my dad had a heart attack this morning. he was taken to the ER about 30 minutes after the onset of the chest pain. they treated him with thrombolytic drugs to break up any clots and sent him in an ambulance to the nearest referral center. he underwent a cardiac catheterization which confirmed a blood clot in the coronary vessels (not sure if artery or vein). the thrombolytic was successful in breaking the clot down, but the degree of myocardial (heart muscle) damage is unknown at this point. he is in the ICU. we spent the day there with him. he is bright, alert, and aware of everything. we talked at length, and he is feeling okay. hopefully, he arrived at the hospital in time to absolutely minimize the damage.

he'll probably stay in ICU 1-2 days total, then maybe go home monday - depending on what they find on the echocardiogram tomorrow/monday.

it was not a good way to wake up this morning (at 6:30am to a phone call from my mom - who sounded oddly calm). this is the second time in 2.5 weeks i've had to miss work. first i was sick, now this. i'm starting to feel very unreliable.

keep my dad in your thoughts please!