My Aunt Cathy

A few months ago, I blogged about my Aunt Cathy, my dad's little sister. I talked about how much she and I look alike. As I tell you this story, keep in mind that she is only 47 (will be 48 next month).

I think it was February that her doctor discovered a valve in her heart that was not working properly. They told her that it had to be fixed or it could be fatal. There are only 2 doctors in the U.S. that do this kind of heart valve repair surgery. She ended up choosing a doctor in New York. In April (if my memory is correct), she was flown to New York to be tested to make absolutely sure she was a candidate for that surgery. Fortunately, she was. She was there for two weeks for the surgery and the recovery. The surgery went well and the doctors predicted success. But she didn't recover well. After she got home, she started getting crazy amounts of fluid buildup around her heart. They kept putting her in the hospital to drain it out. Then, they would release her back home. This has happened several times. She has been so weak, hardly able to do anything at all. Last week, she went back in the hospital. The doctor said she would probably be in for only 2-3 days to drain the fluid. Well, today makes 5 days that she has been in the hospital. I asked my Paw-Paw how she is doing. Besides being incredibly weak, she is getting more and more fluid buildup around her heart. Also, she has been having problems breathing. They discovered that her right lung is not inflating much at all. Needless to say, the situation has become quite an emergency. Tomorrow (not sure what time yet), they are going to inject die and try to find out where all the fluid is coming from. Also, a lung specialist is going to try to find out why her lung is not inflating.

Because we live in different states and because we both lead very busy lives, I have not seen or talked to my aunt in 2 years or so. But we have exchanged cards and a few notes through the mail. I do care about her tremendously. It is horrible that she is going through this. From what my grandfather says, she sounds so weak. My grandfather is having a super hard time with all of this because my aunt is not a weak individual. As a matter of fact, she is tough. But right now, because her body is so weak, she is probably feeling very weak mentally too.

So, whatever you do (pray, think of people in need, whatever), please do it for my Aunt Cathy. She needs any and every thought and prayer she can get.

Thank you,

~"Tish"