heart trouble.

my sister's husband is having triple bypass surgery today or tomorrow. he had chest pains last night, called his doctor and was sent to the emergency room. there, they discovered a blockage and checked him in. today, the doctors found out not only did he have a blockage, but three valves were blocked from 75% to 85%. thus, triple bypass. i feel pretty confident about the surgery. my bil is young (43) and should recover nicely. going to the hospital now. i'll keep you posted. wish us luck.

for information on how to avoid heart disease:
womenheart: the national coalition for women with heart disease
american heart association

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update, 3.23: surgery will take place tomorrow at 1:00 and is now a quadruple bypass that will take four to six hours. my sissy is hanging in there, putting on a strong face. we will be doing school pick-ups, baseball practice and the like tomorrow.

update, 3.25: the surgery went well although this morning he feels like he's been "run over by a truck" and doesn't really want to see anyone. i'm thankful all went well during the surgery. thanks to everyone for their words of support. it meant a lot to me.

update, 3.26: the medical people got him out of bed last night and again this morning. he's even sitting-up to eat breakie. he's feeling better and most likely will be released on monday. now for the really, super hard part: recovery. he will be off of work for two months (since his job is physically demanding). he is just going to hate changing his diet, too. while he's not overweight, he is one of those people who are thinking of what to have for breakfast while eating a steak dinner.

update, 3.30: my brother-in-law is home now and even got to take a shower yesterday. my sister said that his bruises are frightening, but that he is feeling better each day. so good, in fact, that he hosed out the garage while she went on an errand yesterday. uh, hello? bypass surgery (it turned out he needed quadruple bypass surgery). chest opened. healing and rest required. he's only supposed to get up for five minutes at a time maybe three times a day. maybe. anyway, she is off work this week to keep an eye on him. again, thanks to everyone for their good thoughts.