Gena
02-15-2011, 01:39 PM
This post is a day late, and I debated with myself about posting it at all, but I hope you guys don't mind.
In the recent poll, I voted that we don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day, but that isn’t completely accurate. It’s true that my husband and I have never celebrated it as a romantic holiday and have never exchanged cards or gifts to mark the day. But Valentine’s Day does have a special meaning in my family.
Valentine’s Day is the day we celebrate survival.
Six years ago, on February 14th, my Dad had a massive heart attack. The doctors told us that this was not just a “regular” heart attack (if there is such a thing), but a complete blockage of the left anterior descending artery, the kind they call “The Widow-Maker”. (This is the type of heart attack that killed Tim Russert.) My Dad survived it only because at the time he was at his cardiologist’s office, in a building attached to a hospital. He had a quadruple bypass and a long, slow recovery.
He continues to have cardiac “incidents”, some of them quite dangerous and has had several more hospitalizations and procedures. He has other health issues too. But through his own stubbornness and the Mercy of God, he’s still here. He’ll be 75 later this year and still plays golf with the guys and is still hoping to “shoot his age” one of these days. My son, who was 9 months old at the time of Dad’s heart attack, knows and loves his Grandpa.
This isn’t a post about awareness or heart health or even a reminder to treasure every day you have with your loved ones.
It’s just a post to say that my Dad is still alive and that is what Valentine’s Day means to me. :heartbeat:
In the recent poll, I voted that we don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day, but that isn’t completely accurate. It’s true that my husband and I have never celebrated it as a romantic holiday and have never exchanged cards or gifts to mark the day. But Valentine’s Day does have a special meaning in my family.
Valentine’s Day is the day we celebrate survival.
Six years ago, on February 14th, my Dad had a massive heart attack. The doctors told us that this was not just a “regular” heart attack (if there is such a thing), but a complete blockage of the left anterior descending artery, the kind they call “The Widow-Maker”. (This is the type of heart attack that killed Tim Russert.) My Dad survived it only because at the time he was at his cardiologist’s office, in a building attached to a hospital. He had a quadruple bypass and a long, slow recovery.
He continues to have cardiac “incidents”, some of them quite dangerous and has had several more hospitalizations and procedures. He has other health issues too. But through his own stubbornness and the Mercy of God, he’s still here. He’ll be 75 later this year and still plays golf with the guys and is still hoping to “shoot his age” one of these days. My son, who was 9 months old at the time of Dad’s heart attack, knows and loves his Grandpa.
This isn’t a post about awareness or heart health or even a reminder to treasure every day you have with your loved ones.
It’s just a post to say that my Dad is still alive and that is what Valentine’s Day means to me. :heartbeat: