Twelve O'clock and All Is Well

The surgery was a success! About 12:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning we were finally allowed to go in to see my dad following his surgery. What a long day, but how grateful we were that everything went so well. He was supposed to go in for surgery at 4:00 p.m. but because of other complications with the procedures prior to his, he was delayed until 6:45 p.m.. So off my dad went to surgery after wonderful doctors and nurses prepped him for what was to come and off my Mom, Lisa, Cassie, my sweet Sarah, and I went to the waiting room. We were well equipped with domino's, old movies, and snacks to wait out the next what turned out to be 5 hours. We had a great time chatting and playing games and around 8:00 p.m. Brian, Hillary, and Michael came to join in the fun. I must say for one minute that my Sarah was an absolute angel and just cuddled, slept, and smiled for all around. It was so much fun being with all the siblings except our Julie (whom we greatly missed) but we laughed and really enjoyed one another, while trying not to worry about our Dad. Well around 10:20 p.m. the Doctor came out to report that the surgery was finished and we would probably be able to go and see him in the recovery in about an hour to an hour and a half. Recovery took nearly two hours and even then Dad wasn't doing as well as we all hoped. (With my Father's permission I give the account of the rest of our experience)Without giving to much personal information my dad was having a bad reaction to the anesthesia and morphine and was re-living his horrible experience in Vietnam. I have to say in all my life I have never felt so much hurt for someone and the emotional pain for what they had gone through in their life. Hearing what he was saying and the emotional hurt it was causing him made all of my siblings very upset. When you grow up knowing that your dad was in the war and he must have seen things and experienced things that you can't even begin to imagine, well it's just almost unreal. Although my father fought in the war he never spoke of the war or his personal experiences. He would always say that war is a terrible thing and that he didn't discuss it. So I guess that made it all the more emotional for all of us when we he started mumbling about the most horrible events of his life. My appreciation for him and his sacrifice on my behalf on all those who live in this country has grown expedentially. He is a hero in every sense of the word and what he witnessed should never have to be remembered, it should be erased from his mind, never to recall again. I just can't believe what he went through and I love him all the more for the way he has handled it all his life. Needless to say none of us wanting to leave him last night. But when the anesthesia wore off, he was back to his normal cheery self. We went to see him today and he had already walked first thing this morning and while we were there he walked for the second time. The nurses said that he was doing exceptional well and my Dad says he will be leaving the hospital on Thursday. I know my Dad and he has the will unlike many others so Thursday will probably be the day of departure, even though most people stay five or six days. I just wanted everyone who has called, prayed, and worried for my father to know that he is doing great and he said the pain is minimal compared to what he has been through. He is grateful for all the prayers on his behalf and says is feeling wonderful!

Father Knows Best

Tonight I am grateful for a father who seems to always knows what is best for me. Isn't it interesting the older you get the more you look at your parents and think how wise and amazing they are. I have always admired a lot of things about my dad, but I don't know if I showed him my gratitude as much as I should. My father is going in for back surgery tomorrow and Matt and Dan just finished giving him a blessing. I was watching my father tonight who I have always known to be strong, brave, and the I can do anything I set my mind to it Dad, and realizing for the first time in his life he can't fix this on his own. For me it is difficult to watch this remarkable man and see his pain with each step he takes and sense the fear that he feels as he heads into this surgery. He has tried everything in his power to fix his back without surgery but in the end he has realized that this is the only way. Gratefully the surgery with be at the University of Utah with the very proficient orthopedic surgery team. We have all the confidence in the world that in the end he will feel better and have a new lease on life.

With all this said I would like to express how much I love him and how proud I am to be his daughter. He serves his children and wife endlessly and never seeks praise for his service. In my lifetime I have seen him give away the family car, when we needed it for our use, but someone needed it more. He has given away multiple items of furniture to those in need when he himself was out of job and could have sold the products for income. I have seen him get up in the middle of the night because someone was in need, with no thought of the fact he needed to arise early the next morning. He is easily the most gentle and loving Papa in the whole world. He made me feel like a beauty queen my entire life with his encouragement and love. In times of weakness and discouragement he brought me to a new height with his wisdom and outlook on life. In all sincerity I want to be more like my father. I want to serve the way he serves. I want to care for those around me the way he does. I love, admire, and respect my father more than words could ever transcribe. He came from a very difficult childhood and reversed what could have been his future into a life that is rich and full. I know everything will be great with the surgery, but I just realize each day that this life is short and the time we have with each person that touches our lives goes by so quickly so I want to be more appreciative, more kind, and more open about the way I feel for those who have impacted my life. So tonight it is my Father who I honor. It is my Father who I offer my gratitude for the life that he gave to me through his sacrifice of many long hours of hard work in jobs he wouldn't have necessarily selected, but did them to provide for his family. It is my Father who I wanted to emulate. He is everything I could have hoped for in a Father and much more. I love him with all my heart and pray the Lord will watch over him tomorrow and guide the surgeons hands as they mend him back to health. I love you Dad.