Let me give you a little background, I still have all four of my grandparents on this earth with me, and I am very close to them. Grandaddy Ray is my Mom's dad. From the time I was born through the first few years of my life, he and my grandmother took care of me while my parents worked and went to school. From the beginning he has called me Scooby Doo. Throughout the years, we have gotten close. We definitley share a unique bond and I adore him. He is one of the most stubborn, but supportive men I have ever met. He is a retired preacher and air force man. He has seen more in his life, than I could ever imagine.
On Wednesday, March 18, 2009, around 10:00pm, Grandaddy was brought to the hospital by his neighbor complaining of chest pains. My mom called me Thursday morning to inform me of what was going on. They were pretty sure it was a heart attack, but at that point he was doing fine so they weren't very concerned. That Thursday was going to be a particularly tough day for me at school, as I had to be a witness for a "cheating trial" that had happened in one of my classes. God was pulling me from every direction. On my way to school, I stopped by the hospital and saw Grandaddy. He was being very silly and was absolutely feeling himself. I headed to school, much against my will, and prepared for my day. That afternoon, I left one of the most difficult things I had ever been through, and headed to (unknown to me) the scariest moments of my life.
I arrived at the hospital around 5:30...and at 6:30 Grandaddy had heart attack number 2. This was only the beginning. I'm going to post the "journal" I tried to keep during the days at the hospital. I didn't do very well keeping up with it, but after that I will try to fill in some gaps.
As I am re-reading that journal, I am thinking about all of the blanks that should be filled in. The Monday before the big surgery, he had heart attack number 3.
The "big surgery" happened on Tuesday Morning. We arrived very very very early so we could tell him we loved him before he was taken back. That was one of the longest days of my life. About an hour after they completed the surgery, he crashed, so they had to take him back in again. They decided to leave his chest open. (Very scary). Later that night, around 1:30am, Mom and I were sleeping in the waiting room, and Jonathan (one of Grandaddy's amazing nurses) came and woke us up. I'm pretty sure I will never forget that. I don't remember him actually waking us up, I just remember opening my eyes, seeing him standing there, telling me they were taking him to surgery, and waking Mom up. So, we called my uncle and Dad, and they came back to the hospital. This was very very very scary. We didn't know what was going to happen. Later in the 'morning' they finished the surgery, but needed to keep his chest open.
Rather than filling you in medically, I want to talk about the journey this has been. I have never in my life been through something like this. There were days and days that we didn't think he would make it. Today, Grandaddy is still in rehab. We were in the hospital for 40+ days, and now, we are hoping to go home tomorrow. It is ONLY by God's grace that my Grandaddy is still living. Our family has drawn closer to each other through these times. It has been the hardest adventure of my life, thus far. There were many moments that I spent standing by my Grandaddy's bed, holding his hand, talking to him, while I didn't even know if he would ever wake up. One day, I just stood and begged him to make it through this. I told him how much I needed him to wake up. No one will ever be able to tell me that patients cannot hear you when you talk to them while they are "asleep". I 100% know my Grandaddy heard me talking to him. There were many nights, one in particular, that I was on my knees at my bed, begging God to wake him up and fix this. There were days that he would crash, and the fear would grip my heart, and all you can do is pray. As Grandaddy woke up, he had some insanley crazy moments. Now, we can look back and smile, but it was so incredibly scary for me. My Grandaddy would wake up and think we were in Alaska. He avidly believed he was in his Air Force days. There were days we were in an airplane, days we were trying to escape from the black market. We literally traveled the world. I am SO SO SO thankful that my Grandaddy knows he is home now. He's not confused anymore, and that in itself is a miracle. The amazing nursing staff in CTRU allowed us to hang paper Purple Martins above his bed, so that it looked like his favorite birds, and then one day he thought they were attacking him. It has been a whirlwind!
When we forget to continually seek God, He will remind us that He IS God, and we do need Him. I am thankful for the journey my savior has brought me through, and I know He is not done yet. He is not done with me.
I am eternally grateful for all of the thoughts and prayers. Our family has been so blessed to be surrounded with so many wonderful people. Our church families and friends combined have been our rocks. If I had ever questioned that friends were blessings from God, I will never again. God always knew when to send that perfect person on their way. I cannot say thank you enough. the nursing staff has been amazing. I am so thankful to have some amazing friends and we have met some AMAZING people. Thank you Melanie, Jonathan, Bryan, Shelly, Jason, Vicki, Matt, Haley, Michael, Jaime....I almost hate to say any names because I will forget people, we would have never made it without such amazing nurses!! Ya'll were truly truly amazing. Thank you to my friends for being there. Thank you to my teachers for helping me to navigate through school alongside this. Thank you, you know who you are, for standing by us. For every message, every wall post, every phone call, every text, every hug...you are truly the best. God has blessed us.
Our God is an amazing God. Even through the trials, I praise Him. Let me challenge you to find Him even in the rough stuff. He is there. I promise. Seek Him, and you will find Him.
Day 60
Much Love,
Christy
Grandaddy got a pass to go home last week, for 4 hours...
Can you guess who brought him the blanket? :) He actually gave that to me for my birthday several years ago.
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