More Worries

[sometimes I wonder why I'm writing... the pessimistic side of me thinks that bad things happen when I write consistently]

The MRI at the ER showed two things of moderate concern: an abdominal aortic embolism (which weirdly is called a AAA [even though that last one is an E]) and a cyst on his kidney. Neither is a point of real concern, according to the ER doc: the AAA is 3.2 cm... we only need to worry when it's 5cm; and the renal cyst... well, everyone can get those. So we were comforted.

Yesterday (Sunday) was full of pain. Today, Pa's pain is better, so he finally got around to reading the discharge papers, which said that he should see his primary care physician. So off we went (I drove him since there was no way I was going to let him drive... a decision he would later thank me for, since as he put it: "I just tire so fast"). The PCP is not so moderately concerned: while the AAA may have been growing for the last 10 years, he thinks it's also a possibility that the impact of the accident may have jarred something loose and caused the AAA. And so he gave dad a prescription to see the Vascular Surgeon again. Appointment made.

If that wasn't enough stress for the morning, Lisa's mom had to put their cat Maisy down (she had been in slow then rapid decline due to cancer). Not fun. Lisa's grandmother (GG we call her) was pretty upset... of course, we all know that her memory (due to Alzheimer's) will probably not remember the cat's death. So Lisa's mom will just need to calmly field cat questions from her own mother for the foreseeable future.

And if THAT wasn't enough:

no, I'm not making this up... all of this before 10am today

Lisa got a call from a former student of hers (when she taught middle school). The kid seemed a little out of sorts, a little troubled. And no wonder why: Kid's on his SECOND tour in Iraq (and has been there for the last four months). He seemed to want to say something to Lisa, but could not get it out in the 20 minutes on the phone. She thought he might have been crying at the end. She's not a little worried... he had told her that when he spoke to his own mom that she related to him that our son Jack had been named after him. [Lisa doesn't quite remember the conversation, is sure that we didn't name him after a student (it's yet another Springsteen reference... as is Kyle's name), but knows that since this kid WAS such a good kid that it didn't put his name out of the running (there would be no Michaels or Daniels or Chrises or Brians... since we both had trouble [not troubled] students by those names)] But it was too strange at least. He gave her his email, and she promptly used it.

We hope he's OK.

And so I'm back at the computer ready to work... though easily distracted by things. Thinks like this... only my FAVORITE BASKETBALL PLAYER OF ALL TIME, and a reason why I'm a Bruin. I went to Goodrich's basketball camp between my 7th and 8th grade years... it was my first time away from home on my own.

Anything to keep my mind off the obvious.