my dad is doing much better now. he’s back home and still has some angina (chest pains), but his medication (nitro glycerine tablets) seems to take care of it. it was kind of a crazy week last week, but things are getting back to normal. i’m back home in austin now and dad is back at home in amarillo. i can’t imagine what it’s like to lie in that hospital bed all day every day. it’s got to be really boring at best. dad was lucky in that the nurses, techs, etc. at baptist saint anthony’s hospital in amarillo are all really great, friendly folks, but it still has to stink to be there all that time. it’s good just to get home from the hospital.

this whole thing has made me consider a lot of things in my own life. my dad, his dad, and his dad before him all had heart attacks and my dad’s the only one to survive it. so, i need to start taking care of myself better. the great thing is that there’s all this good info out there on diet, exercise, etc. the big thing now is just to have the discipline to get on a program and stick with it. so, if you see me eating a chicken fried steak, slap me around a little bit. no more cheeseburgers or fries either. it stinks, but i don’t want to be the next one in my family lying in that hospital bed hooked up to all those machines. with a little discipline, i think i can beat the odds. we’ll see.

it’s been a very interesting week. on monday, i got one of those phone calls that everyone dreads. “your dad had a heart attack this morning and he’s in surgery. when can you get here?” i have to say that it was not completely unexpected. my grandfather died of a heart attack at 56 and my dad hasn’t really done much to put the odds against it happening. still, it was a shock. the good thing is that he’s doing much better. they didn’t have to crack him open. angioplasty and a couple of wire-mesh stents were able to open the blockages in his arteries that caused the problem. since then, he’s improved steadily and i expect him to be out of the hospital in a couple of days. still, it was strange to walk into that room and see him lying there, connected to all the equipment, and to see the fear that he had. That’s pretty much over now, but i think the memory will linger.

if you’re reading this, please take a moment to pray for my family and for your own.