There is no worse feeling than the thought of losing your parents. At least for me. That is the worst thing that could ever happen. The world, my world, would literally stop. It would come crumbling down and the recovery would be impossible. I couldn't imagine doing anything other than clsoing the curtains, crawling into bed, throwing the covers over my head and never coming out.
My parents are everything to me. Without them, nothing would make sense and nothing would go on. They are the foundation of our family, the strong pillars that hold us up through all the good times and the bad. They are they to wipe our tears and give us much needed hugs of encouragement. They are the ones we laugh with, share meals with, love to hang out with. They are my world.
About 2 months ago, my Dad found out he had some damage to lungs. It wasn’t life threatening, but it was something serious that needed to be checked on. In conjunction with that, he has started sweating buckets and having trouble breathing. Even doing something as simple as getting the mail would leave him gasping for air. His doctor said he’d be a great candidate for a pace maker. Most of them have 2 leads but the one that is recommended for my Dad has 3. It’s basically the Ferrari of pace makers. Naturally.
My Dad’s surgery was yesterday. I was so worried all day; it was hard to focus on anything else other than how he was doing. I was told it would take about 3 hours. After 4 hours I was beside myself that it wasn’t done. Why is it taking so long? What’s happening? After 5 long hours, Dimitri called me to say it went well and they were just sewing him up. I was so glad it went well, but the words I didn’t want to hear were “they’re just sewing him up.” I felt my body start to tremble.
When my Yia Yia died, it was a total shock. She had gone into surgery and we all waited anxiously to hear that it was done and she was ok. Someone called us, I can’t remember who, but they said it went well, and they are just sewing her up. We were all relieved, thank God, and went about our day. What felt like seconds later, the phone rang again. It was a phone call I wish never happened. My Yia Yia didn’t make it. She died on the table while they were trying to sew her back up. What? That’s impossible. You just said she’s fine. She’s fine. You must be confused. SHE’S FINE!
The world stood still and it sounded like I was underwater. People’s voices were muffled and everyone was moving so slowly as if they were in molasses. Even though I wasn’t saying a word, I was screaming inside. Sheer terror took over my body and I felt like I was going to die right there on the spot.
When Dimitri told me that Dad was fine, they were just “sewing him back up” my body had a physical reaction. It started to shake and I felt my knees begin to buckle. My heart started to beat out of my chest and I had to grab onto the dining room chair to hold myself up. Once I hung up the phone, I buried my head in Rob’s shoulder and sobbed. I was terrified that my Dad wouldn’t make it. I was terrified for the phone to ring and hear the unthinkable.
About 15 minutes later the phone rang. I stopped breathing until I heard Dimitri on the end tell me that Dad was all done and resting in his hospital bed. Thank God! They weren’t able to put the third lead in because his blood pressure dropped too low. Also, his white cell count was high, which indicated a possible infection. Right now they have him in the cardiovascular intensive care unit, running a bunch of tests to see why that happened. Hopefully tomorrow he’ll move to a regular room and Friday, they might go back in and try to put the third lead in. My Dad is really anxious to have it; he feels it will make a world of difference for him. His shortness of breath will stop and he can go back to living a normal life.
I couldn’t believe it when I found out that he spent most of the surgery awake. He was nervous about being put under for that long, so they gave him a light dose that allowed him to sleep for about two hours and then was awake for the next three. Wow! My Dad really is the bravest man ever. I’m so relieved that he’s ok and in really good spirits. I can’t wait for this all to be over so he can come home and his life can go back to normal.
My parents are everything to me. Without them, nothing would make sense and nothing would go on. They are the foundation of our family, the strong pillars that hold us up through all the good times and the bad. They are they to wipe our tears and give us much needed hugs of encouragement. They are the ones we laugh with, share meals with, love to hang out with. They are my world.
About 2 months ago, my Dad found out he had some damage to lungs. It wasn’t life threatening, but it was something serious that needed to be checked on. In conjunction with that, he has started sweating buckets and having trouble breathing. Even doing something as simple as getting the mail would leave him gasping for air. His doctor said he’d be a great candidate for a pace maker. Most of them have 2 leads but the one that is recommended for my Dad has 3. It’s basically the Ferrari of pace makers. Naturally.
My Dad’s surgery was yesterday. I was so worried all day; it was hard to focus on anything else other than how he was doing. I was told it would take about 3 hours. After 4 hours I was beside myself that it wasn’t done. Why is it taking so long? What’s happening? After 5 long hours, Dimitri called me to say it went well and they were just sewing him up. I was so glad it went well, but the words I didn’t want to hear were “they’re just sewing him up.” I felt my body start to tremble.
When my Yia Yia died, it was a total shock. She had gone into surgery and we all waited anxiously to hear that it was done and she was ok. Someone called us, I can’t remember who, but they said it went well, and they are just sewing her up. We were all relieved, thank God, and went about our day. What felt like seconds later, the phone rang again. It was a phone call I wish never happened. My Yia Yia didn’t make it. She died on the table while they were trying to sew her back up. What? That’s impossible. You just said she’s fine. She’s fine. You must be confused. SHE’S FINE!
The world stood still and it sounded like I was underwater. People’s voices were muffled and everyone was moving so slowly as if they were in molasses. Even though I wasn’t saying a word, I was screaming inside. Sheer terror took over my body and I felt like I was going to die right there on the spot.
When Dimitri told me that Dad was fine, they were just “sewing him back up” my body had a physical reaction. It started to shake and I felt my knees begin to buckle. My heart started to beat out of my chest and I had to grab onto the dining room chair to hold myself up. Once I hung up the phone, I buried my head in Rob’s shoulder and sobbed. I was terrified that my Dad wouldn’t make it. I was terrified for the phone to ring and hear the unthinkable.
About 15 minutes later the phone rang. I stopped breathing until I heard Dimitri on the end tell me that Dad was all done and resting in his hospital bed. Thank God! They weren’t able to put the third lead in because his blood pressure dropped too low. Also, his white cell count was high, which indicated a possible infection. Right now they have him in the cardiovascular intensive care unit, running a bunch of tests to see why that happened. Hopefully tomorrow he’ll move to a regular room and Friday, they might go back in and try to put the third lead in. My Dad is really anxious to have it; he feels it will make a world of difference for him. His shortness of breath will stop and he can go back to living a normal life.
I couldn’t believe it when I found out that he spent most of the surgery awake. He was nervous about being put under for that long, so they gave him a light dose that allowed him to sleep for about two hours and then was awake for the next three. Wow! My Dad really is the bravest man ever. I’m so relieved that he’s ok and in really good spirits. I can’t wait for this all to be over so he can come home and his life can go back to normal.
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