Meeting my new Cardiologist…maybeby Angie
15 Nov 2007
10:11 pm0
Well, today was wild. Jim left work at noon and picked me up so we could drive out to Palo Alto for my first appointment with my new Cardiologist, Dr. Anne Dubin. They asked me to be there at 1:00, but what with registration and long lines in the clinic, we didn’t actually see anyone until about 2:00. They took me back and did an Echo. The first sonographer told me that I was considerably easier to study than the two-year-olds she was usually chasing around the room. Unfortunately, my grown-up body doesn’t image as well as a two-year-old’s, either, so the Echo took a very long time and two sonographers before they got all the images they wanted.
After another brief stint in the waiting room, we finally got to meet Dr. Dubin. She is really very nice and friendly – I was not at all surprised that she and Dr. Etheridge are friends, because they are very much alike in personality. However, we had a talk with Dr. Dubin and she told us that, while she is perfectly willing to take me on as a patient, she actually thinks I will be better served going to a fairly new Adult Congestive heart clinic over in the regular Stanford hospital.
This was a bit…well…discouraging. I’ve already spent hours on the phone talking to different people to get cleared with our insurance to see Dr. Dubin at LP Children’s Hospital. I know the Stanford hospital won’t be in our approved medical network, and the thought of starting the whole appeal process over again for new doctors in a new clinic is a little overwhelming. Well, I’ll worry about that later.
Anyway, the good news is that I am otherwise fine – ok Echo, perfect EKG, nothing too weird in the pacer check, and fairly decent lab results. My recovery is progressing as expected. The bad news, especially for those of you who are hoping to hear adoption updates, is that Dr. Dubin has designated next summer (at least a year out from my surgery) as the soonest we should consider anything as demanding as adopting children.
SO, the results from today are 1. More phone calls, and 2. More waiting.
Feeling Noble?by Angie
15 Nov 2007
7:11 am0
Ever had an experience where you were feeling quite proud of yourself for something, only to realize that you weren’t really being such a hero after all? That happened to me last night.
You see, Jim stayed to work late a couple of times this week and I was tempted to feel a bit annoyed about it; as if changes in scheduling sort of threw off my groove (even when he let me know in advance). However, I had a chat with myself and concluded that there would be no complaints from me (out loud, at least – obviously I was already complaining to myself). I guess this decision was a good choice. The bad choice was that I proceeded to let myself feel pretty noble about being so “humble” (ha ha).
Well, all such pride must be mortified, and my wake-up call happened last night. Imagine my feelings when I found out that my sweet husband was staying late to get some extra hours in, so that he could surprise me by taking half a day off to come with me to my doctor appointment today! I have to drive to a new place, all the way over in Palo Alto, and meet my new Cardiologist, Dr. Dubin. He knew I was nervous about it and didn’t want me to have to be alone.
Jim was being the noble one! Far from noble, I was only being civil – and a good thing, too. Imagine if I had complained to him about it, when he was planning something special for me?! My puffed-up feelings of vanity deflated and were replaced with gratitude, which is probably the best antidote I can think of for pride.
I am so grateful that I have such a sweet and thoughtful husband who goes out of his way to take good care of me. I’m grateful he has such a good job that fits our family needs so well. Most of all, I’m very grateful that Jim is so patient with me and wants me to be happy. These are some things I should be remembering, the next time I find myself “feeling noble.”
Wishlist is up and running!by Angie
14 Nov 2007
9:11 pm0
The holiday season is upon us and – along with gratitude, peace, joy, family, traditions, and the sacred nativity story – something is bound to be on almost everyone’s mind: What gifts and thoughtful acts will best show our love and appreciation to those we care about? Ok, I know this already sounds like a commercial but…well… Jim has come up with a wonderful little online program that helps you plan and organize your gift-giving and we want everyone to know about it!
Many of our family and friends have already been using the Wishlist since its creation a few years ago, but even they may not know about it’s origins. Here’s what Jim’s site says on the subject:
Now, you’re probably wondering what this site is for? That is a very valid question. I haven’t figured out everything that this website can do myself! But, until then let me tell you a little bit about it. Wishlist was inspired by my sister, Rachel, in late November 2002. I realized with a little PHP (hypertext preprocessing) and MySQL (a Linux based SQL Server) that I could make a website that kept track of users’ wishlists allowing them to share their lists with friends and family across the country. The idea sounded promising, so I did some homework and learned some PHP. This is my first PHP project, so it is bound to be flawed. There are many great ideas for the future regarding the functionality of this website, so keep checking back for updates!
If you’ve never been to the site, feel free to check it out ! If you’re already a member, it’s time to remember your login, delete old items, check out others’ lists, and start making some wishes! Remember, at the end of Thanksgiving weekend, the “Delete Item” feature will be gone!
My first post!by Angie
13 Nov 2007
8:11 pm0
Well, here we are on our brand new blog that Jim created for our little family! We’ve been living in California for several months now; we love the area and enjoy our new ward very much. Jim’s job keeps him busy, and he was recently called as a Teachers Quorum Advisor in our ward. I get to stay at home during the day cooking, cleaning, reading, and (yes, still) unpacking. You can often catch me on Google Talk and Facebook, too, since my computer is set up right in the living room.
We have lots of exciting things planned in the next couple months, and you’ll want to hear all about them! For instance, I have a big important doctor appointment this coming Thursday, and next week we are traveling to Portland to visit Joseph and Kelly for Thanksgiving! I hope this blog will be an interesting and entertaining place for our family and friends to visit, explore, and comment on. Please feel free to check back often and give us lots of feedback.