Its a Boy (x2)

Congratulations to William and Kate on the birth of their little future king!

But we too welcomed a new little boy into our family, Grandchild number 6 arrived at 7am on Saturday morning. Not destined to be king, but will be loved and cherished by his own family of subjects!

Like the royal baby he is just over 8 lb. He is now home with his Mum and Dad and 2 year old sister and is doing well. He bears the names of two of his grandfathers. One, his Great Great grandfather, a pioneer of New Zealand, and the other is the name of my Father.

The best laid Plans........

We never got to take our holiday in Australia last month as planned. That has now been deferred until early September.

I started having chest pains. Not what I would actually call pain (like childbirth pains!) but a cramping heavy kind of sensation that crept up into my jaw.

So consequently I am now involved in a whole new world with a new set of vocabulary. I am now becoming familiar with words like CT Scan, angina, coronary angiogram, circumflex artery etc. as I wait for the appropriate tests to be completed and then move on to the next procedure.

Of course this is probably pre- ordained. I have an abysmal family history of sudden deaths at a relatively young age due to heart attacks. I have lived to a greater age than my parents did and my two younger siblings. (and I don't consider myself old yet at only mid sixties)

I do have an advantage in that heart research has come a long way in recent years with the diagnosis of heart problems and the use of stents, surgery etc. as well as general awareness and education regarding some of the contributing factors of heart disease eg diet, and smoking. I have never smoked, weight - well that needs some attention, but I have been told that is lower down in the list of 'causes'. Family history is the highest on the list. Those genes have a lot to answer for.

I will keep you posted.