My sweet grandfather has been in the hospital since last week with what was originally thought to be a mild heart attack and is now being categorized (by me) as the cardiac “ick.” Grandpa has been working with a cardiologist to potentially get a new valve put in via cathetar. However, after doing some exploring earlier this week (also via cathetar) and monitoring his kidneys, it was decided that he’d have to wait for the valve until the state of his kidneys improved. So yesterday, they used a balloon to open up his valve a bit and hopefully relieve some of the strain on his kidneys.

For anyone who doesn’t know my Grandpa, I’m sorry. He’s a pretty awesome and funny man.

Don’t believe me? Trust YouTube… YES! That’s my Gramps with over 1 million views:

I went to see Grandpa on Tuesday of last week and we sat for over an hour talking about his life and his travels. He first started by telling me about how wonderful the hospital staff has been. The night before, one of the nurses sat with Grandpa and he sang to her. Probably after telling her a joke or two… that’s my Grandpa.

He told me about travelling while in the Navy and how he travelled via train from NY to Cali (and back again) something like 4-6 times during his Navy days. The trip took 6 days I believe. Just slightly different than traveling today. I asked Grandpa if it was a rough trip, he said, “Nahh! It was great. I was young!”

As we chatted about all of the great times in his life, Grandpa said to me, “I’d like to make it to Judah’s Bar Mitzvah.” With about 7ish years to go until my nephew’s bar mitzvah, I’d say that’s a pretty good goal.

Grandpa is a fighter. He’s had stints, bypass surgery, and now these latest heart procedures… he fought with my Grandma when she was diagnosed with breast cancer and again when she was diagnosed with alzheimers… but bigger than all of these fights is his love for life and his love for our family. Grandpa’s going to be just fine.

After his procedure yesterday, Charlie was ready with tons of smooches and love for Grandpa. She would whine and lean towards him with her lips puckered, just waiting for us to lean her over to give Gramps more kisses… she loves her Great Gramps.