Reminders

Every now and then you need a kick in the ass to remember why you must always fight for you health and fight for YOU.

My dad has been overweight for as long as I can remember.  I vaguely remember him trying Slimfast and stuff like that when I was in elementary school but I mostly remember his killer spaghetti sauce.  He had a triple bypass surgery when I was in 8th grade and that motivated him to stop smoking.  One more stab a diet but it didn't stick.  Throughout the years, he's had stents put in his legs, his heart, etc.  Throw in a Type II Diabetes diagnosis and almost-sugar coma even after the diagnosis and that gives you an idea of how much my dad has worked to NOT get any better.

Earlier this month, he had a stroke in his right eye.  He's now blind in that eye...buildup of plaque behind the retina.  Did it come from his heart or brain?  They aren't sure yet.

Yesterday had an angiogram to look to see how bad his blockages are at this point.  He had to get 2 stents in his leg and they looked at the heart.  One of the bypasses he had done years ago is blocked beyond repair.  Open heart surgery is not an option, neither is another bypass.  No doctor will put him under because they are certain he would not survive the procedure and no doctor will risk him dying on their table.  So now he's stuck.  The blockages will just get worse and eventually he'll either have a massive stroke and be incapacitated or a massive heart attack and die.  It could be several years down the road or tomorrow.  There's no way to know.

I don't know if this will be the much-too-late wake up call he needs but I can tell you it's