My brother-in-law suffered what we first thought was a stroke this morning. Now we're not so sure. My mother called this morning just as I was heading out the door for work. Glad I decided to stop and see who was calling. He�s been admitted into the hospital. They're definitely keeping him overnight, and may even keep him for the weekend. So far he's had a Cat Scan, an MRI and an EEG and the neurologist has a few other tests lined up for him. At first they thought it was a stroke from a blockage in the carotid artery. He still has diminished feeling in the left half of his body, and every now and then his speech becomes slurred. Thank God his boss took him to the hospital. One of the nurses in charge of the ER this morning happens to be the woman who sits in front of my sister and brother-in-law every Sunday morning at Mass and she was able to get him seen pretty quick. She's said from the start she thinks there's something going on in his brain. The Cat Scan showed something, but they say it's not a blood clot. Okay... so what is it then?

I called my sister about a half hour ago and she's holding up pretty well right now. My brother-in-law answered the phone when I called, which really surprised me. He's definitely with it! Waiting to know what's going on has got them both pretty anxious right now. I was going to head out there tonight but they both said there was no need, so I'm sort of "on-call". I told my sister if she changed her mind, I'd head out right away. This is one of those moments I'm glad she still lives next door to my parents.

So many stressful things have happened this week and I�ve found myself craving nicotine more and more. If I buy a pack, it�ll be downhill from there. Must� resist�

HOWEVER, since I�ve been told 3,287 times that there�s no need for me to go out there, at least not tonight, I�m going to make myself a nice, big frozen mudslide after dinner and get semi-trashed while watching the Sox trash the Yankees. And if I�m too lazy to make the mudslide, I�ll just fill a glass with ice and pour Bailey�s over it.

"To alcohol! The cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems."

I�ll update on my brother-in-law as I know what�s going on.

I've said it before; I'll say it again. Hug your loved ones. Let them know how much you love them.