Think Out Loud #21 ~ A Little of This, A Little of That

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It's been too long since I've written a post just for me. It's for you guys, too, always you guys. I mean a personal post. I'll get the sadness out of the way first. 

Life is full of far too much sorrow. 

I thought of that last night while laying in bed trying to sleep. I just had to tweet it. Sometimes I have to put myself out there or else I'll go crazy thinking about things so much. I just reach out or something.

Last week we found out my husband's grandfather (his mother's side) was going in on Thursday to have a stent put in. My mother-in-law and husband's grandma drove him to the hospital. They didn't end up putting the stent in because they saw so many blocked arteries they realized they'd need to perform open heart surgery. 

So on Halloween we get that news. The surgery was to be done the very next day on Friday. Halloween was a nightmare anyway - and not the good kind. It really sucked. My husband and I weren't quite in the celebrating mood, and I thought about how difficult it was going to be to take the kids trick-or-treating that evening. But they're only young once, and I did my best to get in the festive mood, otherwise I felt like crying.  

After we helped our kids into their costumes, we started out with wind and rain. Many places around us had postponed their trick-or-treat night, and I thought we should have, too. Soon, the weather took a turn for the better. It stopped raining and wasn't quite so windy. It wasn't too cold or too hot, either. I remember two years ago, we had to take our son home early because it was so cold outside his lips turned blue. And we had him completely wrapped up to where you couldn't even see his costume! Ugh, Ohio can be like that.

Why yes. Together we can rule the galaxy together as father and son. 

Luke, I am your father. 

 

Princess Bubblegum is ready to get her candy on. Adventure Time! 

Brother and sister. Will get along for candy. 

 

Mom and Dad, we are so not going to this house! Yep, that's Pinhead in the electric chair. It smoked and everything. Pretty bad ass. 

Darth Vader is happy. 

We saw this sign out in front of the groomer's. WTF??

 

As you can see, trick-or-treat ended up being a fun night for us, and we were able to put aside our worries for a couple of hours. I wanted to make it really great for the kids. I want them to have good memories like I do from my own childhood. Because if anything we all know the future is uncertain and we don't know what it may hold for each one of us. 

The next morning, my husband's grandmother watched the kids while I went with my husband and mother-in-law to the hospital. An awesome friend of mine picked up my daughter and took her to school for me that morning. We arrived at the hospital at 6am and stayed until about 1pm. 

My husband's uncle and aunt were at the hospital when we arrived. The wait during the surgery was intense at times, but luckily we all had each other to talk to and help pass the time. I felt like I was going to throw up. We had no idea what was going to happen. 

My husband's grandfather is 83, and he's never had surgery or been hospitalized. Besides diabetes and these blocked arteries, he's in really great physical shape for someone his age. He doesn't seem 83 at all. He isn't overweight, and he's always very active. I guess that's why it was such a shock to us all when we found out he needed this open heart surgery.  

The surgery was a success. Not only did it take less time than they thought, but he also was in recovery less time than they had estimated. He was able to get off the ventilator earlier than they said, and he was able to do all of the exercises when it came time for that. He ended up having a five way bypass. One artery was 99% blocked, and we are so grateful he didn't have a stroke or heart attack before then. 

We were told he'd be in the hospital for five days after the surgery, but they released him four days. They were going to release him three days, but we were a bit nervous about that. My mother-in-law wasn't sure what to do because the hardwood floor in the living room had just been redone and the fumes were awful. She called and asked if he could stay with us for a couple of days, and of course I said yes. I wanted him out of there, too. I know how badly he wanted to get out of the hospital. Plus we live across the street from them, so once the floor was done and it was safe for him to stay over there, we could walk with him over there.   

When his surgeon spoke with us in the consultation room after the surgery, he noticed I had my laptop with me. He asked me if I was working, and I explained that I don't work outside the home but do run a book review blog. He asked me to read and review his book, Salt Kills. He gave me a paperback copy, and I'll be reading and reviewing that very soon. 

This entire situation with my husband's grandfather has really started me thinking about not only the foods I eat, but also what foods I'm giving my kids to eat. I want to make sure they have long, healthy, happy lives, and I don't want to basically pour salt into them everyday. So I'm looking forward to seeing what the book has to say, and when I skimmed through it today it seems like Dr. Neravetla wrote the book as though he's having a conversation with you. I was worried it would be technical and textbook-like, but it isn't that way at all. 

Sometimes it seems like when it rains, it pours. I had a lot of hope that things would turn out okay, and for now they are. My husband's grandfather is in good spirits. I think he's having a hard time not being able to do what he's used to doing, but I told him today that recovery won't take forever. 

His surgeon told us if he hadn't been in such good physical shape, it wouldn't have worked out like this. I'm thankful it did. I'm thankful he went to see a doctor when he began to feel short of breath and fatigued. It was a very scary time, and he still has a long road to recovery ahead of him; however, he's healing faster and doing better than any of his doctors or nurses ever would have thought. I reminded him of that today, too, hoping it might perk him up a bit. 

Today he moved across the street to my mother-in-law's house. The fumes are still there but nowhere near what they were on Monday. So, I'm going to continue hoping for the best because that's what I can do besides helping to take care of him. And making sure the kids don't drive him crazy. ;)