As regular readers may have noticed, I have been noticeably absent from my blog for the past two months. Though the demands of returning to teaching with new course material played a small part, family concerns were the principal reasons.
In late September, my mother started experiencing symptoms of congestive heart failure which she hadn't had since her second heart bypass surgery in the early 90s. She would sleep for hours after moderate activities, her coughing increased, and her coloration was turning paler by the day. Armed with two cardiologists' opinions (one from the University of Chicago Center for Advanced Medicine), she underwent a third bypass surgery in late October.
During the month of November, my mom had to strictly curtail her activities and had a visiting nurse check in on her and track her medical progress. My wife and I assisted my dad, who has recovered well from a minor stroke in 2011, with household activities, chores, and pet care. Fortunately, mom's strength is building and her coloring has improved, and she began her formal therapy sessions last week. Most importantly for her, the driving restriction was lifted at the most recent follow-up appointment.
Originally my goal was a minimum of two posts per month to the General Blog on a variety of topics, and I'll return to that production level in 2013. Happy Holidays and hope you enjoy my future blog ranting. Oh, and hooray, no Mayan Apocalypse.
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