A Recollection of the Most Unusual Events Occurring To Me and My Family Before and After Thanksgiving 2007 Involving Matters of Life and Death, A Religious Community, and the Biggest Radio Station in the State of Wisconsin

It's kind of an involved story, so I'll tell it step by step:

1. Oct 23, 2007: My 80-year-old Mother develops an aortic dissection. It's kind of like an aneurysm. To find out where it is, they would need to inject dye into her aorta. But that would knock out her already-compromised kidneys, and she doesn't want to be put onto dialysis.
2. They determine that, given these circumstances, nothing can be done.
3. Nov 1, 2007: Mom comes home (Belvidere, IL) under hospice care.
4. Nov 15, 2007: I publish my soon-to-be-(in)famous Coexist Bumper Sticker Parody.
5. Nov 18, 2007: My wife Nancy has a heart attack
6. Nancy gets a stent in her heart
7. But in doing so, they poke a hole somewhere in her abdomen. She loses 2 units of blood.
8. So they put a stent in her abdomen to stop the bleeding there.
9. Her condition stabilizes.
10. But then she develops a pulmonary embolism, and almost dies.
11. All through this I'm working and taking care of Ryan, our wheelchair-bound son who can't walk or talk. And our two daughters too.
12. My parody of the Coexist bumper sticker gets picked up by Milwaukee radio talker Charlie Sykes.
13. Charlie puts it on his blog.
14. The Inter-Faith Coalition of Greater Milwaukee DEMANDS he take it down.
15. He essentially tells them to Stuff It.
16. So now while my Mom's dying and my wife is in the hospital, I get caught up in this kerfluffle.
17. So I respond with this post. 
18. Charlie, in talking about this controversy, mentions my Mom and about Nancy's heart attack.
19. My Dad is very hard-of-hearing.
20. My Dad normally listens to WGN radio out of Chicago.
21. My plan was to tell him about Nancy's heart attack once she got home OK.
22. But this is taking a LOT longer than I thought.
23. You can tell where this is going, I bet.
24. Did I mention my Dad is hard of hearing?
25. So YES, you are correct: My Dad hears about Nancy's heart attack over the radio.
26. December 1, 2007: Nancy comes home after 2 weeks in the hospital.
27. Dad calls, tells Nancy that it's great to have her home.
28. You're way ahead of me.
29. And YES, mentions that he (and all of Milwaukee) heard about her heart attack on the radio.
30. Actually, not just "the radio" but rather WTMJ, the Number 1 Radio Station with the strongest broadcasting signal in the State of Wisconsin.
31. I hadn't gotten around to mentioning this whole thing to Nancy.
32. Oops.
33. December 2, 2007: My Mom passes away at home.
34. Charlie Sykes and his wife send us the nicest bouquet of flowers we're ever received. 
35. Dec 6, 2007: My Mom is buried in the little town of Tonica, Illinois, right next to the farm house where she grew up.
36. The reception is in the Methodist Church where my Grandfather was the pastor 60 years ago.
37. My Dad gets a kick out of telling everyone this radio story.
38. I sit next to my cousin Christie and have a really nice chat with her.
39. March 5, 2007: Almost 3 months to the day we are all back at the same church for my cousin Christie's funeral. She died of a pulmonary embolism.
40. Spring 2007: My Dad finally gets hearing aids!
41. Summer 2007: Having slimmed down during her 2-week hospital ordeal, Nancy kept on training and runs a triathlon during the summer.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving, Everybody!!!

Comments

[Maven]

Happy Thanksgiving to you and all your readers!

[Will G.]

Happy Thanksgiving, Tom and God bless you and your whole family. Keep up the great work.