Well, it's been a while since I posted. The health situation with my father has been taking up most of my energy these past six weeks and caused me to put my plans on hold. It started with an anomoly on an exam for a totally unrelated matter. And now, after countless doctor visits including to three separate vascular surgeons, the result is that he has an lagre abdominal aortic aneruysm that for all intents and purposes is inoperable. The standard way to do this procedure would be to cut into the abdomen. But the doctors all agree that there is a good chance he would not survive the operation given his age and condition. Many AAA's can be treated endovascularly, by going in through the leg. But given the location of his aneurysm, the fact that it is attached itself to the kidney arteries, this is not possible. So now it is just a matter of time for it to burst. The thing is, it could be tomorrow, next month, next year or in five years. But in all likelihood, this is the thing that will kill him. And there is nothing that can be done in a non-surgical mode to treat it. So there is a case to be made that he might have been better off not knowing. In any case, this has pretty much consumed my energy this past month and a half--a saga that came to an end yesterday with a final verdict from one of the best vascular surgeons in the country.
Well, at least all of this kept me out of an earthquake. Before we started down this path I had actually booked a ticket to be in Japan for the month of March but cancelled it when this medical situation hit, so I missed out on being there for the earthquake. Having been fifty miles from the epicenter for the Sichuan earthquake of 2008, I was not sorry to miss it. I am not sure what my next move will be, but with this last verdict by the doctor at least some things are cleared up. Still awaiting a verdict in another case, but that's a long story I will tell at some point. For now, I have a half marathon to run this Sunday. More later
