Second trip to Dallas

I chose not to join Mike on this last Dallas trip so that I can save up my days for the surgery, when and if that happens. They are actually returning from Dallas as I write this.

His appointments didn't tell us a lot, we're beginning to learn that's how the system works. The neurologist talked to him for about 45 minutes. He said that he didn't think that the tree, the heat, dehydration, or dipping caused the stroke. We've all thought that each of the above things have played a roll in the stroke, but this doctor disagrees. We aren't doctors, but until we are provided with answers, I guess our minds just want to jump to conclusions. We realize that we might not ever get answers. The neurologist is most concerned about the heart at this point. He wants the heart repaired. However, he did agree that they would have to wait until they received the blood tests back from the lab. Surprisingly, the neurologist cleared Mike to begin working a little bit. He said no heavy lifting and he needs to take it easy. Mike hasn't decided how much work he'll do yet.

The hematologist really didn't say much. He took blood and said that they should have results by Tuesday of next week. Hopefully we'll know something at that point. They are testing for some kind of blood disorder or clotting problem. I'll try to find out which tests are being run for all of you medical junkies.

It's crazy that just about one month ago, Mike had a stroke, I still can't believe it! More than that, I can't believe his progress since then. He has truly amazed the doctors and all those who know him, that's a testimony to his strength. However, I know half the battle is mental and that can be extremely hard area to master. Just feeling like you're a walking time bomb is hard. The only reason I say that is because we all have thoughts that creep up in the back of our head...you know, the "what ifs." I believe that these thoughts can be useful and productive, but they can also cause us to doubt, fear and lose our quality of life. Personally, I've been thinking a lot about the possibility of me having a similar condition. Given Mya's heart issues and Mike's...and a fair amount of family history, I guess I should be thinking about it. My conclusion has been that we just have to live our lives. I will continue to train for the half-marathon next month, I'll continue to participate in sports and I'll continue to ride my bike, camp and take pictures...that's what I love to do. I can't really call it "life" if I'm not living it. I've seen evidence of this same sentiment in Michael as well. He's thought long and hard about his life and he's truly trying to live for something...his family, business, his livelihood.

When you think about it, we're all in the same boat. Either we're living life and we're enjoying it...maybe I should say experiencing it, because life isn't always enjoyable. So, either we're experiencing life or we're sitting in the corner worried about all the things that can happen, could happen, should happen, whatever...and ironically, we're missing out on the very thing we're trying to save.