Really Great Advice! Thank you kind Sir. Bill Erwin DNA is going to help here also. -----Original Message----- From: aljeffer-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:aljeffer-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Jim Nix Sent: Monday, November 12, 2007 3:24 PM To: aljeffer@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [ALJEFF] What did you get from your parents? I hate to rain on all the fun we've been having, but this looks like a good place for a PSA (Public Service Announcement). >From my own experience, let me suggest that when you're doing family research, particularly your mother's and father's surname lines, find out as much medical history as you can. Find out if heart disease, cancer, etc. "run" in your family. In my case, knowing that my mother's side of my family has a strong incidence of vascular and heart disease saved my life. My mother and two of her brothers had surgery for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms (AAA). My mother and one of her brothers have had strokes. My sister has had a brain aneurysm. Knowing that, I had myself tested and found that I also had an AAA. By having annual scans run, I was able to catch it when it started to "balloon." In 2002, I had surgery to repair my AAA. Without the surgery, I could (and likely would) have died. And there was never a single symptom. I didn't pay as much attention to the tendency toward heart disease and in 2003 had an "emergency" quadruple bypass when it was discovered that I had blockages as high as 99%. And my only symptom had been "indigestion" (which was really angina). I still may not be able to stop the onset of further incidents, but I do take medications to control high blood pressure and high cholesterol. I see my cardiologist twice a year. I still have regular scans for aneurysms. And, above all, I make sure that every doctor I see knows about all of these. And when you find these sorts of things in your family medical history, share that knowledge with your siblings and cousins - who are also carrying those same genes. Jim Nix ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ALJEFFER-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message