21st Entry, March 6th, Mom leaves next week and my brother hit by bizarre illness

First quick update:

Based on my last blog, a number of people asked about the sandcastle competition in Revere. Below is the link:

http://www.reverebeachpartnership.com/nessf07/index.htm


I have not started cardiac rehab and am starting to get stronger. The cardiac care portion of recovery remains unstable but is being addressed. My memory therapy and rehab has been great and I am continuing to make progress.

Based on this, I have been given the ok to be off of 24 hour surveillance. Therefore my mother is leaving next Thursday. To all of you who have not had the experience of living with a parent after age 25 for 2 months or more, I can tell you it has been an experience. It has been very very helpful and at times very trying but I do appreciate it. I bought her ticket for tomorrow but she asked me to change for next week, because she wanted to talk to thank some of doctors next week (I have appointments galore). My father has been wifeless for 2 months so I hope he is ready because my Mom is coming home.

My brother is starting to be treated for transverse myelitis; yes it is one of those bizarre diseases that few people have. He got admitted to a hospital on Feb 27 and released on March 2. Transverse myelitis (TM) is an inflamation of the spinal cord. He will be out of work at least 5 weeks (until 4-8) when he sees his doctor. He is treated with steroids. Those of you who know my brother appreciate him for his rare wit, sarcasm and off the wall sense of humor (the stuffed dog). You can tell he is not himself when the characteristics above get replaced with a sense of spirituality and a more sugary personality. Transverse myelitis is a tough disease and we are all really praying for him.

Brian