Dad

I have been reluctant to post anything about my Dad and his recent health issues.  I'm not 100% sure why.  Probably a fear of sharing too much.  Or making him mad.  But the other day I posted a tiny status update to my facebook feed, and the amount of support and love I got from my friends near and far was overwhelming.  Even the "likes" on my status meant the world to me.

This whole thing started two months ago when my Dad was having troubles getting around at home, especially up the stairs.  He had taken a few falls, and while not hurting himself or my mom, she was unable to help him get back up again.  An ambulance was called, and he refused to go to the ER and get checked out.  A few days went by, and he finally took the second ambulance in when they were called back again.

In the last two months, he has been through a lot.  I won't go into too many details, but several procedures including an angiogram have been very hard on him.  He is frustrated, angry, confused, wants to go home, hates the food he's been served, and misses his puppy, Sami.

Last Monday, he was finally scheduled for a surgery.  He had a stent placed near his heart, and a vascular bypass in his leg, both to help increase his circulation.

This is how we passed time in the waiting room during surgery.

Trying to keep the mood light, we had to tease mom for neatly folding her Walmart bag she had reused to carry some snacks in with her.  She has always folded them this way, and Kelly and I give her such a hard time for it.  My plastic bags are crumpled as tight as I can get them and thrown into one plastic bag for reuse.  As are Kelly's.  I don't know anyone else who folds their bags like this.  Love you mom!

It was quite the wait that day.  One five-hundo piece puzzle finished!  FYI, don't do a puzzle in the waiting room of a hospital if you are bothered by missing pieces.  There were quite a few!

Definitely plenty of knitting time for me. 

This is how much of a scarf I can knit while waiting for a surgery to complete, and my dad to be moved out of recovery.  It was a LONG day.

His surgery went well.  He has a long way to go before he can go back home, so for the time being he is in a room at The Benedictine Health Center.  This is his new room, after the surgery.  Morgan has begun working on decorations for this giant blank wall so he has something other than painted brick to stare at.

So for now, we go spend as much time with him as we can, and since the food is less than desirable there, we bring him his favorite strawberry shakes from McDonalds with every visit.

Like I mentioned, he's stubborn and wants to be at home.  We have to keep reminding him how hard he has to work at his physical therapy, and eat lots to regain his strength.

Bottom line - smoking is horrible.  HORRIBLE.  If you smoke, please stop.  It tears your body up.  Lung cancer has not hit my Dad yet, but lung disease, heart disease, and vascular disease has.  This is a terribly scary and exhausting thing for my entire family right now.  He is battling infections, blood pressure issues, potassium issues, pain and handfuls of other things I'm sure I don't even know about yet.

Please.  Stop.

I love you, Dad.

XOXOX

NH