Lessons from my Father

This summer I have had the privelege of spending a lot of time with my parents.  More time than any since the year I lived with them after college.  My Dad, ever the teacher has taught me a few things over the past few months and I thought I'd share them with you.

1. Mirrors are there for a reason.  Use them

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. ALWAYS bring a container on your walks.  You never know when you might find more blackberries

  

3. You have to get up pretty early in the morning if you want to do the Sudoku around here.

Blackberries

One of the real joys of living in Washington in September is all the blackberries. They literally grow like weeds out here.  Mom and Dad have a ton of blackberry bushes in their back yard and they keep on producing.  Berries of all kinds are not on Dad's approved list of foods because of the seeds, but he's been busy keeping Mom and me well supplied, and I've been out picking some too.  Yesterday, I decided to try a bon apetit recipe for blackberry buttermilk cake.  I think it turned out quite nicely.

Heading home

It's official, Dad is being discharged today. Soft solids have been going quite well, and the strictest of the sternum regulations (no hands behind his back, don't lift elbows above the shoulder) have been lifted. There's quite a bit of paperwork and stuff, but as soon as the nurses are able to do those final discharge things. He's feeling and looking good. And looking forward to resting at home.

Food!!!

OK, "food" is a stretch, but the NG tube is out, and Dad has been OK'd to swallow.  Trying some apple juice and possibly some broth this afternoon.  Taking it nice and slow, but so far it seems to be going ok.  He's been waiting for this and teasing every new nurse that comes on about some coffee or supper, so we're all enjoying being able to order something from a menu. 

Monday again

It's been a week since surgery, and the NG tube is coming out today!  Dad had an examination early this morning and they decided to proceed with removing the NG tube today and then observing him closely and possibly coming home tomorrow!  Mom and I are going up to Seattle later this morning to see what's up, but things are likely to be moving quickly once that tube comes out.  Will update more as I know it.

Day 3

Day 3 and still going strong. Dad seems a bit more alert today, staying awake a bit longer at a time, going 7 and 8 laps on his walks.  In fact, his nurse told him he needs to cut back on the number of laps he does since he's really not getting many calories in via his feeding tube. Definitely not what he wanted to hear, but kinda funny for Mom and me to hear.  They are in the process of removing his neck and chest "tubes" (drains) right now. (down to 5 for those of you counting at home) I chose this time to step out since I don't do real well with blood or tubes or anything like that. They'll be taking him for a chest x-ray later this evening to make sure there aren't any air pockets or other issues with the removal of these drains. The plan is to "cap" his epidural tomorrow and try controlling his pain via meds through the NG tube. That may slow him down a bit, but not if he has any control over it :-)

Day 2

A beautiful sunny day in Seattle today. Dad's feeling pretty good. He doesn't have much of a voice today due to the NG tube, and perhaps a bit of the dehydration of yesterday, but he's raring to get up and move. Waiting for his 4th walk of the day (it's only 10:30 here now). He told us that he did 3 laps then 4 laps then 5 laps. To put this into a bit of perspective, we are only 40 hours post-op and each new nurse or doc that  comes in mentions that he should maybe try to walk a bit around the room soon.  I think he likes the shock on their face when he tells them he's ready to go for his 4th round. I really need to get him a pedometer to help him keep track. Some talk about maybe removing one of the drains today, but not sure quite what that means. He's a bit uncomfortable sitting in bed or the chair, which is another reason why he likes to go on walks, to get a new position and just "out" of the same room.

He sings because he can!

One of the potential complications the surgeons mentioned to Dad before the surgery was potential damage to his vocal cords or to a nerve in his neck region very close to where they were working that controls speech.  This was a particular concern for Dad who, of course uses his voice to preach, to comfort, and to minister. So, it was a great comfort for him to be able speak yesterday upon coming out of anesthesia, and while his voice is a bit raspy right now with tubes in his nose, and the workout his lungs went through yesterday, his vocal cords don't seem to have been damaged at all. This morning, as Mom was reading Psalms out loud and dad was drifting in and out of sleep, he stared singing Our God Reigns and was able to actually belt it out. So thankful for this gift.

Tuesday

Day 1 post op and doing well. Dad is sitting up in a chair and they're talking about starting to use his j-tube later today, and possibly even walking around. Lots of tubes, of course. Mom counted 10 last night, down to 9 this morning and possibly 8 by tonight. Hoping Dad can get lots of rest today, and a bit of daytime TV. Praising God for His goodness to us.

Surgery day

6:45. We're sitting with Dad in his room (not ICU!). He's looking good and talking to us and his nurse a bit. He looks really good considering what he's been through. In a little pain, but not too bad. The nurses are making sure he's all hooked up properly and that things are flowing in and out as they should. A long day, thank you do much for your prayers as you've shared this journey with us. I'll update more tomorrow.

5:47. Still waiting for Dad to move from recovery. I don't really have anything to update, but every other time I've started an update, something has happened, so we'll see if this works.

3:29. Got a chance to talk to Dr. Wood and everything went well with the surgery. Just exactly as expected.  Praise to the Lord. He may be able to avoid the ICU altogether, but will have 7 days with the NG tube and 2-3 days with the neck and chest drains no matter where he's at.  He's still in recovery, we're waiting relatively patiently to see him when we get the OK.


3:01 p.m.  Still waiting to talk to Dr Wood. Dad's been in recovery since 1:30. Assume they'll move him to the ICU pretty soon.

1:23 p.m. We hear that Dad is done with surgery. Dr. Wood has to see another patient but will come and talk to us as soon as he's done there.

12:26. Still waiting. Maybe thinking about lunch, but not really.

10:04 Back from breakfast and a tour of the gift shop to a call from the nurse letting us know that Dad is in surgery. It took a little while to make sure all the scopes were placed correctly. Not sure exactly what time he went in but the surgery itself will likely be 4 hours from here.

8:03 am. I've moved over to the surgical waiting room where there's a board to update families on where patients are. Next to Dad's code it still says "arrived" so I'm pretty sure that means they haven't taken him into the OR yet. Also, Mom is still "back" there with him, she will come find me in this waiting room when ...  Ah, she just walked in

8:11. Dad's status has changed to "patient in the OR". Mom said he had a bit of a "vagal event" when administering the epidural, but the anesthioligists were watching him and got him through the feeling of faintness before proceeding.  They assured Mom (and Dad) that things were fine to proceed. So, now the waiting begins. I think mom and I are going to see if we can find some breakfast.

Good morning. It is 5:56 am and Dad is checking in at surgery reception. We were up early this morning to drive through a bit of rain to get to Seattle. We all got a bit of sleep lat night, but it's going to be a long day no matter what.  I'm writing from my phone, so please forgive the many spelling errors there are sure to be

6:40. Dad and Mom were just taken back to pre-op. I'll check in w the desk in a bit to move to the official waiting room. Sudoku and jumble completed.

Getting Ready

A pleasant quiet weekend here in Stanwood.  We've been tranquilly busy getting ready for tomorrow.  Packing, choosing books, Sunday brunch, washing clothes, drinking magnesium, phone calls with family, couple miles around the neighborhood, Sunday naps. 

Dad reports to the surgical floor of the Medical Center at the University of Washington at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow, and we've been told to expect surgery to take 6-9 hours.  So it will certainly be a long day for us tomorrow, even though Dad won't be aware of most of the day.  Mom got a hotel room about a mile away for a couple of nights for the two of us, which will be nice both for the shuttle and room. 

I've figured out how to update this blog through my phone, so I'm planning to post periodic updates tomorrow as we know them.  Hope you'll follow along throughout the day if you are interested.

There are a lot of unknowns for the next couple of weeks, but we are so grateful we can trust in the One who does.

We took the day on Thursday to go to Deception Pass and Whidbey Island.  I'll add one of the pictures from Mt. Erie that turned out decently, considering it came from my phone.