Originally Published 2/10/07

I'm headed to Florida on Tuesday for a few days to take care of my parents. They are snowbirds like so many around here, and they've been in Florida since the beginning of January. My mother went for a routine blood pressure check on Tuesday last and the Doctor heard an abnormality in her heart. Turns out she has an atrial fibrillation - the top chambers of her heart aren't beating properly. She had a catheterization yesterday and a small blockage was removed. She's in the hospital and will probably be there until Monday or Tuesday. We are very lucky that it was found this way and not via a heart attack. So we're counting our blessings. My dad has been on oxygen for a few weeks now and is kind of weak, so he needs to be taken care of, something my mom won't be ready to do for a few weeks at least. My sister (the doctor) is coming down on Friday and she'll be there until my other sister (the teacher) comes for February vacation. So we have coverage into March, which is good. This has been an incredibly stressful time for all of us. Parents getting older is not something that's pleasant to think about but it is a fact of life. It's important to make every day count. I'll be back in a few days.