To say my father’s heart surgery was a stressful event; would be the understatement of the year. (Albeit only a mere 6 days into the New Year.) But, you can say that my father’s sense of humor is what held me together.
We arrived at The Jersey Shore Hospital at 12pm. In the elevator on our way to check-in, a random lady complimented my mother’s fabulous jacket. Not two seconds after the lady exited, my father turned to me and said, “Why didn’t she say anything nice about my sweat pants?” It was at that moment, I whole-heartedly believed everything really would be okay.
[However, some lingering doubts and lightheadedness remained with me throughout the day.]
My mother and I settled into the waiting room while my father went down the hall towards pre-op. My brother Lee arrived shortly thereafter. The three of us chatted about family gossip and cracked a few jokes. Before we knew it, we were permitted visitation.
From 1pm until 3pm we joined my father in the pre-op area. My father, located in Bed 2, was now sporting a lovely paper gown, a fist full of IV’s, and white electrodes on his shoulders. To complete his outfit were blue No Slip Socks on his feet. My dad explained to us that he had to sign an actual piece of paper, a waiver of sorts, promising he would not remove the ‘No Slip Socks’ under any circumstances. Being an insurance agent aficionado, he imagined (out loud) all of the hypothetical claims that could arise in the event the ‘No Slip Socks’ had gone awry.
And then, without skipping a beat, my father shifted all of his concern towards my brother Lee.
“Why don’t you take a nap? You’re sick. You drove three hours to get here and you have a long drive home. Really, go lay down. You look tired.”
Lee replied, “Um. Nah. I am fine. Lets worry about YOU.”
The Doctor/Surgeon came into the room and explained the procedure my father was about to undergo. The Doctor/Surgeon did not pepper the conversation with excessive medical jargon. He also appeared to be quite confident which left us feeling reassured.
At 3pm, it was time. My father was going into surgery. We took turns kissing him goodbye, and just like that he was off.
We headed back to the ‘Waiting Area’ where we were greeted by long time family friends, Ronnie and Stuie. (They are awesome.)
Knowing that my mother and Lee were occupied, distracted, and entertained with The Company, I immediately attempted to access The Internet.
Of course the hospital had Wi-Fi, but this was like no other Wi-Fi I had ever encountered. It was like the worlds biggest Internet Tease. I could get only get onto AOL. (Who even uses AOL anymore?) Any attempt to access Facebook, Twitter, This Blog, or any other form of communication, all I would receive was this error message:
Websense Enterprise:
Access to this web page is restricted at this time.
Reason:
Your policy filters category “Social Networking and Personal Sites” at all times.
Great. Why?
According to my RLBFF Leslie, that was because “Social Networking and Personal Sites” use a “CrapTon” of bandwidth costing the hospital more money.
[Seriously, CrapTon? I love that word.]
For the next hour and a half, time stood still. Every minuet felt like an hour. Every second seemed to last longer than the one before. We each took turns silently peering at our cell phones and checking the time as if we weren’t watching the clock. In reality, I was waiting for the appropriate amount of time to pass to show cause for concern.
To stop myself from traveling down the road of “What If’s” I was lucky enough to be able to ‘Instant Message’ and ‘Incessantly Text Message’ my ‘RLBFF Leslie’ and a few other of my closest friends. But that did not make the time move any faster.
Just when I couldn’t stand it for one more second, the Doctor/Surgeon appeared bearing Good News. The procedure was a success. There were no complications. In fact, his heart only had a 50% blockage, not 70% as previously speculated. Thus, they did not need to give my father a stent. He would be going to the recovery area shortly.
Of course as soon as I ducted out for a smoke break my father wheeled past my family. The first words he said to Lee were, “Did you get to take a nap.” That’s my daddy. Forever concerned about everyone else’s well-being.
When I walked into the recovery area, much to my surprise and utter joy, my father looked great. He didn’t look like anything happened. Even his blood pressure was the lowest it has ever been.
It wasn’t long before my father was back to smiling, laughing, posing for the camera, and placing electrodes all over his face. My father even managed to pull off an ‘Uncle Rick’ photo challenge when he stood in this position.
We were cleared to leave the hospital by 7:06pm.
I can breathe again.
[[*Complete Set Of Photos On Flickr Are HERE*]]
I want to thank every single one of you for all of your thoughts, prayers and good vibes. I know that contributed to the enormous success of my father’s surgery. I don’t know what I would have done without all of your support. It’s times like this when I truly appreciate the blog family I have come to know and love over these last two years. Thank you.
Richard W:
Thank you. And here is hoping YOUR father is okay too.
Momo Fali:
I dont know HOW in THE WORLD you do THIS with YOUR SON.
You amaze me.
I love you and I am now focusing all of my prayers in YOUR direction.
xoxox
Grumpy:
I cant make any promises on quitting smoking, but I will tell my father you wish his a speedy recovery.
Urban:
Me too.
My father was fearless throughout this whole ordeal. I mean…just look at the photos he let me take of him FULL WELL KNOWING they would be on the internet. Now thats a good daddy!
🙂
Meleah,
I am just now catching up on your blog and reading about your father’s surgery. I’m so happy the news is good news and that your father retained his sense of humor. That’s key 🙂 Clearly he’s a good sport – and knows how to raise good kids!
phew!! *biggest sigh ever*
What a relief…exhale. How closely are you and your mom gonna be watching what he eats from now on?! Seriously, I would be taking the IV bag home so I can feed him non-dangerous food directly…you know just in case he gets a hankering for stake with a side order of stake and a gravey chaser. (That just grossed me out..)
PS: BACK?? Sort of, not completely…tell ya later.
Heather:
I dont know HOW I got so lucky to have The Best Dad on the planet.
He really IS a good sport.
xoxoxo
ANA! ANA! ANA! MY LOVE!
Well, I will take any teeny tiny post, word, email, or form of contact I can get from you. You have NO IDEA how much I’ve thought about you over these last few months. I still look at the ‘Clark Kent’ photo you made for me and I still Laugh Out Loud.
I know you’ve had it ROUGH for awhile over there. (I will wait for details) Just know that I am here for you in any way I can.
xoxox
🙂
Good to heart all went well… Your Dad is a good sport allowing all those photos and to allow them all on Flickr!!
I am so glad to see your dad is doing well, you have such a fun family and clearly is he is the head fun haver.
So glad to hear everything went well!
Lots of hugs your way.
Lady Banana:
I know! He knew I was going to put him on the internet and he was FINE with it. My daddy rocks!
DeboHobo:
He really is the Instigator of all things Fun!
xoxox
Loni:
Thank you!
🙂
I just wanted you to know I’m checking back in because I’ve sucked at staking out my friend’s blogs lately.
xoxo
I hope Dad is continuing to do well and is getting stronger by the minute.
Thoughts are with you!
good job using those coping skills to get through such a tough time! You are really shining lately M! Keep that boyfriend close by.
So glad everything came out ok, and I’m sorry I wasn’t here for you yesterday. I’ll say prayers that your daddy’s recovery continues to go well. *Hugs*
Good Grief Meleah Honey! You have been through a trial!! I will pray for your father’s speedy recovery but it sounds like he is already doing just that. I bet you are just beat with the stress of the day. Take your father’s advice to Lee and rest well.
And I am SO thankful everything turned out alright.
Diva:
Aw! You are so good to me!
xoxox
kaylee:
Thank You.
Heather One Shot:
Yeah, Um…I think I can say it Out Loud Now
I am In Love with my new man.
🙂
Terri:
Oh sweety, thats okay. You are here for me now, and I welcome your prayers for my fathers speedy recovery. Thank you so very much.
*kisses*
Jennifer Dust Bunny:
Yeah, this was a rough way to start the year. However, I am glad we all came through this with flying colors. And, its things like this that bring a Family even closer.
xo
🙂
Wow it was FAST!
And thank goodness it’s a smooth one too!
Phew!
RMH:
It was The LONGEST day Of My Life!
xoxoxox
My father had a triple bypass 4 years ago. Talk about freaking us all out! This is a man who was 25 years in the military, would go running all the time, ate right, and then BAM! Heart problems? Makes me fear for the future. But God was with him that day and came out of the surgery with flying colors. So I know how you feel.
Dave Q:
Totally Fucking Scary!
I apologize for not seeing this earlier. I am really happy your father is alright and I wish him many, many years of health and a long life. I lost my dad to cancer a few years ago, and it really fills me with joy that yours is still here and going strong–dads are so wonderful!
Have a great night Meleah and here’s to your dad! 🙂
Bobby:
Im so sorry to hear about your father. That breaks my heart.
Thank you for the kind words and well wishes for my father.
🙂
i AM SO GLAD HE DID NOT GET WHAT THEY GAVE ME A NON MEDICATED STENT ON THE RIGHT BECAUSE OF AN 80% BLOCKAGE!!!
NO HISTORY OF IN FAMILY NOR ANY BLOCKAGE ON THE LEFT
GO FIGYA
GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR NEW FOUND FRIEND(YOUR MAN)
LUV YALL BUNCHES
XOXO TO ALL