And now Dad needs a new heart valve

While I have focused on Mom recovering from her string of problems beginning with pulmonary embolisms about seven weeks ago, Dad has had his share of health issues too.
He was admitted to the hospital in Meridian on Tuesday after tests on his heart showed serve problems. His aortic heart valve is essentially blocked, requiring him to have surgery at 7:30 a.m. on Friday at Jeff Anderson Hospital.
Blood flows into his heart but has problems getting out, his surgeon told him. For months now, problems with routine movements have caused him to stop from dizziness and heavy breathing. When I helped him move recently, I could tell he wasn't operating at full force.
Today I spoke with him by phone from his hospital room learned a few details. Typically aortic valves have openings just smaller than a half-dollar but his doctors had problems passing a small wire into his valve during tests.
During his hospital visit on Tuesday, he learned that many people who do not have their aortic valves replaced often "drop dead" without warning. Given that information, he opted for surgery as soon as possible. His recovery will take a while, just in time for him to retire in July.
I have plenty of faith he'll come out of this just fine. After all, a rattlesnake bit him when he was thirteen and survived that.

As for my mom, she moved to Promise Hospital in Vicksburg on Monday and continues to recover. Speaking to her today, she said she's ready to leave these hospitals behind her as soon as possible. She said her one of her legs aches, but that is much better than her unconscious in the ICU at University Medical Center.
So, let's get this straight: Dad is in the hospital in Meridian on the Alabama side of Interstate 20, and Mama recovers in a Vicksburg hospital on the Louisiana side of I-20. This weekend I will become very familiar with both sides of Mississippi along the interstate.
Here's to a full recovery on both sides of the Magnolia State.