Stephanie Klein's Greek Tragedy

life and the pursuit of happiness

It was the Day before the 4th. We had the beans strapped in as we headed to run errands. Matching picnic plates & napkins, glow in the dark bracelets, an American flag and pole, Creme De Banana. At the gas…

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branded with love

Been out of sorts and preoccupied but wanted to give an update and sincere thank you for all the well wishes and positive thoughts. After 4 attempts, the Dr. resigned to the fact that the cardioversions failed. Phil was…

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phil’s heart, my ass: the things we do for love

Phil had a scheduled appointment with his cardiologist the other day, routine, a checkup. But the news wasn't routine; it was news. "Well, you're now officially 100% in a-fib (atrial fibrillation), which isn't good. The pacemaker hasn't been able to…

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lucas’s & phil’s health update

We're assuming our little guy is feelin' fine on the 1 and 9. Lucas had a spine and brain MRI, with and without contrast recently, and we're still waiting to review the results with his neurosurgeon. I have to believe…

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the placebo effect of dating

I took a Health Psychology class in college, where I learned, among other things, about the power of positive (and craptastic) thinking, particularly its impact on our health. I already knew that imagining myself making contact with the ball on…

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helpless mothers, helpful fathers

Lucas Beckett went in for his MRI today, and Abigail shat herself. Of all mornings, of course she'd pick today, the only day we need to be up super early and be out the door on time to get…

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ejection, rejection, and erections: an owner’s manual

On The Mend Phil's ejection fraction (the percentage of blood that leaves the heart after it's pumped in) was at 10 to 15 percent before this most recent surgery, where an ICD-CRT device with a bi-ventrical lead was implanted.…

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teacher man: remembering Frank McCourt

When I heard of the passing of Frank McCourt I asked Stephanie if she would write a blog post about him.  She responded that I should write something as she hadn't read his books or personally known him. It…

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no more man bra!

I haven't seen Phil yet, but the doctor just told me all went well. No complications, other than the vein being small, where he needed to insert the third lead, so he went ahead and used the smaller lead…

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surgery scheduled

Phil's mother is flying in tomorrow morning. She'll be picked up at the airport, then dropped off at the hospital. To wait with me. "No one should have to wait alone in a waiting room," she said. Dr. Natale…

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