Fixable

At a conference I attended a few years back, the creator of Fixables.net introduced his site. The concept was simple: people post problems in their neighborhood, like potholes, graffiti, overgrown trees blocking sidewalks, etc. The community helps find who's responsible and works together to get the problem fixed. While this idea hasn't taken off at Fixables.net, it certainly has at other sites. Something fixable, a strong community, problem solved.

That my current heart issue is fixable is a very good thing. Sure, we don't know exactly how yet, and yes, it might mean another surgery not unlike the one back in September. The hangup is that recent tests haven't been able to identify the area of restricted blood flow as either the pulmonary valve or pulmonary artery. Knowing this would give my doctors a better sense of the likelihood of success of a balloon and stint procedure -- a technique that expands the area and keeps it there. If that worked, it would the easiest recovery for me -- about the same as recovering from a day of moving the unsightly pile of topsoil from my driveway to the backyard (we really have to finish that :)

In the meantime, I'm surrounded by a great community of family and friends. We really enjoyed our staycation without having decisions to make about next steps. That Ann Marie and the kids had great ideas and equal motivation for fun sure helped. It's also been wonderful talking to friends who followed my blog last year and who've been reading it since. As much as I'd like to, I don't always have time to catch up with everyone, and when I do I'd much rather talk about the fun stuff they're up to. After all, who starts a community barbeque conversation with "hey, how about them potholes down the street"?

Should be fun weekend with Alli's birthday party and (hopefully) more of this stellar weather we've been having. We'll see my surgeon on Monday and hope to have a plan soon after. Thanks again for following along.