Thanks everyone.
Unfortunately, the news was "good"...then it wasn't. Pop had a heart catheterization, which initially the report was "He's fine, minor blockage, they'll do a stint." But then it came back from my mom that the major artery to his heart is 100% blocked. So blocked that they couldn't get the instrument to where it needed to be, despite repeated attempts. The next step is usually open-heart surgery, but his lung capacity is reduced because of many years of smoking before he quit in the 80s, so they didn't do that. I guess he's had undiagnosed heart disease for years*.
I guess what happens now is that he is on medication for pretty much the rest of his life, but the biggest problem is that he can no longer drive. And I think that is going to be the hardest part for him. Because it was so blocked, he could have a heart attack at any time- even while driving. He lives independently at the moment, but he's recovering at my parents house right now, but they're hoping he'll move in with them. It's just not going to be a pleasant transition for him, loosing his freedom in a oner.
* This worries me on another level- his wife, my mom's mom, died of heart disease in her mid-40s, before I even got to meet her. My mom has always struggled with her weight, and she hovers in the "prediabetic" phase of things. Now, she's been doing better in the last 5 years, and so now I'm terrified that she's going to have heart issues, too
. I just can't handle the thought of life without my mom.
On top of all of this- while all this was going on- I was in a staff meeting where we were told that 1 in 4 of my coworkers will loose their job next week...so I'm freaking the hell out.
I am loosing my hair from stress, already