A Family Emergency

My Dad giving my oldest his first car (Dad's old one)  The smiles say it all.

I got a text letting me know my dad was at the ER.  He & Mom live 1000 miles away from us so it's hard when you hear someone is sick because you can't just hop in the car to be there.

He had pneumonia & within a short period of time he went from walking into the ER to going to ICU on ventilator.  My sister, that lives close to me, and I were trying to figure out what we should do.  Go or stay.  It was so hard.  Her husband is a nurse & was keeping track of Dad's information.  He told us when it was time for us to go.

I would like to honor my Dad & not give details about the whole ordeal.  There were MANY complications though & at one point I can honestly tell you we thought we may just truly be saying good bye to our father.  We stayed for a couple days & the whole time in the backs of our minds thinking of our departing flight on Monday.  Wondering if we would be on it or not. 

Our other sister was there first to help Mom through some things & of course, be with Dad.  When we got there she was able to go home.  She ended up turning around though 18 hours later to come back. 

We turned to our faith most of all.  We prayed over him & for him.  We talked with him about God's salvation through Jesus.  We prayed for the nurses & doctors.  Even thanking God for the orderlies there that were helping us through & offering to get us food/drinks/chairs to sit on.  Anything they could do to make life easier for us.   I am humbled just thinking of it now.  They let 3 of us be in there for longer than they should have. 

Dad isn't out of the woods yet.  I would be so appreciative of your prayers for him & my mom.  All us girls had to leave & at this time Dad is trying to get off the ventilator.  His chances are so much better than they were.

A few things I have learned from this experience.  Please bear with me.  Some may see silly & others not but my mind just went from one extreme to another.

* Nurses don't make enough $$ for what they do.
* I am even more determined then ever to focus on health & fitness.  When we compromise our bodies with bad food, no exercise, smoking, too much alcohol, we affect how our bodies will be able to fight when it needs to. 
* My brain turns to Swiss cheese when I don't get the proper food & sleep (and enough water!)
* The smallest gesture to someone in crisis is so very special & appreciated.  Even just handing them a bottle of water or offering a seat.  A pat on the back and/or a prayer. 
* No amount of time away should affect the love & closeness you can find with family & old friends. 
*  A grudge is never worth holding on to.  When the rubber hits the road, it just shouldn't matter.  We have all been made with our own feelings & opinions.  If we were all the same wouldn't that be boring!  Looking at something from someone else's point of view should be a blessing.  Not something that breaks a relationship up.  We don't have to agree on something to be able love each other or even be friends. 
* It's never too late to tell someone you love them.  NEVER.  Don't wait.  You just don't know what the future holds.

I hope at least one person was blessed by my post.  

I will be posting about how I dealt with my eating & fitness during this time but just didn't want to put it in this post.

Be Blessed & Healthy!!