Daddy

In between my morning job and cleaning job this afternoon, I got a call from my mom. "Jen, I'm in the ER with your dad, can you come get Moose from me, he's getting kid of restless." Umm... excuse me? ER?

Now, a little background on my mom. She's a rock in situations like this, real even keeled. Me, not so much (I don't do well in emergencies). Anyway, mom gets through these situations and is super strong, then when they are over, she takes her moment to break down.

Me "Why is dad in the ER?"
Mom "He was lightheaded at work and having problems remembering things and he kept zoning out. It might be mini strokes."
Me "Ok, I'll be there right away. Is he ok?"
Mom "He seems to be, they are running tests."

So, I rearranged my day and headed to the hospital. My dad is going to give me a heart attack, this isn't his first emergency.

I called Jon on my way there, I was a mess on the phone. I couldn't stop crying. I was praying, crying, texting, praying, crying, facebooking. Not my safest trip somewhere, but I needed prayers for my dad.

I got to the hospital, made my way to his room, rushed in and gave him the biggest hug and just lost it.

They had already done an EKG and blood work. They still planned on doing at least a cat scan. He was also hooked up to an IV with fluids because of mild dehydration. They weren't sure what had happened, but they mentioned mini strokes. My dad was hoping it was just anxiety from dealing with the end of the year inventory at the school. Mom said that he was very disoriented when she got to the hospital, but by the time I got there he was much more lucid.

After the cat scan they decided to do an MRI. The doctor also ordered a sonogram to look at his carotid arteries and an echocardiogram.

And so we waited... and waited... and waited. The nurse came in at 3:30 and asked if the doctor had talked to us. We said no. She replied "Oh, well he was supposed to, but I think he's gone for the day now." What? Really? I mean I guess it wasn't life threatening, because I assume he would have come in, but really, who knows.

My dads friends, Tom & Sandra, came by to pray with him and I can't tell you how much that meant.

The nurse informed us that they were going to keep my dad over night for observations and to get those other 2 tests done. My dad wasn't thrilled, but we didn't give him a choice. She also told us that they were having a neurologist do a consult.

They moved my dad up to a room and the neurologist came in and did a few memory tests and a few physical tests (for strokes). He passed both tests. (I even had a hard time with the memory one!) The Dr said that it could have been a mini stroke which would have effected his memory and made him light headed and spacey; however, he's know more after reading the MRI.

So now we wait... and wait... and wait for answers. I pray with all my heart that it's something minor that can easily be fixed.

I know that I'll never be ready to lose him, but I'm really not ready, yet. He's still so young and has many, many, many more years left.

So, for now, I leave you with this poem I wrote for him for his birthday years ago:

Dad you’ll never realize

The times I cherished being with you

It was late night plays, weekend matinees

And Chinese lunches, too

It was baseball games

Those many nights

Arena football

And hockey fights

It was actions, cuts and strike the sets

It was props and wardrobes , too

It was Dracula and the Pajama Game

And just spending time with you

It’s the way you’ve always loved me

Whether I deserved it or not

You make me feel so grateful

That I thank God for what I’ve got

I hope you have a great day

Celebrating your birth

I hope that at least one person

Tells you how much your worth

to the moon and back,

Too close for comfort...

Last night at 11:30pm, the phone rang. Generally, by nature, a phone call at that time is not good news and this one was no different. It was my mom. She had taken my dad to the ER because he had lost sight in one of his eyes. She said he felt fine and wasn't in any pain and that the doctors said it was a stroke of the eye. She said they were going to run some more tests before they sent him home. I heard him joking in the background "Tell her to get me an eye-patch for Christmas." I told mom to tell him that he isn't funny.

Long story short, he's doing good (we think, he has more tests on Thursday), but he will most likely never regain his vision in that eye. He said it's like looking through frosted glass with a few clear spots that never seem to be in the same place.

In the past few weeks, I have had a few friends that have lost their fathers, and this brought it very close to home for me. I can't begin to comprehend what they are going through, but last night as I laid in bed after hanging up with my mom, I was terrified that I might find out.

The doctor told my dad that if the piece of plaque from his vein had gone to his brain instead of his eye, he could have had a real stroke. There is still a possibility that he might need surgery, but I pray that he doesn't.

I don't think my dad will ever realize how much I love him and how grateful I am to have him and my mom for parents. I gave him a pretty hard time (attitude-wise) when I was a teenager, but he never held it against me and always loved me, even at my most unlovable moments. I tell him I love him, but the words just don't seem to convey it properly.

I can thank him for my fondness of movies and my eclectic taste in music. I can thank him for my love of all things food, he always made me try something new. I pretty sure my creative side (graphic design) came from him, too. Lord knows it wasn't my mom, if it doesn't involve Mahjong or solitaire, she couldn't care less about it.

I am so thankful that he is ok, I hate that his vision is impaired, but it could have been so much worse. I pray that everything goes well on Thursday. I pray that this was a fluke. I pray that I don't have to deal with losing a parent... ever... Can't they just live forever? I can't imagine life without my parents. I know that day will come, but I hope it's long after I am old and gray.

I love you daddy...

Three Generations & a Baby (or toddler as the case may be)...

aka - The trip from hell...

So, choosing to go on a 9 day trip with my mom, son, aunt and grandma seemed like a good idea at the time, however, after 2 ER trips, a total of 32 hours in a car (not counting random trips about town), sleepless nights due to snoring as well as late night bathroom trips which involved lights and running water (in a very small hotel room) and never being able to choose a place to eat, I may have rethought the trip.

I found out that I had to go on a business trip to Louisville, KY, which is only about 2.5 hours away from one of my best friends' mom's house. I thought, "Great! We will leave a few days early and head up to see Sarah." (I haven't seen her since June). I asked my mom to go with me so she could help with Moose while I was working and she agreed. Then she asked if it was ok if Granny came. I said sure, the more the merrier. My mom mentioned it to my aunt (her sister) and she seemed to really want to go, so my mom asked her as well. So now we have 4 adults and a 2 year old in a Honda Pilot.

Sunday morning arrives (the day after Moose's birthday party... what was I thinking?) and we head out... Leaving at 8:00am... oh wait, we have to go by my Granny's house to pick up some medicine to drop off at with my aunt which is sort on the way, but not really. Ok, 9:00am and we are on our way!

Moose did amazing on the trip. I was so proud! We ended up stopping outside of Chatanooga, TN, for the night but we still needed to eat. Out we go again looking for food. "How about Mexican?" My mom asks. "No, I don't like that kind of food... What is that again?" Granny replies. Mama says "It's tacos, mama. You like tacos." Granny "That's not a meal, I want a meal." Ok... what's next? "Oh how about Ryan's Steakhouse?" mom asks. Granny, "No, you know how buffet's do me." Hmm... ok, finally we decide on some other restaurant.

Ah... sleepy time... ZZZzzzzz, ZZzzzz, "What is that?" I thought. Snoring? Seriously? This is a very small hotel room. My mom is tossing and turning. She gets up and rummages though her purse and come back to bed. "I have ear plugs in my purse, but I can only find one." I'll take it, I thought. It has to be of some help. So I take said earplug and put it in my ear. I then shove my other ear in the pillow. It sorta works. That is, until I roll over. I then take the earplug out of one ear and switch it. It was a long night.

The trip to IN was amazing. It was so good to just hang out with Sarah again (I hate that she live in IN, yes I said hate, I'm ok with that) and her parents made it feel like home away from home. This was also the uneventful part of our trip, very relaxing, very nice.

Then we get to Louisville. At this point, Moose is really starting to cough, get fussy, and not want to eat. There are so many things that it could be (travel, teething, allergies, etc...) that we don't think anything of it. That was Thursday. Friday morning my mom woke me up (I was sleeping on the couch in the separate room so as to actually sleep before I had to be at the tradeshow at 8:30am) at 2:00am. "Moose is shivering and she keeps waking up coughing and whimpering". As my brain adjusted to being awake, I said "What do I do?", of course, cause I reverted back 16 and not a responsible mom, as I have stated before, I am not good in an emergency). Mom thought we should take him to the ER. Um... Ok... where exactly is that? We are 14 hours from home and I don't know anything about Louisville. So we ask the hotel desk clerk. She gives us the address, all I can say is thank goodness for GPS'! After about 4 hours in the ER, we find out that it is Hand, Foot & Mouth disease which is a virus and only treatable with motrin and tylenol. Fantastic, can't wait to see that bill.

Back to the hotel. I ran into my boss in the lobby (it's not 7:00am) and she is getting ready for the show. She asks if I am ok and my reaction is to turn into a blubbering fool. She tells me to get some rest and come over when I can. Thank you.... I have really great boss'.

Nap, nap, nap... Wake up at noon and head over to the show. About an hour and a half later, I get a call from my mom. "Honey, we are taking granny to the ER." She had been having dizzy spells, swelling and wasn't feeling right. "Ok, let me know how it goes." So now, my mom and aunt are dealing with a sick 2 year old and a sick mom. Great trip. My aunt spends all afternoon in the ER with her and mom spends the afternoon with a sleeping Moose.

Bleh.... Crappy trip. The tradeshow was less than successful to say the least and my toes are still numb from standing on concrete for about 10 hours in very unsupportive shoes.

The trip home was way less eventful, but did I mention that my boss was ticketed on the way up to the show because it is apparently illegal in GA to not move over to the other lane if a cop has some one pulled over. Oh, yea, then their car broke down and stranded them in Louisville for an extra day.

Fun times... I get to do it all again in Feb, only this time to Vegas!

Not good in an emergency...

I, apparently, am not good in an emergency, so don't call me. 

Unfortunately, I found this out the hard way.

Let me paint the picture for you...

I love food... pretty much all things food (except scary food... i.e. bugs, oysters, bananas) and my husband is very meat and potatoes. So when I found a friend that I could share this love with, I was super excited. Last Saturday night Lacey came over and I prepared a delicious spread of food for her that my hubby would have turned his nose up to had I told him I was fixing it. (BTW, Jon tried and liked everything that I fixed...) Anyway, she wanted to return the favor and since her husband is alot like mine in that respect, she was just as excited! All week I was so looking forward to Friday night which was only intensified when she texted me the menu (Brie and red pepper jelly in puff pastry, bruschetta, brie and pear in phyllo cups, a cheese tray, danishes, chips and an assortment of dips).

Friday was a busy day. Up at 6:30am. I got showered, dressed my son, got myself ready, fed Moose (my son) breakfast and headed to my sisters house. I dropped Moose off and headed to work. I left work at 12:30 and met my sister and dad at Red Robin (Yummmm) for my dads b-day lunch. After my yummy southwest salad, we headed over to see "Rise of the Planet of the Apes". (Not bad but the CG in some areas could have been better.) After the movie, I headed to my moms to pick up Moose. We then headed to the mall playground to have a playdate with Gigi and Liam. The boys had a blast and Liam found love...

After our playdate, Moose and I left to pick up Jon so that we could head to our much anticipated dinner. We traveled the 30 minutes to Lacey's house and unloaded. It was right about 6:30 and we walked in the house and it smelled amazing, fresh baked pastry, yummo! The spread was everything I dreamed it would be... sweet deliciousness...

We ate and talked and laughed, all was right in the world, at least, for about 40 minutes.

Moose was dancing and spinning. I turned my head to say something to Jon and turned my head back right as Moose's head slammed against the edge of the coffee table. AHHHHHH! Silence, then screaming. Me? Blubbering idiot. I wasn't crying, mind you. Just could not talk or think. Lacey was handing me paper towels, Jon was asking if he was alright and I think all I actually verbalized was "I, uh, I don't, uh, oh my, I don't know". Jon rushed us into the bathroom to get into better light and all I could do was look at the gaping hole in my son's lip. At that point, Jon decided that he probably needed stitches and Anthony said we could follow him to the hospital. Moose talked the whole way there, like nothing was wrong. What a strong little boy.

After 3 and 1/2 hours, we left with a very tired Moose and 3 stitches. All I can say is, Moose did amazing. I was so fearful of how he would react to being swaddled and restrained, but he was so good, crying only a little. I am so thankful. I have to say I was completely nauseous (especially with the smell of the laytex gloves wafting up my nose) and Jon was light headed, but we made it through.

 

The car ride home was hilarious... I'm guessing that he was feeling pretty good from the lydocaine because he was quite the chatty one. "Mommy, my lip hurt coffee table" "Mommy, saw a docker" "Grrrrrrrrrrr" "Hee heee heee heee". All I can say is I am glad he was in a good mood at 11:30 at night!

Moral to the story? Got an emergency? Don't call me... I apparently become mute.