My Dad

I got one of those very scary calls very late Wednesday night.  It is one of those where you answer the phone and you already know it is bad because it is 11:50 pm.  It was Cindy and Dad was found earlier in the day.  He was alone for several hours and was found unresponsive on the floor.  My heart sank.

We have worked hard to piece together what happened.  He has COPD and should be using oxygen.   He doesn't like wearing it.  We believe he fainted.   On the way down, he took out the coffee table. We have no idea how long he was there with limited oxygen.  We believe it was long enough that he had a seizure from the lack of oxygen.  He was taken to the hospital in Layton and put in the ICU.

I cleared my work schedule the best I could on Thursday and went to see him and offer support.  As you can expect, he was hooked up to many machines and was still pretty much unresponsible.  We (Cindy too) worked with the nurses and doctors trying to figure out the puzzle while trying to take care of Dad's needs.  There was a strong belief that he will have long term impact from whatever happened and may not recover.   I won't even tell you how much my heart was broken for this man, my father.

Nola booked a flight out and was here Friday night.  She and Dad have a close relationship and we were sure she could help.  Cindy was the lead of his care and we supported however we could.  We were able to offer each other breaks but make sure Dad had constant care and support and we could keep track of all the medical information that came at us fast and furiously.  We celebrated every baby step Dad made towards improvement.

Somewhere around 2 am Sunday morning, Dad woke up.  The great nursing staff helped him connect the pieces.  He had no idea what happened or where he was.  The past 4 days of Dad's world had been completely blank.  I can only imagine how scary that was for him.  For us, we were elated and so happy to see him awake.  Friday he couldn't follow commands and I was trying to get him to keep his eyes open for a count of 5.  When I saw him Sunday, he was sitting up in bed and quite alert.  He rained alert the entire day.  He was able to eat soft foods and carry on conversations!!  It is like a curtain was opened!

Let me tell you how grateful we were to spend Father's Day with Dad awake and having conversations.  He was able to get out of bed and walk a little.  He knew who we are.  He was joking with the nurses.  He still has lots of work to do.  He still has some serious medical conditions that need addressed before he can leave the hospital.  He has confusion and is weak and stiff.  We can work with that considering where he started.  I'm not sure what helped him along to be where he is but I am elated and so grateful.  I know there was tons of praying going on and several prayer circles.  Maybe all those positive thoughts made a difference.

Dad's first walk out of bed with PT

Celebrating Fathers Day with Dad.  Nothing better than that.

Just so happens, Father's Day was my birthday too.  I didn't mind sharing it with Dad and I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else but with my Dad, Cindy, and Nola on my birthday.