I got a call on Saturday from my mom.
Through the tears, the cracking voice...
"Your dad was airlifted to the hospital, he's having a heart attack."
I immediately lost it. I could not control it. I knew the day would come at some point but I also knew I'd never be prepared for it. I sobbed, immediately... Feeling every "bad news defense" that I supposedly had shatter.
My wife found me immediately and hugged me. At this point, we knew nothing. My dad had been sick for about three weeks. He gets the flu nearly every year at this time because he works in a very congested area this time of year. People come, people go... Him and my brother get sick. My dad was really struggling with it this year though, and my mom had been begging and begging him to go to a doctor. This is a man who must have a fear of the men in the white coats because he hasn't been to a doctor in YEARS... He is a smoker and has been for 40+ years. That's what I meant when I said I knew this day would come.
He finally relented after my mom's efforts. He had some blood work done and they gave him some antibiotics. He did have a bit of an irregular heart beat. They sent him home and told him they would be in touch about the blood work tests.
10 minutes after he got home, the doctor called. He told me dad he had 10 minutes to get to the Emergency Room. "We're recommending that you call 911 right now," he said. My dad said that he could drive, to which the doctor obviously objected. My mom pulled in to the drive way minutes later and she took him to the hospital.
Upon his arrival, a helicopter was visible from the roof. My dad went in and was told that he was having a heart attack. The blood work confirmed this. He was immediately put on the aircraft and whisked away, with my mom watching. She was an absolute wreck - my parents love each other very much and have been married for 42 years.
I had to make a 130 mile drive to (hopefully) see him. It was pure hell, with violent sobs making it difficult to see the road. I thought for sure that with his health issues, he would not survive a heart attack. I was preparing myself for the worst, until...
...I got a text message from my sister when I was 20 miles out. He was out of surgery, talking and cracking jokes with the nurses. It blew my mind. I walked in and saw him. He looked terrible, but they said the worst was over. He had two stents put in. I am not sure what the artery is called, but it is in the right leg and it's one of the main ones. We were told that it was 100 percent blocked and closed off. His heart was working at 10 percent. They told him that the damage to his heart was extensive. It could repair itself over time, but the damage was done. It was (and still is) a wait-and-see game.
A couple days passed, and he got so much better. He looked like my dad again. His color was back, the whites of his eyes were clear - he was EATING, which is something that he hasn't done much in the past month. They told him that "he had angels watching over him..." His heart doctor, who has been in practice for 30 years, was flabbergasted that he did not die. She even said that he probably had more than one heart attack. He very likely had one two weeks prior. She said that he was in the last minutes of his life when the helicopter touched down on the hospital roof. But he had made it. He's a strong man. A great man. My best friend. That's why all of this crushed me when I heard the news.
He continued to get better and I drove him home today. My sisters and brothers went home on Monday, but I stayed with my mom and dad in the hospital. I worked it out with my employer earlier in the week and told them that I would not leave until I could drive him home. That happened today; five days after the heart attack.
He has a LONG road to recovery. The likely culprit in all of this? Type 2 Diabetes. We don't know how long he's had it because he hasn't been to a doctor in so long, but it ravished his heart and body. He is recovering, and that's the important thing. He has a new life now. My mom, who is an insanely sweet Southern Belle (and cooks like one, too) has to learn to cook an entirely different way. My dad is a walking pharmacy at this point, with the 12 different medications he has to take (some, he'll be able to get off of - hopefully). It is a huge life change, but at least we're aware and (somewhat) prepared. He can have a life now. One that was better than before, and that is what I try and stress to him - over and over again. He's happy to be alive and says that he will go to every doctor visit and take his medication religiously (my mom would kill him if he didn't - it would crush her beyond belief if she lost him). She will be the best nurse that he could ever hope to have. She will take great care of him and we will chip in our fair share as well. I was supposed to get home three hours earlier, but I stayed so I could separate all of the pills that he will be taking. My mom is freaked about that, but I told her that it would become second nature to them after time.
So that's where I've been... My dad is a NON-SMOKER now and happy about it. My biggest fear was that he has cancer for a while and that was the reasoning behind his deteriorating health - but they looked at his lungs, and while they are damaged, it's not too serious. He is 64 and I pray he has at least 10-15 good years left. But he has put his body through hell.
For now, he's in great spirits and seems to have a new grip on life. I keep telling him that I will change my eating habits with him. I eat pretty healthy anyway, but I keep reminding him that his new diet will be what everyone's diet should look like... Insanely healthy and food items that are good for your body. He seems to be going all in with that.
I've left a lot out. Behind the scenes stuff, that would most likely be frowned upon here with respect to the ToS. But I will say that prayer works, and that some amazing things happened. It truly blows my mind. It was all amazing. A heart attack and diabetes is a terrible thing, but we're out of the dark with him now, so that is a huge positive.
It is so much better than the alternative.
I am so drained. Physically, mentally, emotionally... But oddly, I feel great.
And my best friend is still here.
Through the tears, the cracking voice...
"Your dad was airlifted to the hospital, he's having a heart attack."
I immediately lost it. I could not control it. I knew the day would come at some point but I also knew I'd never be prepared for it. I sobbed, immediately... Feeling every "bad news defense" that I supposedly had shatter.
My wife found me immediately and hugged me. At this point, we knew nothing. My dad had been sick for about three weeks. He gets the flu nearly every year at this time because he works in a very congested area this time of year. People come, people go... Him and my brother get sick. My dad was really struggling with it this year though, and my mom had been begging and begging him to go to a doctor. This is a man who must have a fear of the men in the white coats because he hasn't been to a doctor in YEARS... He is a smoker and has been for 40+ years. That's what I meant when I said I knew this day would come.
He finally relented after my mom's efforts. He had some blood work done and they gave him some antibiotics. He did have a bit of an irregular heart beat. They sent him home and told him they would be in touch about the blood work tests.
10 minutes after he got home, the doctor called. He told me dad he had 10 minutes to get to the Emergency Room. "We're recommending that you call 911 right now," he said. My dad said that he could drive, to which the doctor obviously objected. My mom pulled in to the drive way minutes later and she took him to the hospital.
Upon his arrival, a helicopter was visible from the roof. My dad went in and was told that he was having a heart attack. The blood work confirmed this. He was immediately put on the aircraft and whisked away, with my mom watching. She was an absolute wreck - my parents love each other very much and have been married for 42 years.
I had to make a 130 mile drive to (hopefully) see him. It was pure hell, with violent sobs making it difficult to see the road. I thought for sure that with his health issues, he would not survive a heart attack. I was preparing myself for the worst, until...
...I got a text message from my sister when I was 20 miles out. He was out of surgery, talking and cracking jokes with the nurses. It blew my mind. I walked in and saw him. He looked terrible, but they said the worst was over. He had two stents put in. I am not sure what the artery is called, but it is in the right leg and it's one of the main ones. We were told that it was 100 percent blocked and closed off. His heart was working at 10 percent. They told him that the damage to his heart was extensive. It could repair itself over time, but the damage was done. It was (and still is) a wait-and-see game.
A couple days passed, and he got so much better. He looked like my dad again. His color was back, the whites of his eyes were clear - he was EATING, which is something that he hasn't done much in the past month. They told him that "he had angels watching over him..." His heart doctor, who has been in practice for 30 years, was flabbergasted that he did not die. She even said that he probably had more than one heart attack. He very likely had one two weeks prior. She said that he was in the last minutes of his life when the helicopter touched down on the hospital roof. But he had made it. He's a strong man. A great man. My best friend. That's why all of this crushed me when I heard the news.
He continued to get better and I drove him home today. My sisters and brothers went home on Monday, but I stayed with my mom and dad in the hospital. I worked it out with my employer earlier in the week and told them that I would not leave until I could drive him home. That happened today; five days after the heart attack.
He has a LONG road to recovery. The likely culprit in all of this? Type 2 Diabetes. We don't know how long he's had it because he hasn't been to a doctor in so long, but it ravished his heart and body. He is recovering, and that's the important thing. He has a new life now. My mom, who is an insanely sweet Southern Belle (and cooks like one, too) has to learn to cook an entirely different way. My dad is a walking pharmacy at this point, with the 12 different medications he has to take (some, he'll be able to get off of - hopefully). It is a huge life change, but at least we're aware and (somewhat) prepared. He can have a life now. One that was better than before, and that is what I try and stress to him - over and over again. He's happy to be alive and says that he will go to every doctor visit and take his medication religiously (my mom would kill him if he didn't - it would crush her beyond belief if she lost him). She will be the best nurse that he could ever hope to have. She will take great care of him and we will chip in our fair share as well. I was supposed to get home three hours earlier, but I stayed so I could separate all of the pills that he will be taking. My mom is freaked about that, but I told her that it would become second nature to them after time.
So that's where I've been... My dad is a NON-SMOKER now and happy about it. My biggest fear was that he has cancer for a while and that was the reasoning behind his deteriorating health - but they looked at his lungs, and while they are damaged, it's not too serious. He is 64 and I pray he has at least 10-15 good years left. But he has put his body through hell.
For now, he's in great spirits and seems to have a new grip on life. I keep telling him that I will change my eating habits with him. I eat pretty healthy anyway, but I keep reminding him that his new diet will be what everyone's diet should look like... Insanely healthy and food items that are good for your body. He seems to be going all in with that.
I've left a lot out. Behind the scenes stuff, that would most likely be frowned upon here with respect to the ToS. But I will say that prayer works, and that some amazing things happened. It truly blows my mind. It was all amazing. A heart attack and diabetes is a terrible thing, but we're out of the dark with him now, so that is a huge positive.
It is so much better than the alternative.
I am so drained. Physically, mentally, emotionally... But oddly, I feel great.
And my best friend is still here.
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