First, the good news (relatively speaking, because there really isn't any good news with cardiac episodes: just bad news and worse news): Dad is alive and is now at home.

The best news is that enzyme bloodwork says that he did not technically suffer cardiac arrest. I'm not a cardio-thorasic specialist so the differences between definitions is shady for me. However, this is "good" because it means that there was no heart damage.

They put a stent into his heart, just like my mom. While they were in there, they found 90% blockage to one of the major arteries or summat. He spent the night in the ICU, which he hated, and then was released to go home this morning.

I spoke to him at length this afternoon, after he'd had a long nap. I told him that he and mom had to stop with this new hobby of having cardiac episodes they picked up.

The really fun bit is this: like me, my father's bloodwork has been perfect for years. Low cholesterol, the whole works. So how does it happen that he has a heart blockage? According to the doctors, it's "just hereditary" and "not detectable". My grandfather died of a heart attack at the age of 50 or so and his father died of a heart attack at about the same age.

This pretty much means that I'm screwed. Thanks the awesome DNA, parental units!

So, okay.

Here is the story.

I was supposed to meet my oldest friend, ever, whom I love with all my heart, for dinner this evening in celebration of my birthday. On the way down the hill, my phone vibrated, and I looked, and it was voicemail from my brother. He never contacts me.

But I thought, okay, it is maybe a "two day early" birthday greeting. Fine. Okay. I flip it on. This is what I hear:

"hajmamamama ahahahah ahahah aa ahaha haha alfjahahf aaflaff heart attack hahahahrha hahahrharahah aharhah hhahahrahhghsdad hhasdfsdf hahhhaha"

Because the connection is so bad.

Now.

My mother, she. She has heart problems. So a heart attack for her is almost commonplace. But this call would not come from my brother. So I call him back.

It is my father.

This is out of the blue.

And now I am scared. Because this is without warning.

I have spent the past year preparing myself for the idea that my mother may soon die; the thought that my father may soon die has not even entered my thought processes. One parent is within reality; two. . . I cannot deal with.

Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ.

This evening, I and Jenny had planned to go to an expensive restaurant and order peasant food - specifically, 27 dollar cheese burgers.

Only, that got boned because my father had a heart attack this evening.

ITEM!
I've watched The Dark Knight now about ten times and the "pencil trick" just keeps on being awesome. I ended up getting trapped in the Wiki Rabbit Hole last night about Batman. Partly this is because Lego Batman has eaten my soul the past couple of days.

I am nearing 100%/1000gc on it.

ITEM!
Metallica is playing in Oakland on December 20th. Tickets are a bit expensive (60+), but I could easily be convinced to go if there is anyone else who wants to rock out. Opening: The Sword and Lamb of God.

ITEM!
Today, my father scored his sixth hole in one while playing golf. The odds of an amateur hitting a hole in one are 12,500 to 1, which is pretty long. I remember that his handicap used to be around 5 or so, but I asked him today what it was and he texted me: "Well, it has risen from 8 to 16 over the past two years. I don't know what's going on with that because it *surely* can't be old age."

ITEM!
Thursday night several people gathered in my place to watch the Vice Presidential candidate debate. Also to eat lots of pizza and consume lots of alcohol. It took us over three hours to watch a 90 minute sequence, because we kept pausing it and talking about what was just said.

It was much fun, and I'll probably do something similar on Tuesday.

Go Here.


Then, call your father and tell him you love him.