Heredity 101
With Mom in the hospital once again from yet another fall, I can't help but turn my mind to genes. Yep, based on family history, I'm thinking I'm destined to head down the path of bad health.
Heart problems run on both sides of my family. My dad had his first heart attack right before I was born. A second one seventeen years later killed him at the age of 62. My mom's father died of a heart attack, too, in his mid-70s. Even my own daughter was born with heart trouble, having a condition called atrial septal defect. Basically, Baillie had a hole in her heart. Many specialist's visits later, thank God, the hole had closed on its own.
When Dad was in the hospital with heart attack #1, he found out he had diabetes. With daily medication, he usually kept it under control. Mom found out she had diabetes in her late 60s. Not only does she take meds, but is also insulin-dependent. (Add the fact that she's recently had bouts of blood sugar dropping as low as 40 every few days. Not a good situation.) My sister, Mary, also has adult-onset diabetes, and Katy is convinced that she would have it, too, if she didn't regulate her diet so carefully.
Both my parents were/are victims of high blood pressure. Mine is typically normal, for now. Of course it shot through the roof when I was in labor with Baillie, putting me into shock and forcing an emergency caesarean section delivery so that the doctors could save my life. So, I'm thinking the tendancy is unfortunately there.
Mom has been overweight for many years, with the bulk of her bulge in the stomach area. Of course that's the worst place to put on weight, and as they say, like mother, like daughter. I know I need to do something about the belly, but there just isn't enough time in the day, and I hate the whole sit-up scenario.
There are other conditions, too, as I heard Mom's nurse yesterday rattle off things like Hepatitis C, seizure disorder, and sleep apnia. And, of course, there's the ever elusive idea that Mom probably has multiple myelomia (bone cancer).
Yep, folks, in the gene pool, I think I may be drowning.
Heart problems run on both sides of my family. My dad had his first heart attack right before I was born. A second one seventeen years later killed him at the age of 62. My mom's father died of a heart attack, too, in his mid-70s. Even my own daughter was born with heart trouble, having a condition called atrial septal defect. Basically, Baillie had a hole in her heart. Many specialist's visits later, thank God, the hole had closed on its own.
When Dad was in the hospital with heart attack #1, he found out he had diabetes. With daily medication, he usually kept it under control. Mom found out she had diabetes in her late 60s. Not only does she take meds, but is also insulin-dependent. (Add the fact that she's recently had bouts of blood sugar dropping as low as 40 every few days. Not a good situation.) My sister, Mary, also has adult-onset diabetes, and Katy is convinced that she would have it, too, if she didn't regulate her diet so carefully.
Both my parents were/are victims of high blood pressure. Mine is typically normal, for now. Of course it shot through the roof when I was in labor with Baillie, putting me into shock and forcing an emergency caesarean section delivery so that the doctors could save my life. So, I'm thinking the tendancy is unfortunately there.
Mom has been overweight for many years, with the bulk of her bulge in the stomach area. Of course that's the worst place to put on weight, and as they say, like mother, like daughter. I know I need to do something about the belly, but there just isn't enough time in the day, and I hate the whole sit-up scenario.
There are other conditions, too, as I heard Mom's nurse yesterday rattle off things like Hepatitis C, seizure disorder, and sleep apnia. And, of course, there's the ever elusive idea that Mom probably has multiple myelomia (bone cancer).
Yep, folks, in the gene pool, I think I may be drowning.
posted by Bridget @ 6:34 PM
2 Comments:
At 9:03 AM,
lisa said…
Bridget, I feel for you. My family is similar, but our hearts are not the problem, it's our minds. Dementia and conditions related have run rampant in our elders for generations. My sister and I tell our husbands they'd better visit us in the home, but we can't promise to recognise, or even be happy to see them.
Here's to living in the day...tomorrow indeed does have enough trouble of it's own!
At 7:40 PM,
Katy said…
Hey, B, don't forget dementia. Mom is awfully iffy, and Aunt Cathy and Aunt Mary both had Alzheimer's. And your poor brother Patrick died of heart disease, too. The nice thing is that most people in the family die nice and young, before "things" get too out of hand... :) Lisa's advice is good. Live heartily in the here and now. Tomorrow has no guarantees.
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