Rina, Renal, and Renin Stimpy

I purposely slept late knowing that I’d have plenty of time due to having my lunch already packed and not having to prep any food for Mindy. I slept until 6:10am. But truth be told, that was about ten minutes later than I had planned. Still, not a single worry! Once again, it was brutally cold. The 6:15am temperature was -3 degrees and the wind chill was around -18. I took the artic chill in stride and began my indoor exercises. All went well. I was excited about our morning walk. There’s something macho about braving the ridiculous cold that gets my juices going. I was plenty warm in my fleece and winter parka, hat, and gloves. But as fun as it was, I was happy to be back inside for some hot coffee afterwards. After some coffee, the internet, and mediation, I was ready to make some breakfast. I made myself fried eggs and fruit (go figure). By 7:15am I was ready for a shower. Before heading up, I took a few pictures of the cold sky. Mindy was awake once I entered the room. Mindy and the kids followed me downstairs after my shower. Mindy was heading up to the hospital again today, but as late as mid-morning she still wasn’t sure who’d be watching the kids. She hoped to hear from Ashley, but as of yet she hadn’t heard back. I started the Trooper and let it warm for a good long time before heading off to work at. I left the house at 8:05am. I was happy to be working from my office today. We were very busy. Mindy left a number of messages on my VM asking me to call, but I was tied up either in meetings or simply engrossed in my work. I later learned that she contacted her old friend Tara and she volunteered to keep the kids. Several updates on Gloria’s condition flowed in throughout the day. By mid-day the latest thought was that she might have had a heart attack. They scheduled a heart catheterization and canceled the MRI. I left for my run soon after. Again, it was bitterly cold. The temperature hovered barely above ten degrees with wind chills approaching -10. But this was becoming old hat. I ran through it like nothing. And once again, my biggest hurdle was dealing with a pulled groin, but even that felt measurably better today. About half way through the run it began to snow just as predicted. As I closed in on the finish the snow began to accumulate. Through the afternoon Mindy kept me posted on the condition of her mother. The heart catheterization revealed a healthy heart but a clogged renal artery to one kidney (Renal Artery Stenosis). Suddenly, all the pieces were beginning to fit. This is why her blood pressure was so high and why the meds weren’t lowering it. It seems the kidneys release a hormone-like enzyme called renin. As blood flow to the kidney slows, more renin is released raising blood pressure. Good job doc! He scheduled her to have stent placed in the restricted artery sometime Wednesday. I think I can safely speak for everyone in saying that we were all relieved to not only have a cause but also a reasonably simple solution at hand. Nothing’s worse than being sent home with no findings. Mindy inquired about me picking the kids up from Tara’s but after she learned that I wouldn’t likely leave the office until 5:30pm, she went ahead and planned on doing it. Meanwhile, outside, the snow continued to come down. We had a little over an inch with plenty more to come. Word had it that there were accidents everywhere and the freeways were either closed or down to a snails crawl. As predicted, I didn’t leave for home until 5:30pm. Before leaving, I caught myself up on the latest addition to the Rina & Glenn soap opera. Geesh! I stopped at Home Depot along the way to take back $25 worth of closet project parts. While there, I looked for storage containers and fireplace tools. They had neither, at least anythign I liked. All of their fireplace supplies have already been replaced by spring related items. I decided to stop at Lowes which was right down the road before proceeding home. Lowes had an ample selection of storage containers and a few fireplace tool sets on close-out. I got a new set 60% of the regular price. I paid $22. The handles always come loose and fall off the current set. I hate that! I also bought three 50 gallon storage containers. By the time I left Lowes the heavy stuff was just beginning to come down. As reported on the radio, traffic was backed up everywhere. We had about 2.5 inches by then. Because of the traffic reports, I took the back way home – down Fishinger Rd to Old Dublin, and then through The Glen. Smart move! The snow was beautiful, and since the temperature was hovering around ten, it was extremely fluffy snow. When I arrived home Mindy, bless her heart, was already shoveling the drive. However, despite prior warnings from me about trying to drive up our steep snowy drive, she learned the hard way. I helped shovel as soon as I got home and walked Ykraps. Of course the toughest part was shoveling where she had attempted to drive up. But because the snow was so fluffy, even that came up easier than usual. We had it done in about ten minutes. Once we were back in the warm house we decided, because of the late hour, to forego dinner. Later, I made myself a plate of Tostitos Chips smothered in cheese and topped with sour cream and hot sauce. Once I finished off the nachos I rendered myself to the big overstuffed chair and did some reading until bed time. Passively, I watched the second half of American Idol.