M.I.A

First off let me say I am sorry for being MIA lately! Second, let me tell you why... Two days after my last post my Dad almost died! Good reason to not blog huh?! Long story short his airway closed up in the E.R and they had to do an emergency Tracheostomy...

I'll try to re-cap most of the last two weeks without being too graphic, but keep in mind my "graphic sensor" is probably higher than most!

Monday morning I rushed to Riverside Kaiser with my aunt to see my Dad in the ER. I am not sure what I was expecting but nothing could have prepared me for my Dad laying lifeless on a hospital bed with a Dr pumping air into his lungs! At that moment I wasn't even sure if my Dad was still alive but I can almost still feel my hand pulse as I placed it on his chest and felt his heart pounding like a drum. I knew a heartbeat that strong was good, but it was still not enough to put my mind at ease...
It was 9 long hours later before I got to see my Dad again... This time in an ICU bed and awake which was such a relief. He couldn't speak obviously but just seeing his eyes open and knowing that he knew it was me was like nothing I could even put into words! He kept asking why and couldn't figure out what was going on, what day it was or even where he was... We would try to explain it to him but he would just ask again 10 minutes later. As his sedation wore off he would recall bits and pieces of what he had just been through but honestly up until a few days ago I am not even sure he fully understood how close he came to death.


So what went wrong you ask? What made his airway close? Well, basically they diagnosed him with Epiglottitis which is a swelling of the epiglottis; they believe it was caused by a severe MRSA infection in his nose and sputum. So after H1N1, pneumonia, and several other tests came back negative all they had left to do was pump him full of antibiotics to try and reduce the swelling in his throat.


After a week in ICU and another few days in the step-down unit he finally got to come home, mind you, with his Trach in and on IV meds, but never-the-less he was home!
 The first day was hard, very hard... Frankie, Jen & Myself I think all felt like our Dad shouldn't have come home yet! But after some heartfelt words from Frankie, a positive attitude from me and some amazing hard work on Jen's part Dad is doing well and on a great schedule at home... He is progressing great and even starting to enjoy his daily routine...
Tomorrow will be his last day of IV meds which will make him almost completely independent... Then it's off to the Dr on Thursday to see what his throat looks like... Which Dad and I both agree will look TONS better than before.

I don't have a ton of pictures to show for this journey but the few I do have (all taken with my iphone) are about all I need to remember each day of the longest two weeks of my life!

 to see more of these pictures and hear more about my Dad and his journey feel free to visit his Caring Bridge website, click here

These pictures I have will always remind me how grateful I am to still have my Father and hopefully never let me forget how precious life is.

Dad, I know the last two weeks have been really hard but I know that sometimes it takes tough things in life to bring everyone closer together. I will continue to Thank God that he choose to keep you around longer and I hope you do that same. I Love You Daddy so much!!!