May Life Changes

I know, I am way behind. But there were a few posts that I knew I needed to post and just didn't want to. But this is my "journal" and I really need to document these May Life Changes. Warning: Probably will be long!

So, here goes!

At 2am in May (after my amazing birthday party), I received a phone call from my little sisters saying

Dad was in the hospital...again. He had gone in for a Interventional Radiology surgery the week previous and apparently there were some complications. I immediately started looking at plane tickets, but wasn't sure if I needed to fly into Salt Lake or Idaho Falls. My grandma told me to cool my jets until they knew more info, but since it was 3 in the morning I was wide awake so I started packing, just in case. My mom called me back and said they were flying Dad to Salt Lake and I could meet her there. I looked at plane tickets and there was one in an hour or so and it was first class and was the cheapest flight! Talk about an answer to a prayer! So I then had to figure out how to get to Portland.  Did I mention Spencer was in Atlanta, GA? I called my best friend (only best friends answer 3:30am phone calls) and told her what was going on.  She sent her husband to take me to the airport.  Boy did we cruise!! I got to the airport just in time to get on the plane, I was so nervous I would miss it! The flight was great and the lady I sat by was a VANDAL!!! What are the odds? I got to SLC just as my parents were reaching the hospital. I called my great-aunt Geraldine, who was mildly surprised to hear from me lol, and she sent her daughter in law to pick me up and take me to the hospital. I have an amazing family! Due to this all happened a while ago, my memory is a little fuzzy and I promise not to give tons of details. The IR DR said that the previous surgery was a success, the coils that he had placed in the blood vein in the brain was clearing up the fistula but there was a small blood clot hanging off the coils that was blocking a vital vein. awesome. So Dad got to go back into surgery. He was pretty drugged up but could respond to hand squeezes and would nod his head etc. He even still had his personality, some of the Dr. thought the best way to talk to him was to shout, and he'd refuse to respond lol. The surgery seemed to be a success and he slept a lot. But then he started to become less responsive. After looking at CT scans, they found his brain was swelling. He also developed Pneumonia. On Sunday (Mother's Day), the Dr said that unfortunately there was not much else they could do. The swelling was still continuing and eventually   he would go into a comma and not wake up. Mom and I called family and Kyris and Shawn brought everyone up on Sunday. Spencer had just gotten into Longview from Atlanta, so he packed his bags again and got on another plane! As a family we decided that Dad would never want to be left on life support, esp since he would be considered brain dead anyway.  We had made that decision 2 years earlier. On Monday there was no improvement so we all gathered together and spent the last hours together as a family.  Spencer and Shawn gave Dad a blessing of peace and comfort, the nurses came in and took out all the hoses, monitors, etc. We prayed that he wouldn't suffer long (his breathing was strained and shallow) and he passed shortly after. We said our goodbyes and left Utah. 

The trip was a sad one, but it definitely had its moments that I will never forget. I got to spend some valuable time with my Dad and hold his hand, spent time with my Mom (including going to a laundromat, touring U of U, teaching her how to use my ipad, sharing lunches/dinners in the cafeteria, etc). There were friends and family stopping by all the time. My Dad was loved by a lot of people. I spent the nights at my Aunt Geraldine's and it was so much fun to get to know her better (we now play words w friends) and she told me stories about my Grandma McLain and growing up together. My Aunt Kathy's sister, whom we had never met before, let me borrow a car for the week so that I could get to and from the hospital. Getting lost in Salt Lake City was an adventure for sure. My cousin got married Saturday, and I got to go! And I even got to spend time with some friends! 

 I hadn't seen Shannon Sommers in ages!!! It was so fun to catch up and go to dinner and go shopping! Our waiter was her cousin, and throughout dinner, various people would randomly stop by our table and drop stuff off. It was hilarious.

 I also got to hang out with my friend Kate Hansen, which was awesome! I hadn't seen her since Pullman either and since I wouldn't be able to go to her wedding I was so glad she came to Salt Lake to see me!

 My cousin Jaimie married her sweetheart! It was the first sealing I got to go to since I was married, it was really nice to go to the temple and just feel peace.

And the Bellows family came to visit a few times and bring us laughs and supplies.  After an adventurous time trying to find a restaurant, we found the Dodo Bird, which was really yummy! I would def go there again! 

 And of course the little girls brought tons of laughs and comic relief to the hospital waiting room.

This picture, well it just was funny to me. This was the garbage in the waiting room. The sign says "Potentially Hazardous Waste"....how ironic it has a pizza box on top!!! :)

Alright, got that post out of the way and I'm hitting Publish before I can change my mind!