Once you read the entire post, you may this the title doesn't fit, but God has shown just how good He is over the last few days. Really.
I'll try to take it one day at a time and give you the update...
On Thursday morning, I got a phone call from my mom (she FINALLY reached me via my cell phone at 6:30 AM, despite trying to call us since about 3 AM) indicating that my dad had suffered a heart attack. She said that he was being transported to Providence in Waco from the ER in Mexia and that she they had just walked in the doors, she would call me with an update. A short while later, she called to tell me he was having a catherization done at noon and that they were going to repair whatever needed repairing at that time. So I headed out of town to try to make it there before the catherization.
I spoke with him before I left, so I knew he was doing ok, or as well as could be expected, considering.
Elsewhere, my sweet husband was concerned that he was going to get called into work early because of the pending hurricane...you may have heard of it...Hurricane Ike. He was scheduled to work his regular shift on Friday, and anticipated the possibility of him having to go into work early on Thursday. However, as I was getting ready to get out of town, he was making calls to find out that he most likely wasn't having to go into work early. Whew.
So, to the hospital I go, and I'll fast foward to the catherization results. The catherization went well. He has/had a total of 3 blockages. The one that caused the heart attack was a 100% blockage at the circumflex artery. They inserted a stint there and have full function and anticipate no permanent long-term damage to the heart from the blockage and subsequent heart attack. As for the other two (located in the descending portion of the left anterior artery), the doctor decided against treatment with them at this time. What they will do is a stress test in a month to determine whether they're functionally significant. If they are, then he'll go in again to have stints placed in them.
I was able to see dad both prior to and after the catherization, which I'm thankful for. Dad's nurses' name was Michael, and he was keeping an eye out for me so that he could get me in to see Dad before he went in for the catherization if I was able to get there in time, which I luckily was. Michael, huh. Isn't God good? ;) I am VERY glad that I was there, as I was able to help my mom understand some of what the doctor was saying and showing with regard to the blockages and overall meaning. She was being so strong, but when we walked out after the doctor called us in for the catherization results, she just looked at me and said, "So does all that mean that he WILL be ok?" I'm so thankful that I was able to be there for her...
He was still in ICU on Thursday, as they simply didn't have a bed for him, and he was number 10 or 12 in line to receive a room. Mom wasn't allowed to stay with him, so we both left Thursday afternoon (and the ICU nurse was kicking us out...just doing her job, but not making us really happy though...).
I made it back to College Station in time to pick up both kids, as Matt was in a slew of emergency preparedness meetings taking place all that evening. I found out, through a variety of emails throughout the day, that TAMU and Kellen's school was closed for the pending hurricane. Hello, Ike!
Thursday night was pretty rough, Kellen was incredibly scared about the hurricane, and moreso scared about his Daddy going INTO the hurricane while everyone else was going AWAY from the hurricane. He was TERRIFIED that his Daddy was going to die. So much so that Matt and I were BOTH trying to console him throughout the night as he was having multiple nightmares and waking up screaming. And one of his nightmares ended with him falling off of the bed and busting his eye open, a fact that neither Matt nor I realized it until Friday morning. Apparently it could have stood stitches, but we didn't realize it quick enough...so there's another scar on "Crash Kellen" - Ug. His eye is so swollen...it hurts me just to look at it!
So Friday we start to prepare for Ike...Matt heads off to work, and I start picking up everything that could become a projectile - or at least as much as I can pick up while trying to watch Kellen and Tatum playing in the yard. So yeah, I didn't get everything done outside. Our evacuees from the Conroe area started to arrive mid-day on Friday, and all told we ended up with an additional 7, then 5 people and 6 animals at the house. I'm so glad that they came here and escaped from Conroe! They, of course, help get the rest of the outside ready for the storm.
I'm continuing to try and touch base with mom, and she was able to get a ride to the hospital early on Friday. Dad was moved to a private room early in the day, so she had planned to spend the night in case he was moved to a private room. She called me later in the afternoon and dad was having some problems with both his blood pressure and his heart rate. His blood pressure was dropping rapidly and his heart rate was spiking, and the doctors weren't sure why...it happened while he was sleeping, so that kinda' rules out normal "I'm stressed because I'm in the hospital" stress-type stuff, at least in my book...They gave him a bag of meds and were monitoring him closely, then changed from an IV medication to an oral medication when the IV infiltrated his arm.
Friday night comes and at the house we're all just hunckerin' down and getting ready for the storm. We haven't watched much else but the weather channel.
I wonder what their ratings were last week and this weekend?
Matt sent text messages periodically updating us on the weather in Houston, and throughout the night as well. God protected him and those around him, and continued to bless us by allowing there to be an adequate number of volunteers on Saturday so that Matt was able to come home *safely* mid-day on Saturday.
Saturday rolls around and I called to check on Dad, only to be told by Mom that she was in with the doctor. I immediately called back and suggested that she suggest they keep him another night. I'm sure it had nothing to do with my suggestion, but that's what the doctors decided to do, which made me feel much better. I would MUCH rather have my parents in a hospital in Waco when the remnants of Hurricane Ike goes up I45 than in the middle of a peach orchard directly in its path.
By Saturday, the kids are going a little stir-crazy, so we decided to take them to McDonalds for dinner and let them R-U-N on the playground. Considering that they had been cooped up in a house without being able to really get their energy out too well, they had been fairly well-behaved. The two older ones act like they're siblings. I mean REALLY act like they're siblings. Wow. I can see what I have to look forward to now. We tried to keep them busy with a variety of activites, and naps were mandatory, but there's only so much you can do.
Sunday rolls around and despite my best efforts, we just weren't making it to church. The boys decided that they were going to make a trip back to Conroe to assess the damage to the houses, so they were getting ready to head out at about the time that the kids and I should have been getting ready to go to church, so I just wasn't able to make it happen. Shortly after they left, the kids and moms headed out for a walk - off to the park! We went and fed the ducks, then played on the playground, and timed it perfectly so that we were back just in time for lunch and a nap. Yay us!
During our energy-expenditure walk, I called to find out what was going on with Dad, and was told that they made the decision to release him. So they were getting ready to head out as I was talking to them.
Sunday afternoon included naps for EVERYONE - I kinda' think we all deserved them, don't you? Then I got a call from Dad at around 3 PM Sunday afternoon letting me know that he and mom were home and resting comfortably. That was a great call to get!
Although my timing was a little off for our Sunday night church activities (a whole hour off - the wrong way...) and Kellen and I missed the first night of our new fall programs, Sunday still was a good day.
Despite the seemingly endless stream of misadventures...heart attack, busted eye, working in the hurricane, the hurricane itself, God has continually blessed us. Everything could have been so much worse, and God has shown his grace and goodness through all of this.
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