Family (Dad's bypass surgery)

January 25, 2008

This week has been a little crazy - not just because of all the trips with school and school work, but because my dad is having bypass surgery as I type this entry. There were a few scares this week, since he had a heart attack last week, and has not been stable enough for surgery until today, due to excess fluid in the lungs. After about five hours on the table, Joe has just messaged me that they are patching things up, and that he'll be out of the operating room soon.

It was really difficult to be in another country during an event that is unprecedented in my immediate family. Probably the worst part was that my internet phone setup wasn't working properly, and email is all I had for a while. The last time either of my parents were in the hospital, we were still pretty young. I think, in an effort to get us cleaned up for visiting my mom, my sister cut a piece of Joe's ear off while giving him a haircut! It has made me realize how much our family (extended included) cares about each other, what a close bunch we are, and how frustrating emails can be when you just want to hear a familiar voice.

It's hard to see your parents grow older, and hard when you cannot help make them more comfortable. But it sure made me glad that we spent this Christmas together.

After a lot of days of worrying, I decided to fly home this weekend. I will leave Saturday and return Wednesday. While I will be missing some classes and spending some unplanned money, it just seems like the only thing that will settle all my worries. Thanks for all your thoughts and support.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Baby List!

Baby List Gear Bassinet - Used a hand-me-down bassinet not sure the brand. Only used for 2 months because baby gets too big, moves around too much. Co-sleeper might be nice if breastfeeding, and might be able to be used by baby longer. In retrospect, we should have just used the bassinet on the pack-n-play instead of having a stand-alone bassinet.  Pack-n-play - didn't think we needed one but it's true that you just need places throughout the house to "put baby down" that is not the bed or couch (roll off) or the floor (cold/drafty/dirty). In the kitchen we used a  rock-n-play  (does not take up a ton of space/small footprint), 1st floor living room we used a moses basket on the floor, 2nd floor we used the crib and then the  bjorn bouncer  when she was a little bigger, 3rd floor we used the bassinet and now the pack'n play. We got the  4Moms Playard  with bassinet because it was low-profile, no bells and whistles, and collapses with one-pul...
Read more

Lots of Walking - An American in Tokyo

Image
January 8, 2008 There seems to be a lot of walking in Tokyo, and everyone does it very briskly and silently. Waves of people spill out onto the streets from the subway exits, and know exactly where they are going. Most people are wearing dark colored pants and shoes, and a nice wool coat, and carry a briefcase. The women are wearing heels and skirts, and make the walking look effortless. As I had been warned, I truly stand out in my jeans and sneakers. But, since the cobbler in South Center Mall in Seattle closed early and unannounced before I could pick up my re-heeled and re-soled boots, I'll be in sneakers until I hit some shopping in Roppongi. This morning I got up pretty early and went in search of an American-style breakfast - eggs sounded so good . I gathered all my maps and wandered North from the hotel. I crossed a few small rivers and ended up in an area full of business buildings. I had passed a lot of noodle houses, and was happy to see a Tully's Coffee wit...
Read more

Tiffany Weddings and Camels

April 15, 2008 My brother just got back from our cousin Grass's wedding - "a Tiffany wedding," he called it. My friend Al just called me this morning to announce her and her fiance's wedding date - October 2009. She wants it to be a Tiffany wedding. I had to Google it to find out who Tiffany is . I am disappointed at my ignorance because I've been reading (pretty exclusively) wedding magazines for the last two months. (I try to do this on the DL so that no one will wonder why I'm obsessed with wedding flowers, dresses, locations, and invitations, with no sign of one in sight. The answer is that sometimes I just get into a wedding mood and I'm not above unabashedly planning a non-event). Luckily, Al has chosen me as one of her bridesmaids, and now I have a great excuse to keep obsessing about minutiae leading up to an event that causes thousands, millions of women to become nauseous with worry, excitement, or -- in the case of Heather's cousin-in-l...
Read more