This past week has been pretty crazy.
Found out Saturday that my Mom was going to need quadruple bypass surgery. The 5-6 hour operation was set for Monday of this past week. It went well and she's now out of the hospital and recovering at home. Amazing that someone can, on Monday, have their breastbone cracked, ribs fileted, veins snipped and taken from multiple areas of their body, arteries rerouted with those snipped veins, and then on Friday be back at home.
Thanks to everyone, especially my Dad, my Aunt Kathy, my Aunt Deedy, and my Uncle Richard, for burning the midnight oil with my Mom. My Mom's friends, Sandy and Bob Vlasadi, also came by the room to help out. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. I think it worked. She is doing remarkably well and in good spirits following this most amazing of surgeries. Interested in learning more about cardiac bypass surgery or coronary artery bypass graft as it is formally called? Check out this really cool link that explains the ins and outs of the operation. Click here to learn more.
On another note:
the day my Mom was operated on, I had to travel to Casper, WY for GIS training. It was snowing between Wamsutter and Rawlins on I-80. I hit a few icy patches along the way and slowed down to about 40 mph. The third time was a charm. I hit some black ice and next thing I know I am heading for the median on the east bound passing lane. I did the thing I didn't want to do; try to correct my steering. I miraculously missed the pilings on the side of the interstate while somehow maneuvering back into the left hand lane. As soon as I did this though, I found myself spinning completely around on both lanes of traffic. I remember glancing behind me and seeing two semis heading straight for me. I cranked out a full 180 facing incoming traffic. Luckily, those same two semis saw me, and the situation that was unfolding. They slowed down and came to a stop about 50-100 feet away from me. Usually you see the tail end of a semi as it blows by you on the interstate. That day I faced two head on and lived to tell about it. I gave them both a wave of relief and proceeded to pull off the interstate into the median to take a deep breath. My friend and co-worker, Teresa, was with me and gave me some much needed encouragement and suggested that I take a moment and just gather myself. I did. Then I pulled back onto the Interstate and drove for another 20 miles or so before we got to Rawlins. There I passed the keys over to Teresa to finish up the journey. She was a huge help to me that day and I'm grateful for her keeping a calm head throughout the spin cycle. What a day that was. Just lucky to be alive. I will NEVER drive on I-80 in snow conditions ever again. It's pull over or bust.
On another note, the training in Casper went well. Looking forward to trying out some new tricks and tools in GIS this upcoming week. Will keep you posted on that.
In the meantime, have a great rest of your weekend and start to the week before Christmas,
Drew
Found out Saturday that my Mom was going to need quadruple bypass surgery. The 5-6 hour operation was set for Monday of this past week. It went well and she's now out of the hospital and recovering at home. Amazing that someone can, on Monday, have their breastbone cracked, ribs fileted, veins snipped and taken from multiple areas of their body, arteries rerouted with those snipped veins, and then on Friday be back at home.
Thanks to everyone, especially my Dad, my Aunt Kathy, my Aunt Deedy, and my Uncle Richard, for burning the midnight oil with my Mom. My Mom's friends, Sandy and Bob Vlasadi, also came by the room to help out. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. I think it worked. She is doing remarkably well and in good spirits following this most amazing of surgeries. Interested in learning more about cardiac bypass surgery or coronary artery bypass graft as it is formally called? Check out this really cool link that explains the ins and outs of the operation. Click here to learn more.
On another note:
the day my Mom was operated on, I had to travel to Casper, WY for GIS training. It was snowing between Wamsutter and Rawlins on I-80. I hit a few icy patches along the way and slowed down to about 40 mph. The third time was a charm. I hit some black ice and next thing I know I am heading for the median on the east bound passing lane. I did the thing I didn't want to do; try to correct my steering. I miraculously missed the pilings on the side of the interstate while somehow maneuvering back into the left hand lane. As soon as I did this though, I found myself spinning completely around on both lanes of traffic. I remember glancing behind me and seeing two semis heading straight for me. I cranked out a full 180 facing incoming traffic. Luckily, those same two semis saw me, and the situation that was unfolding. They slowed down and came to a stop about 50-100 feet away from me. Usually you see the tail end of a semi as it blows by you on the interstate. That day I faced two head on and lived to tell about it. I gave them both a wave of relief and proceeded to pull off the interstate into the median to take a deep breath. My friend and co-worker, Teresa, was with me and gave me some much needed encouragement and suggested that I take a moment and just gather myself. I did. Then I pulled back onto the Interstate and drove for another 20 miles or so before we got to Rawlins. There I passed the keys over to Teresa to finish up the journey. She was a huge help to me that day and I'm grateful for her keeping a calm head throughout the spin cycle. What a day that was. Just lucky to be alive. I will NEVER drive on I-80 in snow conditions ever again. It's pull over or bust.
On another note, the training in Casper went well. Looking forward to trying out some new tricks and tools in GIS this upcoming week. Will keep you posted on that.
In the meantime, have a great rest of your weekend and start to the week before Christmas,
Drew
3 comments:
i'm glad to hear your mom is doing well after surgery and am very glad you pulled out of the I-80 potential mashup. whew!
have a great christmas! put in some pix of your tree in your new house :)
it's good to hear your mom made it through and the work avoided any further problems...i wish her the best. also, glad those semi's could stop in time...ice can be scary!
what is that car in the picture? your work car? it looks like a mercury tracer wagon?
Thanks Adam and Scoot for your kind comments. Will hopefully get up some xmas house photos soon. Keep watching.
Adam, the car was just a stock photo I found on Google Images to spruce up the site. Don't worry, I'm still going for a pickup truck if I can find one in Salt Lake City this Saturday.
Miss you guys and hope you have a great Christmas there in PA.
Drew
Post a Comment