No poem today, no scrappy, happy post. On July 1, my youngest son, Patrick, dropped dead. He was 47. Unbeknownst to anyone, he had severe atrial fibrillation. I learned yesterday from his angel-wife that he went to a doctor in November of 2010 because he was experiencing “heart palpitations.” For some unknown reason, the doctor completely ignored his heart and was only concerned with his cholesterol count. Seven months later he was gone.

I’m sharing this with the world because I don’t want anyone else to die needlessly. If you’re having unusual “flip-flops” in your heart, don’t ignore them, even if your heart returns to a normal rhythm within a short time. You will be fitted with a heart monitor which you will wear for 24 hours. Nothing to it. You can do your normal daily routines while wearing it and a jacket will cover it up if you don’t want the public to see it. This device gives a read-out to the doctor of just what’s going on with your heart and is a life-saver. If you do have “a-fib” there are several procedures that can correct it.

You may be asking yourself, how does she know about these things? I know because I have had atrial fibrillation for many years and have been treated for it. I’m now 78 and only wish that my son had told me what he was dealing with. I wish I had talked about my physical problems instead of making an effort not to bore anyone by talking about my ailments.

Rest in peace, my son.