Late Twenties
Why does 28 sound so much older than 27? For whatever reason, I've had a tougher time with this past birthday. Tuesday, I officially entered my late 20's.
It was an odd birthday, and a hectic week. We've had family in town since last Saturday for Austin's graduation weekend. It's always fun to get the wild crazy family together, you never know what's going to happen - and I wasn't expecting the text I received Monday from my Mom. Before work we were planning on celebrating my birthday with everyone at 3 Squares that night, but when I received "We had to call the ambulance for Grandma and they are taking her to North Memorial. I will keep you updated" things changed.
She was fainting off and on, and when she would wake up again she couldn't speak. She kept touching her chest - and they knew something was wrong. That's when they decided they needed to call 9-1-1. Monday was a blur. I kept getting texting updates from my Mom and Aunt Joan letting me know was going on. There was hardly any new news... most of the updates were something about running billions of tests to see if they can get any answers. After an EKG they determined there was some damage to the heart that resulted from a heart attack, however they're not sure when that actually occurred. The continued to run tests focusing on the heart to see if they could get to the bottom of Grandma's fainting spells.
Monday night while my Mom, Grandpa and Aunt Joan kept Grandma company at the hospital, we headed to 3 Squares for a semi-celebratory birthday dinner. Afterwards my Dad, Mitch, Betty, Austin and Harper all sang "Happy Birthday" and did they best they could to create a "28" on my carrot cake. As we were all thinking of Grandma, we had a fun time celebrating.
Since my Mom was busy at the hospital, I worked from home on Tuesday. Betty spent the day with us, hanging out upstairs watching Sprout and playing. I was bummed I couldn't be at work that day. My co-worker Katie made me an amazing pig cake for my birthday. Thank goodness for social media - I was still able to admire her creativity and hard work. It was just about the cutest cake ever, and my desk decorations were incredible. (Thank you again girls!)
We continued to get updates Tuesday, but received little answers. They were still running several tests to see if they could find a solution to the fainting. Nothing. In the midst of all this, we were preparing for Austin's graduation party that was happening Friday. My Dad and I chatted to figure out what we could do to help. After consulting with my Mom and making a few executive decisions of our own - we had a plan in place.
Wednesday came and they shifted their focus from Grandma's heart to her brain. The fainting spells were dwindling, but unfortunately were still happening. Mitch's sister Jennie saved us by taking the day off to watch Harper (seriously, thank you again!). Mitch and I went about our day as normal, and headed to our last day of swim lessons that night. Harper is an official graduate of Baby Backfloat 1 at Foss Swim School. It was an awesome experience, and we plan to continue with lessons in the fall.
Thursday was day 4 in the hospital. After running several tests they didn't find anything wrong with her head to be causing the fainting. They gave her blood pressure medication that should even out the abnormality happening with her heart. So that evening, they loaded her up and she came back home to my parents house. She's been a trooper during the process, and we're just happy she's alright. Still as witty and sassy as ever - that's the Grandma Josie we love.
Since this is already a lengthy post, why not make it longer, right? Before the crazy week started, last Sunday Aunt Joan, Betty, Mitch, Harper and myself walked down to Bass Lake Playfields to check out the park scene. We had a wonderful time, and I think the pictures prove it!
Well today is actual graduation. Austin will get on that cap and gown, and march his way up to the stage to get his diploma. He is one of the most creative, hard working, big-hearted people I know. As he closes out the chapter that is high school, he begins his new excursion of adulthood. There is no doubt in my mind that he will be successful when he ventures to Fargo in the fall.
As cliché as it sounds, he truly can do anything he puts his mind to. 6-year old Austin was asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" He answers, "rich." That hasn't changed, and I have no doubt he will be. So keep your head up, stay focused, learn from your mistakes and enjoy every single second of these next few years. They're truly unforgettable. Congratulations Austin, I couldn't be more proud.
Until next time...
The Helleen's
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