Ok....welll.....

With the surgery, moving (no internet hooked up at the house yet), and Christmas, I have officially fallen off the blog wagon and it stresses me out to try to catch up on all the memorable occurences of the last two weeks. However, for nostalgic purposes, I intend to do so. Because Verizon is coming tomorrow (by the mighty force of God...I had to open up a can of whoop a** on them yesterday on the phone after they tried cancelling on me TWICE)I will begin my memoirs at a later time. But because some people may be wondering, here is an account of how my surgery went on Friday December 19, written by my mom. I was too strung out to remember all the details :-).

"Well, she did good today and the procedure went smoothly and not near as long as we were told it could be. Nor did they open her up. The good news first: the connection that the Dr. ablated (burned) last spring is still dead as he said so not causing any trouble. There isn't a 3rd connection that they suspected there was. She didn't need a pacemaker. It was the least invasive way to look. Her heart/valves/walls/chambers all look good.
The bad news is there was nothing to "fix" like we want to happen. We want this behind us-never to happen again. But the Dr. said it could. He does not know what caused her atrial tachycardia in Nov. but it is not from the 2nd connection that she still has. This one is weird-it goes into the heart wall and lies along the good and needed connection we all have. It is too dangerous to go after -he could burn the wall- and it is not causing any trouble now. So that was left. We asked about more spells like she had in Nov. He said that could happen and she would need to get to the ER ASAP. Medicine at this point will just band-aid the arrthymia she has. He said her EKG will always look funny and freak out people but she will need to explain she has this Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. I guess today they gave her a bunch of medicine to simulate her tachy spell in Nov. but her heart stayed in normal rhythm the whole time. So that she had may never happen again or it could. Bummer-some good news, some not so good. Bryan feels good about all this and says we know what to expect and the thing to do is keep CALM. I will always be looking over my shoulder now (or checking Michelle out!)
I did go in to see her after she woke up a little and she asked a few questions but mostly she was so doped up and couldn't hold her eyes open. The Dr. said she can go home tonight if she is OK after laying flat 6 hrs. eating and pottying. Well, they are coming here since tomorrow has a crew lined up to move them. They are renting a house close to his folks. Michelle can't do anything for 5 days so she will hang out here. I get to watch her!! Their cat is here now and really misses them. He walks all over meowing and looking for them. He has attached himself to Gary.
Tonight we came home in snow. Hope the kids get here soon but I think it will be 10 or 11. We are supposed to get 4-6in. of snow tomorrow and freezing rain on Sunday. Crazy weather but hey, looks like we will have a white Christmas. We are tired and still trying to "digest" some of this stuff. I suppose I forgot words, etc. cause my brain is working but my fingers aren't fast enough or something like that!
Thank you all for the calls and mostly for all the prayers for Michelle. We know God is in control here and has His divine plan for her and Bryan, but as a mother, I want it to be perfect. It is pretty hard to see this and wonder why and where it came from. But then I think about the mothers who see their child with cancer and then I think this is nothing. Mitch is up and running around, teaching, happy and having fun. So I get put back in my proper place. A lesson I need to be reminded of every so often."
Thank you again.
Judy and Gary, Michelle and Bryan

Dustin' off the Bobsled...

So yesterday everyone that I talked to was asking me if I am still having surgery tomorrow and the answer is yes. Luckily, in any weather (as mom would know,) the hospitals keep tickin. Yesterday I fought the urge to call and confirm, and then in the afternoon the hospital registration called me to confirm my information. I felt like I was checking in for a flight, but alas this is not quite as exciting. The past three days home have felt like a waste, but I think it was what I needed afterall. Of course, by the time Bryan gets home I am so bored and wound up that he keeps trying to offer me a beer to calm my nerves. I think I am so anxious that it is hard to be productive, but I think I got more done than I am giving myself credit for...

We are pretty much all packed up. The kitchen honestly scares me and I am tempted to hire professional movers to come in and pack up all my pretty dishes. That is the last main area left to pack up. Since I hate even packing for a vacation, my little world has turned upside down but luckily Bryan scheduled the big move to happen while I am resting at my parent's house on Saturday. I couldn't handle watching the boxes being hauled from here to there. The few days between surgery and Christmas will be interesting, as I am sure all I will want to do is unpack and achieve a state of "normalcy" asap, while at the same time resting and abstaining from heavy lifting. After Christmas will be a trip to Idaho to play in more snow (which by now is relentless in its pursuit of covering Oregon) and then hopefully a housewarming/New Years/ 21st birthday party for Bryan's brother Brandon when we get back.

So, these days off have been quiet, semi productive and somewhat boring, but compared to the next two and a half weeks I will take them!

Dear God...

Dear God,

Its me Michelle. While I do admire and appreciate the snow you have sent on this fine day, please have it cleared away by Friday so that the doctors and anesthiologists that I need can drive their little Porsches down off the West Hills.

Thank you.

Its Snowing! Its Snowing!

This past week has been one of many blessings. On Monday, I went to a Christmas party for the House of Ruth which I volunteered for a couple years ago and would like to begin volunteering for again, on Tuesday we had dinner with my good friend Brittany and bought and watched "The Dark Knight" (the latest Batman movie), Wednesday I had dinner with my parents, Thursday I vegged on the couch all night long, Friday we got boxes and delivered Christmas cards and then yesterday I drove with my friend Gillian down to Corvallis (with a very lovely and lucky stop at the Woodburn outlet stores where we scored tons of swag at very discounted prices)and I got to visit with my good friend Katie, who just had a baby six weeks ago and who I hadn't seen in a couple years (I hadn't been back to Corvallis in four years...difficult to believe it had been that long!!!). We had tons of fun stopping at all our favorite hotspots, driving past the old dives we used to live in, and reminiscing on the good ol' days. Her baby is pretty cute too! (See below). While I was away, Bryan began packing up (he is in charge of all but the kitchen) and went to pick up a washer, dryer and refridgerator from a client of my friend Melissa (its a great story how it all worked out...another blessing because we got all three for FREE!!! He was just looking for a way to get rid of them and asked her if she knew anyone interested. Lucky for us he wouldn't take any money even though they all supposedly work) We also found out this week that Bryan's mom's friend knew the people who lived in the house before us, so it is a small world! We feel a little more confident about our decision now...it will be a great house!

Today Bryan and I were up at the crack of dawn and all prepared to go to church (a feat we haven't accomplished in several weeks) though it began to snow. For some reason, we thought this storm was a force to be reckoned with and began to make the drive and then promptly turned around when the tires were spinning up the first hill we came across. So we came home and played outside for a bit. Now Bryan and our neighbor from upstairs are on the couch playing Wii while his wife studies and I prepare to make us all dinner. It is kinda nice that it snowed one last time for us while we are still living here...it brings back good memories! Bryan is happy because he got out of going to my staff Christmas party at school tonight! Which reminds me...does anyone need a surplus of crackers? Good thing I wasnt in charge of the meat tray...I am sort of hoping tomorrow will be cancelled as well. I could use another day at home. I am beginning to get very stressed with moving and all that it entails, finishing up school before break and planning for the sub, and finishing CHristmas shopping and preparations (all before Friday). Oh, and somewhere in there we need groceries and I would like to get my hair done. We also have to get Fuz packed up and shipped off to Grandpa and Nana's so he won't be too sad when I am in the hospital and we are moving (Mom- watch your doorstep Thursday!).

Well, that should be all for now. Enjoy the following pictures. I can no longer write captions under my pictures, but in case you are wondering, Bryan is the designer, architect, builder and plumber of the gingerbread house below. He copyrighted its design so no one in the Heinrichs' gingerbread house building competition may steal or reproduce any part of this without permission from him.

And in the three pictures directly preceeding the g house, there is a Fuz in each picture...you may have to look carefully! The blurry one of him was snapped the milisecond after he retreated from his "rockstar" pose, where he lays on his back with one arm above his head and the other cupped near his mouth, much like Hannah Montana who I think he aspires to be....It's Miley!!! He also is a fan of boxes...he goes crazy and tests out each one. He is NOT a fan of the vacuum, which is why he was hiding within our comforter on our bed. :-)

December!

The date is set!

Today was an anxiety provoking day but all ended well. I called at lunchtime to schedule my procedure, which last time was done in two seconds. This time, the secretary informed me my diagnosis may have changed following the events of November 20 (uh....huh...???) and she will need to talk to the doctor to decide which type of procedure she should schedule. I asked her if she could at least tell me if we could get something in before December 31, as Dr. thought it wouldnt be a problem. She said "Well he must know something I don't because we are pretty much booked up." My stomach did a flop and my heart skipped a beat as I saw another 3 years in loan repayments floating out the window (if I am all fixed by December 31 it will be free since we have met our annual out of pocket max). She said she would have to call me back. I waited, prayed, waited, prayed, waited, prayed... all... afternoon....

Finally at 4:30 I couldnt take it anymore so I called and wouldnt ya know, she was talking to the doctor the exact moment I called. When she called back 10 minutes later, she let me know that since I am "tricky" they had to schedule two doctors and it was a challenge. In the back of my mind , I was hoping and praying Dec 19 would work but I was ready to take anything...so imagine my awe when she asked, "Do you have a calendar available? How does December 19 work for you?" I told her to sign me up. I am admitted at 10 and "on the table" at noon, which means I will most likely stay overnight with 6 hours in surgery (estimated) and six hours bedrest after.

Now that it is all set in stone and we know the plan, I am relieved.I will be nervous the day before, since i know what to expect, but it could also be helpful. Looking back, God had the timing perfect. Since I was not 100% convinced I was completely healed after the first surgery, I was praying that if anything were to happen that it would be fixed by the end of the year. Also, if I have another problem on top of my W.P.W., I am glad for what happened at school two weeks ago...the sooner we find out about it the better. Still, when I think about all that has happened this year I can't believe it...all I can say is please pray that after this surgery I will wake up completely healed AND without a pacemaker!

Has anyone seen my sweatshirt?!?!

I am putting out an APB on my missing purple *most comfortable* University of Portland sweatshirt with "Pilots" written on the hood.

Since graduating from school and moving out on my own, this has been my grown-up "comfort blanket". Please let me know if I left it somewhere!

Once again, it is not like me to lose things but my brain has obviously been on vacation in recent weeks. Its really starting to piss me off.

The Plan.

I couldnt get up the cajones to call the doctor on Thursday so my sweet husband offered to do it for me. He has really stepped up to the plate on a lot of things for me lately, as I have been trying to "decompress," such as calling the doctor, scheduling appts for the house, showing me how how to do simple things I can't figure out (like how to pull the cap off a new stick of deoderant...I would have never thought to just turn the dial at the bottom)and he even offered to do the finances. The doctor didnt get around to calling Bryan back on his cell phone until last night and the news was good and bad.

It was good because we prayed for a clear answer on what to do next, and after my dr. talked to the other cardiologists in his office the answer was made very clear. The bad news is they are not sure what caused my heart to go into a tailspin a couple of weeks ago. We originally thought it was the WPW syndrome I have, which is the open connections between the chambers of my heart. While those are still present and causing issues, I now apparently have more issues. So medication would only "buy time" until the next attack. The doctors all feel confident that we can go in there and attack the open connections without any *major* risks. They also want to make sure the procedure in April still worked on my original open connection. And finally, they want to do more testing to figure out what else is going on. So this is why surgery is the clear answer.

I am calling on Monday to schedule the surgery. I am hoping there is an open spot next Friday, December 19 before Christmas break. However, the dr. said this could take many hours and other drs. need to be present as well, so we will see. From a financial standpoint, it would benefit us greatly to get it down before the end of the year since we have already met out $6000 out of pocket max on the first surgery. Mentally, I feel more at peace about it than initially. A mom (who I don't know but is apparently well aware of me)stopped me in the hall yesterday who works at another hospital but knows of my cardiologist through the work she does and she reaffirmed that he was an excellent doctor. God has really been speaking through his people, I believe, so this has helped in calming some nerves.

In other good/bad news, we got the house we wanted! Our lease on our apt ends December 31, so sometime in all this mess we will be moving! It will be a very busy month and I will be very happy when it is all over! Somewhere in there we will also celebrate Jesus' birthday! :-)This past week was busy enough with the Christmas musical and visits with friends and family and it was only the first week of the month!

I am hoping the minute it turns to 2009 that our life will turn around and our problems will all be gone! This has been a rough year on us physically, emotionally and financially. I am beginning to once again consider other jobs for next year, to help with finances and insurance, but finding an insurance company that will take us could be a trick. Oh well- God has a plan in all of this. He helped us work through it all somehow this year and He can do it again!

Where is my brain?!?!

Tonight I visited a long time friend (from high school) who had a baby the end of October. We were discussing all her baby gifts and she asked me if I ever got an invitation to her shower. I told her no, but after doing some more thinking I told her I did recieve a birth announcement from her mom. At the time, I thought it was strange that her mom was making and sending out their birth announcement for them. She looked at me confused and said that her mom sent out invites for a shower, but never announcements. I came home tonight and looked again on my bulletin board, where I have been proudly displaying their "announcement" complete with a cute first family picture, and sure enough (I dont know how you can miss it) the whole right side of the card gives out information for the shower that took place over two weeks ago, including registration information. Knowing that I recieved this information in the mail, looked it over and analyzed their picture and then hung it on my wall and never absorbed the information that it was an invitation to a shower boggles my mind and also worries me a bit. On top of everything else, do I have early onset dementia or something??? WHERE DID MY BRAIN GO!!!!

Thanksgiving pics, ya'll! Everybody say B-L-O-G!

Today.

Today we found out that what happened last week was not a continuation of my known problem (open connection #2...found in surgery #1 to close open connection #1) but is in fact yet another problem within my heart (open connection #3). We left with few answers and more questions...no game plan as of yet. Bryan did feel better about the appt than I did so it is good that one of us is optimistic. I have begun to feel really, really down about it all. I feel like I am constantly on the verge of tears and am bitter that this is happening to me and my body.

My cardiac defect is definately rare and there are no easy fixes that guarantee I will never have to go back to the ER...especially if I just go with medication. Please pray for wisdom and clarity as my cardiologist speaks with three other cardiologists in the team this week to decide the next direction to go in treatment. I will call him on Thursday. As of right now, Bryan and I are leaning towards another surgery that will take place by the end of this month. If we do go ahead and plan for that, I will need prayers that they find and fix all the problems, without burning too much and giving me a pacemaker as a token gift. Yikes.