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!
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