practical lessons i've learned

10. be familiar with the hospitals in your area. know their reputation and what their specialties are. i'm grateful i knew which hospitals i did not want pete at and which ones provided more specialized care for his condition.

9. if you are experiencing a recurring heart symptom or feeling that would suggest that something may not be right, then go to a CARDIOLOGIST, not a family practice doctor. they will know what testing to do to find problems. don't feel silly about going; you could be saving your life. there are many preventive measures that we have been learning about if you know what is going on with your heart. it's really not something to take lightly or blow off, especially if you have a family history. if you are having concerns and just not sure where to go, then contact me; we have been working with a renowned group of cardiologists.

8. check your benefits; know what your work offers you or your husband. if you are unsure, then talk to the person that can tell you. if your spouse doesn't love handling that part, then take over. just be sure you are taking advantage of everything that is available to you. had pete and i been more informed about the benefits that were available to us, then we never would have missed a paycheck.

7. life insurance. if you don't have a policy, then get one. you really never know when you might need it. when we were certain pete was not going to live, i had a big burden lifted knowing that i wouldn't have to worry about how to pay to our bills or about how i was going to have to work full-time the rest of my life to support my family. i was grateful to know that i would still be able to stay home with my children. don't wait for something to happen before you sign-up.

6. health insurance. NEVER be without it, especially if you don't have to. we have received several more insurance statements since my post about the cost of all of this. we are now in it over $200,000. had we not had health insurance we would be SUNK. don't procrastinate getting it, and just never be without it. you may never need it, but then again you might. just pay the stupid premiums because they will be far less than an incident.

5. if you think someone in your family is snoring, then respond instantly. don't just roll over and try to go back to sleep in hopes that they will stop. if that would've been what i did that night pete would be dead. i know it seems annoying to check every abnormal breathing sound that you hear in a night, but who knows it may be something wrong one time and one time is all it takes. it won't kill you to check the noise, but it may kill someone else if you don't.

4. if there appears to be an emergency type situation going on around you, call 911 immediately. don't waste too much time trying to figure out what exactly is going on or if it really warrants a 911 call. i've learned that when in doubt, just call. you can try to figure out what's going on or lose your head after the ambulance is on the way. my funny take on this... i can tend to be a bit of an over-reactor in medical situations; pete seems to over-think medical situations. with him i didn't hesitate to call 911 since i was the one in charge. as i was running away to get the phone to call i turned back and yelled at him "i don't care if you want me to call 911 or not, i'm going to!". he obviously didn't hear me or didn't think i was over-reacting for once. :)

3. always know where the phone is when you go to bed. most of the time our phone is never hanging up and is always in some dumb random place like the laundry room. the night i had to call 911 it just so happened by a miracle of a chance that the phone was in the place it should be. if i would've had to search for the phone i'm afraid i would've lost my head. i now make sure the phone is hanging up when we go to bed. i never know when i'm going to have to call 911 in the middle of the night, and i certainly don't want to have to be looking for the phone.

2. learn cpr. i don't mean go to nursing school, just learn the basics. put the knowledge in your brain even though it may seem like you will never use it. when the knowledge is in your brain you have a much greater ability to recall it in an emergency than you would if it wasn't there at all.

1. never go to bed angry; i know it's cliche to say, but seriously. if pete and i ever had a disagreement before we would always sleep on it because we knew we would just feel better in the morning. i won't do it anymore; i will force myself to never go to bed angry because i really have no way of knowing if we will both wake up the next morning. send your spouse to bed every night like it could be your last night with them; make sure they know how much you love them.