Just got home after seeing Dad. Today, Sheri and I went to the hospital to check on Dad at the 12 noon visiting hour. We arrived and he was so happy to see us. Prince of Peace has sent a Prayer Shawl with us to give to Dad. Someone from church crocheted it and he will keep it with him to remind him that so many are praying for him. We met with his nurse, Joeland and he is awesome! Dad wants to tell us just how much he loves his nurse today. He is on the ventilator in ICU, so he cannot speak. We get him his "Elvis" white board and he attempts to write his thoughts. As usual, we laugh with him as he can't write clearly, but fortunately Sheri is able to read his lips today. He tells us that his nurse is great and that he is kind and caring. He wants him to know how much he appreciates all that he does for him. Joeland laughs and thanks my Dad and says, "You are a great guy Bob". We are so thankful for the wonderful people who care for Dad. They are amazing and so caring! While we are there for our 1/2 hour visit before returning to work, the doctors come in and tell us that Dad has to have another surgery this afternoon to complete what they didn't finish on Tuesday. As you recall, mid surgery Dad had a "Code Blue" and required resuscitation. The surgeons are unsure if the drains were inserted properly and also know that they only got 2 of the 3 in. His white blood count is down a bit which is good, but the concern continues to be the infection. There is fluid and air around the lungs that needs to be drained out. We leave sadly and Dad doesn't want us to go. We explain that we have to get back to work and that we will return tomorrow. He mouths asking if we are coming back later today. I explain that I have a State Farm Dinner to attend and Sheri explains that she has to go home. He gets very sad and again the guilt sets in. He then mouths to me, It's OK, nothing you can do. Always thinking of others. He asks again what he weighs and we repeat, 108 lbs. We head back to the office and after about 45 minutes decide that we really need to be at the hospital. We call and Dr. Sheik takes the call to say that he expects the surgery to occur between now (2:30) and 5pm. We quickly return calls and head back out to the hospital. We stop for a brief second at The Cheesecake Factory to treat ourselves to a 1000 calorie slice of heaven. When we return, Dad has already gone into surgery. The explain that he was taken at 3:30 and we are disappointed that we didn't see him before he went in. I of course blame myself for stopping for cheesecake, but since that took only 5 minutes, we know even if we didn't stop, we would have missed him. We leave our cell number with the Kelly, the nurse on the floor and head down to the atrium to wait. Should be 1 1/2 hours. Cheesecake Heaven turns into Cheesecake Stomach Cramps. We get the call that he is back in his room and Kelly tells us she will see us soon. It is 5:15 PM. We head back to the ICU and are told that they are too busy to allow us in and that we should return at the regular visiting hour of 6pm, which we do. We find Dad alert and quite surprised to see us again. He is in really good spirits and his nurse is faithfully attending to him. We talk to him and he explains that the drains were checked and the third inserted in the upper right. He shows us the fluids coming out of Dad into the receptacles and shows us the x-ray of his chest. It shows a lot of air and fluid where it shouldn't be, but the doctors believe it will drain. Infection is again the biggest concern. We watch as the very short 1/2 hour to pass. We are allowed to stay till 6:45pm since he isn't having issues with us there and they are able to work with us in the room. We start to say our goodbyes and Dad mouths that he is Pissed Off! He doesn't want us to leave! Each time it is heartbreaking and we hate to leave him. He pushes out his lower lip like a pouting child and acts sad that we are leaving. We promise to return again tomorrow, although we know that is going to be difficult as we were out of the office most of today. We are so blessed to have clients that are understanding and caring. Another day.....
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