15:29 Thursday September 25, 2008
E-mail to cousin Linda Fidler:
The surgery went very well. The surgeon was pleased. Mike and I had to leave him at the Arkansas Heart Hospital in Little Rock after lunchtime today (just got home) because neither one of us can really afford to miss more work. Dad was doing very well, considering what he’s been through. When we left, they were disconnecting him from some more tubes and were going to help him sit up in a chair for a few minutes. If all keeps going well, they’ll let him come home to Mountain View early in the week. I will keep you updated. And, I’ll let “Uncle Richard” know that Linda asked about him. Our dads — they definitely don’t make them like that any more, do they?
15:34
Families are to be treasured, that’s for sure.
You may have noticed I’ve been missing. Or not. I know there are a few who actually read my blog, and I appreciate you. Mostly, it’s a place where I can get off my chest what’s on my mind and what’s going on.
Got up early Tuesday and was waiting on Mike and Dad to pick me up so I could get Dad to Little Rock for his bypass surgery. We had only learned a week before, when he landed in the hospital with an irregular heartbeat (occurring off and on for at least the last 7 years) that the left main artery to his heart was 85 percent blocked. He was very lucky to be alive.
So, I awoke to find out that my Dish TV DVR was not working. The new TV season had just begun 8 hours earlier. I had favorite classics saved on the DVR. I’ve lived with TiVO at least 10 years and have been a bit disappointed in the Dish DVR, but I’m making due.
Mike and Dad pull into the driveway while I’m on the phone to “Frank” with his Indian accent. He turns me over to “Angie” who says the problem has been noted and “is being taken care of.”
Not only can I not record my shows on two different dishes, I cannot pause live television! Holy shit. I can’t back it up if I accidentally missed something. I can’t fast forward over commercials for gosh sakes!!! If Don & I want to get up and pee off the porch (OK – only one of us does that) or rush to the bathroom because your partner is busting your onions so hard you’re either gonna make it or you’d better invest in a package of Depends (OK – only one of us does that too).
Don’s perfectly fine with it. It annoys the crap out of him when I pause. When I fast forward. When I keep going back and still miss the beginning of the “now back to the program.” He’d much rather revert back to nothing but live TV and me having to sit there and keep my dang mouth closed. Who can blame him? He had turned over complete control, and now, he’s experiencing a whiff of freedom. The second I walk into the door after work, he slides the remote to me across the laminate floor. Well, the hard drive on the Dish DVR is kaput. Now I will have to wait for another one.
The main reason I’ve not been on the computer lately … my sister Sharolyn died Labor Day night. She is legally my sister-in-law. But, she’s been my sister for 35 years. She’s put up with my eldest brother, Bob, for that long. She’s guided me through boy troubles from the time I was 10 until … well, now. But, mainly, she’s been a stabilizing influence for my “hippy” brother nearly his entire life.
It’s hard enough to lose our mother. Like Dad said, “The loss of your lifetime mate is the worst possible thing that can happen.”
We kidnapped Bob and brought him down here to hillbilly central for a week. He is the third Old Fartt to my resident 2 Old Farttz. I have some video I am going to share. Brother Bob has been a drummer extraordinaire from as long as I can remember. He brought his little electric drum kit and jammed with Don & Aurby. We wish he was less than 500 miles away. Bob is going through a tough time, y’all. Please keep him in your prayers.
Mike, Dad, Bob and I all came home from Yankee land with a terrible chest cold. The day after Bob went home, Dad felt especially ill and, thank God, recognized his heart arythmia (sp). He went to the hospital. He came home for a few hours. He went to the hospital.
I got chided. At work. I got offered a part-time position due to my excessive absenteeism. I missed 6 weeks because I had to have a bone spur removed which I had acquired from working at said place of business. I used to run lots of 5Ks and never acquired such a problem. Anyhoo … then, my sister passed away. Then we all got bronchitis. Then our Dad needed open heart surgery. Shame on me.
I just talked to Nurse Bill. He is such a cool guy, taking care of Dad in our absence. And, it ends up, small world that it is … Mike has worked on Bill’s uncle’s house in Mountain View … A LOT.
So, we leave Dad in the hands of Bill. But more importantly, in the hands of Jesus. There are no coincidences. Dad was cold and pale and exactly as described beforehand by his angelic surgeon last night. Mom spoke to me, and I held onto Dad’s shoulder, acting only as the conduit, as Mom told him something known only to the two of them.
Julie
AKA
Sissypuss
