Good Day

Today we traveled to Wilkes County to visit with my dad…..he was having sinus surgery this morning at Wilkes General Hospital. We didn’t get there in time to see him before he went into surgery but Shirley, James and Grace Meade were there when we arrived. Shirley said we just missed him and that he was in a good mood before heading into surgery. Her pastor (Rev. Grady) came by for Donnie as Donnie was out of town on vacation while we were waiting. We also saw Katherine Elledge, Mike’s mom, who was working there at the hospital. Mike was a classmate of mine at North Wilkes High School.

After the surgery was over, we were called into a room where we waited for the doctor (Dr. Ellis) to come in and talk with us. He told us that dad did well throughout the surgery. He said that he was ‘full of polyps’ and that there were polyps in all four of the sinus cavities above his nose, the sides of his nose and in his nose. He said that he may be able to smell again but sometimes the nerves are damaged too much so this sense doesn’t come back. He said that there will be some bleeding but if it gets bad, that we should call him and that his cell phone will be provided on the discharge instructions. He said it would be better if he was not left alone the first night and that he should not drive in the first 24 hours. He said he should not bend over for 24 hours and that he shouldn’t play tennis or bowl for a couple of weeks.

Dad was awake when they brought him to the room….he had a liquid brunch and then about an hour later….they brought him lunch. He did well. He had a bandage under his nose that had to be changed about every hour and he got up to use the bathroom about every two hours. Shirley left for a while to go home and rest as she stated that she didn’t sleep well last night. Tommy and I went to Glenn’s and got lunch when dad started to drift off to sleep….after they gave him some pain medicine for a headache. When we came back, Shirley was back. We hung out a while longer….I brought my computer in….I couldn’t get online but finished about 5 notes that were lingering from the past few days. Tommy checked email on his phone and got this email…..

As the other placement did not come through, I’m linking Thorben to you guys. We need to have all paperwork completed by Monday. Lee said that he sent your application to you to update. If you don’t have it email him. He is working today and all weekend at least a few hours a day. Also the Background check needs to be redone. You will get an email for that, too. You can also call him.

So congratulations. We’ll talk more about him when I get back as I’ll be gone all next week. You can get me over the weekend on my cell phone. Gerry

which led to a long conversation about Thorben…..and I shared pics from the application with pop and Shirley.

All in All it was a Good day….dad is doing well… he was laughing and joking….it was good to spend time with him. He was happy for us about Thorben….James was trying to connect with us….he shared how hard it is for him to see his mom with someone since his mom hasn’t been with anyone in so long. I told him it was hard for me too…..since it wasn’t long after my mom died….he seems like a nice guy….kind of like a little kid at heart.

We went by dad’s house and fed shadow and cleaned out his litter box as dad is staying at the hospital tonight….we will come back and see dad on Sunday….I told Shirley to call us if she needs us….she and Grace are going to stay with dad tomorrow night.