robglazebrook.com

This may come as a shock to some of you, considering the (permanent) age of my mother, but my grandfather is an old guy. In fact, his nickname has been “The Old Guy” for as long as I can remember. He’s right around 72 years old so far, and all indicators point to the fact that he won’t be getting any younger any time soon.

In addition, The Old Guy has also had a few health problems. He’s been diagnosed with emphysema, he’s had a couple of strokes, and he’s also suffered a couple of heart attacks. So far, nothing’s taken him out, and my fingers are crossed most sternly that nothing will take him out for a long while yet. I’m fond of him, and all. :)

Which is why it’s probably a good idea for me to check out InsideCardiacArrest.com. I don’t have a lot of background knowledge on major health problems like Irregular Heartbeat — I have Yet Another Cold/Flu Bug (YAC/FB) at the moment, but I’m pretty sure that’s not on par with sudden cardiac arrest.

And the InsideCardiacArrest website has some pretty useful information: for the first time in my 26 years, I finally understand what a fibrillation is, why it’s bad, and why one might be interested in defibrillizing one’s heart. I always knew it was a bad thing, but I never had a good mental image of the problem — thus, I inevitably ended up picturing little worm-like “fibrills” that had to be killed via electric shock. And while my “fibrillation” nugget of knowledge might not help me next time my grandfather has an “episode” (like Will & Grace, only with more hospital visits), it will certainly come in handy the next big family dinner, when everyone’s ailments come out to be examined by all.