Mon Jun 17 07:55 EDT 1996
Weekend (puff puff) Update (wheeze gasp): June 14-16

This past week, my mother went to Qunicy City Hospital because of
chest pains.  (Sorry to repeat for the _family.) On Friday, Mom
was trasnferred to Boston's Brigham and Women's hospital where
she was to have an angioplasty.  The doctors hoped to do it on
Friday but the team wasn't assembled and they did an angiogram
instead which shoed a 60% blockage in one of her arteries.  They
scheduled the angioplasty for Monday and sent her to a room to
be cared for until then.  I was down at the hospital on Friday night
to an exhausted Dad and hungry Mom.  Mom hadn't eaten for 26 hours,
anticipating "the procedure" and Dad hadn't relaxed in at least that
long.  Mom was tilted in her bed (you know how Frankenstein gets
tilted without bending anywhere) and I cut up her food and fed her.
By the time Dad and I left that evening, things seemed a little
more under control emotionally and physically.

On Saturday, I awoke at 6:30 to get on down to the church parsonage
where we had a roof raising party.  Nearly 20 guys shedded the shingles
off the roof in 2 hours... then came the hard part.  The end of the
story is that the job was done in 12 hours, by some who stayed the
entire time.  I was there for 5 hours or so and probably put in a
good 4 hours of work and another hour of groaning.  Getting the bundles
of shingles to the roof started out with what seemed to be 50-pound
bundles but ended with what seemed like 10-ton bundles.  We did have
some time on the sunny 90-degree roof for a few flex-offs between
me, Brian Wallace, and Rich Gonzalez.  The results are still being
tabulated.  I left around 1:30 to run some errands and check up on
Mom.

It seemed funny that I couldn't get Mom on the phone.  Also, I was
supposed to pick up a new cockatiel that we were adopting but I
couldn't make that connection so I was able to laze in my pool for
almost an hour.  When I got through to the hospital, I discovered that
Mom had been taken in for her angioplasty.  Apparently, something
happened to make the doctors call in the team.  (Family has the scoop
in email that I haven't read yet.)  Naturally, this caused more concern
for Dad, who handed his pastoral responsibilities for preaching and
a wedding off to his associates.  I got hold of the bird owners and
told them I was on my way to pick up the bird, which I did, dropped
the bird off at the house and then headed south again to the hospital.
By the time I arrived, Dad was finishing up with feeding Mom her
dinner.  He and I then went to the caefteria for some grub ourselves.
(I had what tasted like a "rubber glove" hamburger.)

Mom wanted to show me her incision even after I balked a few times.
Now THAT was fun!  She was medicated with percaset (sp) and her voice
was rather raspy, yet they were still talking like she was coming home
MOnday to resume life where she left it off.  This was the weekend she
was planning to come and visit us.  (I'd say there were easier ways
or excuses to use to avoid us than that.)  That will have to be
rescheduled.

  Oh the bird.  A neighbor of a friend had an 8-year old cocakatiel
  named Cookie that she was unable to spend as much attention as the bird
  needed (she'd just had a new baby and a new job).  The bird looks a lot
  like Molly did (for those of you who met Molly).  So we're new pet owners
  again (the goldfish still lives on, by the way), complete with
  equipment and the lot.

Sunday.  Father's day!  My children were wonderful to me.  They gave
me a Coca-cola pitcher and a music CD.  Andrew added a Reese's Peanut
Butter cup, and Jessica played (as a complete surprise for me!) portions
of "The Entertainer" for me on the piano!  I would have been more
appreciative had I not been so achy and run down from the previous two
days, but it was the best Father's day.  (I also spoke in church
about my father but that will have to wait for another report.)

I'm off the pain releiver's today, and glad to be back behind the
keyboard.  I have some serious documenting to do this week.

Hoping our week this week will be serene and peaceful,

Mark
        __   __            Mark Metcalfe                         ,
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