From the time I was two until I went to high school, Patti Ehmsen was my babysitter. Everyday after school (and as a small child, before school) I was at her house. She and her husband, 'Big Harry', are my second (or, I guess, third) parents. Their son, 'Little' Harry is my bestest friend and big brother. Last week Big Harry suffered a minor heart attack, although he didn't have any chest pains, he was having difficulty catching his breath. After a few scares- possible lung issues (lungs look good!), bladder cancer (tumor is benign!) and the possibility of coronary narrowing or blockages (all that looks good, too!), it turns out that the problem is his aortic valve. His doctor heard a murmur about a year and a half ago and his been watching it closely ever since, but it finally took a crap. Today they are performing aortic valve replacement surgery and implanting a mechanical valve. It's open heart surgery, so it's a pretty big deal. The cool thing is that now he will 'tick'. You can actually hear the valve working! He'll be like the tic-tock croc in Peter Pan!

We're all pretty scared, even though the surgery has a 95% success rate and he has the best surgeon. Last night, after visiting him, I had a bit of a break down in my car. It wasn't good as I'm not a very attractive crier. It was messy and awkward, complete with puffy eyes embarrassing facial expressions. I was that sad woman crying alone in her car and thinking that no one can see her even though she's sitting in the middle of downtown. I did pull myself together long enough to buy some milk (we were out. I haven't done much housekeeping in the last week...) and drive home. Passing semi trucks going 70mph isn't safe with tear blurred vision.

I'll keep you posted or you can click here for updates as well. Please keep him in your prayers!