I'm reminded tonight that this community is a necessary gift to many of us.

sumi, my uncle had a similar experience and diagnosis. Bottom line for him was that he has to be really careful about his food and meds, and he was on coumadin to begin with, which REALLY didn't help (except with his heart condition. Bleed out or die of heart attack? GREAT choice.) Also, the second it happens again, straight to the ER.

grumble grumble stupid time wonkiness

Looks like I'm going to be here 'til at least Noon. Had my liquid breakfast: cream of wheat w/salt and honey, tea w/milk & honey, & beef broth for more protein. The choices are limited. And I'm pretty tired of them.

Have they given you dietary restrictions for after you get home?

Only a couple of weeks ago? God, that's unbearably brutal. I'm so very sorry. And fuck cancer.

Yes, it had spread to her lungs and she stopped breathing one day and couldn't be revived.

Oh man, sj, how awful. Fuck cancer.

I'm watching Joey/Pacey clips on YouTube.

Awww.

The Big Giant Forehead is not soothing at all.

amyth calls him "The Useless Van der Beek."

Fun night last night. Neighborhood likes carrots. Okay, neighborhood likes beer. Lots of beer.

jeez, sj. man oh man.

Omg, smonster, Tom and I were drunk. I have some recollection of talking to St. W about being from Alabama and I hope very much I wasn't a total jackass. Other than being worried about that, though, that was definitely fun times.

Though Tom is grumpy about his hangover today.

I spent most of my month in the hospital, when I had pancreatitis, on clear liquids. I thought I was going to go insane.

So my dad called me this morning and told me he's going to have an angiogram tomorrow, to see if he has a blockage that's causing the chest pain.

At this point, I don't know if (1) the angiogram was the plan all along but Dad didn't tell me because he was confused; (2) the angiogram was the plan all along but Dad didn't tell me because he didn't actually know about it until today; (3) the doctor didn't decide until today that he should have an angiogram; or (4) some other inexplicable factor.

He hasn't seen a cardiologist all weekend, because "they don't come in on the weekends." So I don't know when and how the plan for the angiogram was cooked up. I'm guessing that #1 or #2, above, is the most likely thing. It was probably the plan all along, and Dad was either confused about what they told him, or they just didn't tell him until today. But I don't know when the cardiologist would have cooked up the plan, if they don't fucking work on the weekends. I am at a loss.

And I'm still agog at a hospital that looks at a 70-year-old man who's had 5 heart attacks and says, "Yeah, yeah, chest pain, okay, you need to wait 2 days before we'll cath you to find out why you're having the pain."

I'm going over to see him in a little bit, and I know there's not going to be anyone I can actually talk to to find out why this was considered to be a good idea (because, of course, the cardiologist doesn't work weekends, so *he* won't be there to talk to).

I'll find out what I can from the nurse, and maybe the nurse can shed some light on why the 2-day delay was considered okay. But I'd like to talk to the doctor who actually made the decision.

Bah. Shower now.