Bypass Surgery

Yesterday, my Dad had bypass artery surgery in his left leg. He's had problems for years and finally it got to the point where he could only walk about 20-30 ft before pain would kick in and he'd have to stop.

I got up at 3am to drive him and my Mom to the hospital which is an hour and a half away from their house, and in another state. I didn’t find out what kind of surgery it was until yesterday morning when I picked my parents up. I looked at my Dad and asked, “Isn’t that serious?!!!” He just chuckled. Sorry, but I didn’t find humor in the fact he was making light of artery bypass surgery! Surgery was supposed to be 5 hours (originally they told my Dad 2 hours). At the end of 5 hours, we found out there were complications and it'd be at least another 2 hours. So, almost 8 hours later, we got the news that Dad was out of surgery and doing well. The doctor talked to us and said there was more extensive disease than they saw when they did the MRI back in Feb (Hello? You'd think they'd do a more recent one!) The doctor also said that Dad has strong leg muscles (compared to most they see who have this surgery) and that he should recover quickly and fairly well. He could be home in 4-5 days.

Dad has his own morphine button that he can inject himself for pain, otherwise he gets one every 10 minutes. Surprisingly, he wasn't complaining about the pain from surgery. Instead he was complaining about pain in his elbows from having his arms over his head for 8 hours during surgery. He must be feeling pretty good because shortly after he came out of anesthesia, he was giving me a hard time about not being out of bed when he called me at 3am!! Then later, after Mom fed him he took the napkin and daintily patted his mouth. LOL

Despite my Dad being in surgery, my Mom and I enjoyed a nice day together. She told me about a real Japanese sushi restaurant a couple blocks away from the hospital. I couldn’t pass up sushi so I told her we could walk there and I’d buy lunch. Mom and I really enjoyed the food and the restaurant. They had TV screens that showed the sushi being made to order. It was pretty cool. Before we left, I bought Moshi which is a Japanese treat usually made and eaten at New Year's. It's made of glutinous rice and bean jelly. I remembered eating it as a kid, and Mom was so excited about seeing it that I HAD to buy some. The ones I bought were tinted pink and green and dipped in powdered sugar. They were actually made in Japan and imported to the US. I also bought a small container of seasoned squid which was very good.

I was so busy (unconsciously) being strong for my Mom yesterday, that the magnitude of the surgery didn’t hit me until this morning. While getting ready for work, the tears started flowing. It freaked me out. I really felt there was no one there for me when I needed it. I also was questioning why I was so upset when I knew my Dad was safely out of surgery.

While waiting yesterday, I finished the stitching on Pink Carnations. Still have to sew on the beads. I'm debating whether I should make it into a bourse -or- find a box to put it on the lid. My idea is to make an entire sewing set (needlecase, fob, scissor case) to match and be able to put them into the bourse or box. Bourse or Box....?