A Day at the Hospital

We were up at 5:15 this morning to get ready to spend the day at the hospital. My dad was having back surgery to repair a couple of lumber vertebrae this morning. It was to be quite an extensive surgery as there was much disk degeneration with some spinal stenosis thrown in for good measure. Since my dad is 81 years old and has had heart bypass surgery, there was some concern.

We got to the hospital about 6:30 and Daddy was to be admitted around 7am for surgery at 8:30. My sister, Paula, met us at the hospital. Thankfully, the docs were on time and our wait began. It was estimated that surgery would take about four hours.

During our waiting, some volunteers came through the waiting room. They were dressed as clown doctors! They were great, very funny. It was a nice break in the tedium that waiting can bring. :)

With my mom

About 1pm, the doctor came out and said all had gone according to plan. He was able to do all the work necessary and Daddy was already waking up. Needless to say, my mom was greatly relieved. Randy left at the point to go home and tend to Blackie. A couple of hours later, Daddy had been taken to his room and we were able to spend the rest of the afternoon and early evening with him.

I gotta say, Daddy is amazing. Like I said, he is 81 years old and could play that old man card if he wanted. But, he was wide awake and talking to us just a couple of hours after surgery. He was drinking on his own and moving really well. He even asked if he could turn over on his side. The nurses hurried to help him, but he'd already done it himself! He also sat up and ate most of his dinner. He was taking very little pain medication, too. Of course, he probably still had much of the anesthesia in him, but still.

After eating, Daddy was getting sleepy, so about 6pm Paula, Mommy and I left. We grabbed some dinner at a local Italian place and came on home.

I am so grateful for the many friends who have prayed for Daddy. It is so heartwarming to know that kind of love. Knowing the Great Physician is an awesome thing.

Until the next time . . .