Reviving a Broken Heart

     Cinco de Mayo is supposed to be a day of bright colors, margaritas (for those of us not pregnant), tacos, and hey, why not throw in that mariachi band.  Mine started with a microbiology final and ended with a hospital visit; forget the bright colors and La Cucaracha.

     For my parents, their Cinco de Mayo started just like any other day; they both went to work.  Close to 5pm, my dad mowed the front lawn, and my mom put the groceries away for their Cinco de Mayo dinner.  That moment, when everything seems to fall apart but actually aligns, then occurred.  A neighbor, who was not even supposed to come home that day, drove by and witnessed my father collapse over the lawn mower and then fall backwards.  She immediately pulled over, ran to our back door, and yelled for my mom.  While the neighbor called 911, my mother threw herself on the ground next to my father, who at the time had no pulse and was unresponsive, and she proceeded to perform CPR.  Within minutes, two ambulances arrived and revived my father by shocking him with a defibrillator and placing an IV for drugs.

     Today, my father is back home.  He had open heart surgery where 5 coronary arteries, including the LAD (the "widow maker"), were bypassed.  Yes, he had quintuple bypass surgery.  At 67 years old with a healthy history, my father was hit by the leading cause of death in this country....but....he survived.

     I write you this story not only because it has shaken my life, but I hope that its power will also shake yours.  Eat better!  Notice changes in your body!  Start marking off items on that bucket list!  CPR saves lives; get certified!  And most of all, say "I love you" to those special people in your lives ALL THE TIME!

Thank you, mom, for being kickass, just in general.

Thank you, dad, for being a fighter.

Thank you, friends and family, for being there and supporting us through everything from sitting in waiting rooms to finishing up the half-mowed lawn.

Thank you, God, for aligning those stars that day; I wasn't ready to say goodbye to my father just yet.

So happy to still have both of my parents: my mom, the superstar CPR-ist, and my daddy, the heart attack survivor and fighter.

May we have many, MANY more years together!