Intensive Weekend

It was a crazy mad cap weekend, starting with Meri and I dropping all and heading back to my home town to see my dad.  I let her drive most of the way and we bought sunflower seeds...  My tongue is paying for it today by peeling.

On Friday's post, I mentioned my dad had taken a fall from a train.  He inspects grain and is not a hobo...  It funny how we feel that we need justify why he fell from a train...  According to one sister, she told the nurses he was doing cartwheels on top of it!  And nor is he an acrobatic professional...

Anyway, as soon as I heard about blood pooling around his aorta, I knew that I had to be there.  I blubbered to my boss who was amazed that I'd taken the time to call him and not just leave and go.  It would have left only a small chunk of people in the office because it's a holiday week so I felt like I should tell SOMEONE why I was going leaving so suddenly.

By the time we got to the hospital, Dad had already had an angioplasty done and the bleeding was not coming from his heart at all, but most likely from the break in his back.  Yep, he has 3 breaks in one leg, one being the Femur, a fissure crack in his back, a concussion and some other things that showed up in the MRI that freaked us out for a bit until they were investigated further yesterday and is not a serious cause for alarm. WHEW!  

Dad is the third out of the four Johnson men of my clan to break their backs.  The fourth one has broken every bone in his body EXCEPT his back.  Give him time, he's young...  

Remember it took Dad this long to succeed in doing it!

He was very much out of it when I arrived.  My sister, Teresa, and I stayed with him that night.  A lot of crying, hugging, hand holding, kissing foreheads, massaging foreheads, morphine and mouth swabs later, Dad finally got in for surgery to fix the leg on Saturday morning.  I was the last one in with him before he went off with the doctors.  

I was strong at first, massaging his temples, until he managed to tell me that he didn't think he was going to come out of this and to take care of Mom.  That's when my gentle tears turned into ugly crying.

 

You know how some women when they cry, they're just as lovely as if they were just smiling?  Not me.  My face, neck and nose get blotchy red, tears streaming down onto Dad's arm.  I reminded him that he is a Marine and a Christian and a fighter!  If anyone can get through this, it was him!  Yeah - I blubbered it...  The doctors came for him and I had to leave him there.  I stopped in the general bathroom quick and that's where I noticed how horrible I looked.  The same shirt as yesterday (inside out sweatshirt because I'd spilled something on it on the drive there the day before), bags under my eyes, blotchy, swollen face. YUCKO!  

I couldn't let Mom see me like this!  So while I waited by the elevator, I planned that I'd go to the car and get my overnight bag and get cleaned up a bit before I went to see everyone downstairs in the waiting room.  While waiting, Dad was wheeled right past me!  The doctor's must have thought I was a nutcase and had NO confidence in them so one assured me that they'd take good care of him.  

I'd had something profound & loving to say to them before I had to leave Dad's room, but it had all turned to tears and snot.  Missed opportunity...

I got my bag and ducked into a public bathroom, changed, brushed my hair and teeth and looked more presentable.  Then went off to find my siblings and Mom.  We waited in one of the waiting rooms for the surgeon to come back in with news, which was good!  Dad got two metal plates with pins in his leg and for an 81 year old man, he didn't lose as much blood as the doctor thought!  We had an hour before we could see him, so we went and had some lunch.  

In the cafeteria, my brother went over to another table and hugged a woman there.  Turns out it was the sister of my childhood best friend!  She's worked at the hospital for the last 37 years...  I guess I'm getting old!  This is the family that had 7 kids whose ages matched up with the 7 kids in my family!  Also, this was the one who was the instigator...  The one who used her brother's 45s and other things to do a carnival for MS in their driveway.  The one who talked us into helping her dig a pool in their front yard.  Mark remembered digging with them!  

I remembered her dad yelling at us when we were doing the mud swimming...  We had a nice catch up before we headed up to see Dad.

He was still pretty out of it.  Still more morphine coursing through his blood.  And unfortunately Meri and I needed to take off by 1:30.  We took Mom and a niece back to my sister's before heading home.  Meri drove 97% of the way home.  I was dragging after only having had 1 or 2 hours of intermittent sleep at the hospital.  Those reclining chairs really ARE NOT that comfortable! 

I haven't read my sister's emails yet this morning.  But as of yesterday, he was actually eating foods again and talking a little!  He's getting a back brace today I think and may be moved out of the ICU as soon as one of the regular rooms open up.  

And you know what??  Dad didn't remember me being there...:\