferred to a larger hospital via ambulance.

Unfortunately, the doctor says that because he waited so long to seek treatment the blockage may be “locked up” and if that is the case then angioplasty and stints are not an option. They did an echo last night but we won’t know anything more until they do the heart cath today and are able to see the extent of the damage and decide what options are available.

My mother has been married to my stepfather for 23 years, so he has been part of my life for quite a long time. (Some of you know that I lost my father on New Year’s day 2008, and this is not something I am mentally prepared to deal with again.) Please keep me and my family in your thoughts. We are all scared to death.

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