Long Day

Phone rings at 5:20am.

“You up?” asks my Dad.

“Yeah, just finished getting dressed. I’ll be there in a little bit.” I say.

“OK, just wanted to make sure you were up.”

In darkness of night... or I should say “morning” I arrive at my parent’s house and notice the entire driveway is covered with at least an inch of ice. *mental note to self*

It was disturbing to me to walk in and see my Dad snoozing in his chair... His skin seemed as white/gray as his hair. Then halfway down the stairs to the garage, he became winded. Along the way, he was complaining about how his legs, feet and stomach were swollen. Mom informed me that he hadn’t been sleeping well, or been able to eat much. My sister and I have always been able to tell how bad Dad is feeling by how grouchy he is. Boy, was he grouchy! I thought to myself: “This ought to be a fun 2 hour drive to Madison.”

We arrived in Madison just as rush hour traffic was starting. I offered to push Dad in the wheelchair up to the cardiac floor. He declined. So then I said: “OK then... How about I get in a chair and you push me up there?” LOL After labs were done, he was taken to start his procedures.

While in the waiting room, I text messaged my siblings asking them to pitch in for salt to put down on my parent’s driveway. My oldest brother offered to give 75lb of salt that was in the back of his truck. Since we were suppose to be back home by 2pm, I offered to drive 20 minutes in the opposite direction of my home... to where my brother works... to get the salt. Since my parents live in between there and my house, I’d stop back my Mom and Dad’s to sprinkle the salt. My sister wrote me a check so I could get more salt. Never heard a thing from my youngest brother.

After Dad’s first procedure was completed, we were told that he had fluid in his lungs and he had to be given medication to reduce it before they could shock his heart. Anesthesiologists wouldn’t be available until 2:30pm. Ack... When Dad asked for a ride, he said “We’ll be home by 2pm.”

Since it was 11:30am, Mom and I decided to walk to a sushi restaurant a couple blocks from the hospital. I told her I’d take her there for her birthday present. The meal was good and she enjoyed herself. We walked there and back, and I had to help her through the snow and ice (Think little old lady crossing the street. LOL).

Since we clearly weren’t going to be back home until after 5:30pm, I text messaged my brother asking him if he could drop the salt off at Dad’s. His response? “I don’t think I’m going that way.” Grrrr! (I didn’t happen to have plans to go to Madison either, but I did. I didn’t have plans to drive in the opposite way from MY home to pick up salt, but I was willing to do that, too.) It really irked me to get that text message. As if my day wasn’t stressful enough. Btw, neither of my brothers have taken my Dad to Madison (which is 2 hours from where my parents live) for any of his appointments… It’s always been my sister and I who have had to take vacation days from work to do it. So in the grand scheme of things, I did NOT think it was unreasonable to have my brother drop off a bag of salt. Especially when my Dad is clearly not feeling well.

I did get a bunch of stitching done while in the waiting room. I finished the gingerbread house that I started the last time I had to take Dad up there for surgery. When that was done, I worked on Victorian Pansies needlebook. Three-fourths of the lace border is done. In addition to stitching, I made myself useful by answering the waiting room telephone. It was the link to surgery... letting families know when loved ones could be seen.

Finally, it was Mom's and my turn to get the call.

We all sat in the recovery room for at least an hour more. By this time, Dad was getting quite irritable from sitting, waiting, and from being hungry. They gave him two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. That’s all he ate all day.

8pm... I finally roll into town after dropping my parent’s off at their house. I was tired, hungry, and still brooding over the message I got from my brother. I ate, read some emails, and was in bed sleeping by 9:30pm.

What a LONG day!