By the time I was up, showered, dressed and had taken care of Sammy, I was already beat. And scared to death.
My Dad had been through so many surgeries in his life, with each new one he, himself, was concerned his body couldn't take another. And it wasn't difficult for me to think that surgery on his most vital organ could be the last straw. But I tried to stay positive if for no other reason than my Mom.
After we got there, a nurse escorted us -- me, my Mom, my grandpa (paternal) and three of my Dad's sisters -- into the Cardiac ICU to be with Dad prior to them taking him back.
When we got there, there were hugs all around. Dad was telling us about getting prepared for surgery. Even at times like this, he was full of good humor. "They shaved me from the tip of my chin to the crack of ass!" He had us all in stitches (pardon the pun).
Soon after, the pastor from our church in Henderson arrived. I don't attend church regularly. I was raised in the church, however, and have a strong faith. And while I don't pray everyday, these types of moments always help. So, Brother Todd said a prayer, we all said, "Amen," and continued our conversations until the nurse came to let us know how things would happen from that point on.
And then they were ready. We stepped outside the room as they wheeled Dad toward the hallway. When we got there, the orderlies stopped to give us another opportunity to say what we needed to say. I let my grandpa and aunts go first. Actually, I think one of my Dad's brothers had arrived by this time, as well. Then I stepped up. As I've said before, my Dad had become my best friend over the previous few years. As I've said before, losing my Dad was my greatest fear in life at that time. Of course, I think everyone was crying at this point, even Dad. I leaned over hugged him and gave him a kiss on the check. I told him I loved him. After Mom had her say, the orderlies wheeled him away.
That was when the worrying began in earnest.
The doctors and nurses try to give you an idea of how long a surgery will take, but they are never right. Sometimes it ends sooner, sometimes it takes longer. Regardless, when you are waiting and don't know what's going on, the time drags by.
My family and I secured a corner of the waiting room. I had brought along my laptop. Thankfully, the hospital has wireless Internet so I was able to check/write e-mails and just play around to take my mind off of things. I would have read, but I didn't have the patience for that in that situation.
I had started Weight Watchers in early January of that year and my aunts were asking me about how it worked. So, that took a little while to discuss.
By about 9 a.m., I was hungry, so my grandpa and I went to the cafeteria. I hadn't and unfortunately still don't see him that often, so it was really nice to spend some time with him, just the two of us.
We talked about a number of things that unfortunately the past two years have caused me to forget. However, one thing I definitely remember was our discussion of milk gravy. See, we were having breakfast and each of us had gotten some biscuits and gravy. I love biscuits and gravy, and yes, I remember I said that I was on Weight Watchers, but I figured what was happening that day was a "Get Out of Weight Watchers Free" card. Anyway, my Dad was a great cook. I think once he retired, he cooked more than my Mom, and I'm sure she didn't mind. She was a fan of his cooking, too. But his breakfasts were out of this world. He cooked everything. Fried Potatoes. Scrambled Eggs. Bacon. Sausage. Biscuits. And homemade Milk Gravy. I loved that gravy. So every time he cooked it, I would tell him that I needed him to show me how to do it. And every time he would tell me to watch him then and I'd know how. So, I mentioned this to my grandpa. Since he had taught my Dad, he began to tell me. And then he added, that Dad could show me how to do it when he got better.
As I said, the day dragged on. It got to the point that I had to walk around a little, so I went to the gift shop. And I found one of the greatest things in the world there. Have you ever had a Cow Tail? It's a candy, like a rope, of caramel with a white cream center. There also is a version that is not a rope. They are simply called caramel creams.
Except the ones I found were strawberry. And they were good.
Anyway, I was in the gift shop buying some of this candy when one of my aunts told me the doctor was ready to see us.
Holy crap...
We all went into the small "c0nference" room and awaited his arrival. Like most doctors, once he showed up, he was brief and to the point.
He told he it took a little while longer than they had expected because one of the veins they were going to use to bypass split a little so they had to do it again. But it was successful, and the doc said that Dad had the heart of a young man despite the fact he was 58. Although, 58 isn't old. Doc was pleased and felt that Dad would be doing very well in his recovery.
At least that was over. Now we had to wait for Dad to wake up.
We were able to see him in his ICU room even before he woke up, with all the tubes and breathing apparatus attached. And it would hopefully be that night that they would take the breathing tube out. It seems like I remember him in his bed, which was inclined a bit, still unconscious, with nothing but the sounds of the monitors beeping, the machines whirring and the ventilator doing it's thing. Dad had the control to a morphine pump which he continued to keep depressed.
But he was alive and doing well, considering.
And then we went home.
No comments:
Post a Comment