"Hope for my Daddy"

It seems like forever since I blogged last and many things have happened since my last post.  This past weekend, me, Julie Gabardi, Joni Hartman and Theresa Bonds took a road trip to Osage Beach, MO to celebrate our birthdays and the fact that Joni and I were celebrating our 50th.  We left on Friday morning and had plans to stay until Tuesday morning.  Our travel agent, Theresa, did a great job with all the details from planning the trip, driving us there, cooking food in advance and even bringing a blu ray player to watch movies.  We spent most of Saturday at the Outlet Mall and were very impressed with the stores there.  Needless to say, we had most of the stores to ourselves, considering most normal people would have stayed home in the cold rainy weather that started turning into ice before we left the mall.  We headed back to our condo and watched a little of the NFL play-offs and the Miss America pageant.  We really aren't normal with the fact that we go away and we actually turn on football.  I have to say, Miss America was very entertaining to us all.  I'm not sure it was the fact that 4 women were together critiquing other women or for some reason the talent was a little below average in our opinion, especially the singing.  They say laughter is the best medicine and I think that night we had a great dose of good medicine.  Theresa also brought the 2 seasons of Downton Abbey.  We watched a few episodes on Friday night and a few more Saturday night.  I had never heard of this show and I had issues of falling asleep during part of it on Friday night and was afraid I wouldn't be able to keep up with the story line.  Sunday came and we were iced in at the condo.  Theresa's car was covered with ice and we were on a steep slope to drive out, so we decided why not continue to watch the rest of the episodes of Downton Abbey and not risk going outside when we didn't have to.  We were all hooked on watching the show and took small breaks in between each episode.  We were in our PJ's all day long and loved every minute of being lazy and not having an agenda to be anywhere. 

Theresa,Joni,Julie and Me

View from our Condo

Sunday afternoon I received a phone call that my dad was not doing well.  He went in on Thursday morning for an outpatient surgery to put a plate in his broken arm.  They ended up keeping him overnight and his health quickly began to deteriorate.  He was not getting enough oxygen into his lungs.  We found out Sunday night that he had pneumonia in both lungs.  I was at a crossroads about leaving our "girl" trip early or waiting it out until we got home to travel to Abilene, TX. 

We woke up Sunday morning and finished the final episode of season 2 of Downton Abbey and are excited to see the next season.  I'm hooked and a huge fan!  The girls and I decided it would be best for me to try to get a flight out and us leave our "birthday getaway" early in order for me to be with my parents.  We arrived in Bentonville and I had enough time to repack a suitcase and get to the airport and was safely with my mom and brother by 11:00pm last night, Monday.

We arrived to the hospital this morning and I must admit, it was very hard to see my dad lying there with a bunch of tubes in him and not able to communicate.  He opened his eyes long enough to see I was there, but can't keep them open or talk to us.  We are limited on our visiting hours and I take every moment I can to go see him.  He is now on a ventilator and is being fed by an NG Tube.  They are having to keep him sedated due to the frustrations of wanting to pull all the tubes out of him.  It's amazing how a simple "outpatient" surgery has turned into something much greater.  I know Who's in control and I know that God's mercies are new every morning and great is His faithfulness.  I do have a peace and I am so grateful to be able to be with my mom during this time.  It is difficult to watch one of your favorite people in life struggle for his life.

The word "hope" I take for faith; and indeed, hope is nothing else but the constancy of faith.  

I read this in a daily journal Susan Byrum gave me, and it's exactly what I need.  My hope is not in man, but my hope is in the Lord and I can rest in perfect peace knowing that He is the One that has my "daddy" in His hands and will watch over him.  On a side note; the nurse that took care of my dad today was named Janet.  I told my dad that I couldn't stay with him all day, but God put another Janet there to take care of him.

Me and my Daddy.  Please pray for him.

"Today is the day the Lord has made,let us rejoice and be glad in it."