Dad update:

He's doing good. There was 100% blockage in one artery, they put in a stent, and there is no damage to his heart. There's no damage to his heart -- and he's alive-- because he called 911 as soon as he realized the pain was serious and possibly heart related.

He can't go to work for 2 weeks and he has a follow up appt. in 3. I'm really anxious for him to go that because although he claims to have had a wake up call he also seems to think that he can keep eating greasy fatty foods every day for lunch and that won't be a problem.

Thank y'all so much for the ~ma and support. I didn't have a computer all weekend so I'm only posting this now.

Dad update: He does have lung cancer, but they don't yet know much about his prognosis. Apparently there are two types of lung cancer, one slow-growing, the other faster, and the type he had about ten years ago (in his right lung; this is in his left) was the slow-growing kind. They don't yet know which this is, nor if it's spread.

They're to meet with an oncologist Thursday, at which point they'll hopefully find out what's going on, get a treatment plan, etc. Depending on how things work out, I may try to fly down with Annabel for a week or two sometime in April or May.

Continued ~ma appreciated. Mom asked me to pray for healing, but also for strength and peace to deal with whatever happens. And I find myself reticent to look up lung cancer online somehow, but if anyone knows anything about a typical prognosis, what treatment looks like, etc., please tell me in Bitches or Natter. And don't feel obliged to let me down easy or give me false hope. I want to know the truth, I'm just not sure I'm ready for the anonymous Yahoo Health version of it yet.

Dad is 75, and was a smoker from the time he was 17 or 18 until his mid 40's. He also worked in a coal-burning steam plant for most of his life, which isn't as bad as a coal mine, but is far from an ideal pulmonary environment.

I have officially requested a leave of absence from my teaching job next year, which means I have until the end of August to find another (hopefully less stressful) job and to secure myself some health benefits. My last day working here is June 23rd...I've been here 8 years. I'm excited and terrified and would like to request some find-the-perfect-new-job-ma, please.

Meep.

And for the record...it was mainly the people on this board who have reached out and supported me and given me the courage to do this. So thank you. Thank you thank you thank you.

Have no reason to think this is other than a medical annoyance, but Mom is going in for one of her mammos tomorrow, so I'd like some -ma for us. More out of superstition than anything, but I still want it.

For those who don't venture into Natter, Emmett broke his nose playing baseball today. He was baserunning, errant throw hit him square in the face. Screaming, blood, paramedic truck, hospital.

He's fine now, but he has to see an Ear-Nose-Throat specialist in five days. They'll probably have to do a procedure to clear his nasal passages. He wasn't in any pain when I left him with his Mom tonight, but his nose was not looking pretty. Please wish him pretty nose-ma, and safe safe safe and low-pain corrective procedures.

Dad update: It is small-cell lung cancer, and as such was probably causing the TIA issues he was having, since it easily spreads to the brain. The good news is that it responds better to chemo than most types of lung cancer, and he starts chemo next week. And Mom made it sound like the oncologist is optimistic. So we'll see.

Today at noon, I will be giving a seminar in front of the entire pharmacology department. I'm presenting a very difficult paper (I was told I had balls to attempt it on my first seminar). I'm either going to kick ass or be eaten alive. I'd appreciate all sorts of confidence-ma, calm-ma, and don't-ask-me-questions-I-don't-know-the-answers-to-ma. Thanks.

Our family needs some finance-ma this week. Nobody died, just a situation became...well a Situation. Not gonna tell you who with, but his initials are IRS, for one. Finance-ma and best-case -ma appreciated. Thanks, all.