Papa's 2nd Big Scare!!

{July 8, 2010}

After many Doctor appointments over the past 2 months trying to figure out what exactly went on back in May my Dad's Doctor wanted him to go see a Cardiologist. After seeing him the Doctor decided that he wanted him to have an anagram, he said that he should have done that back in May. He told him more then likely having all the other tests come out fine this one will also be fine. So Thursday July 8 my Dad went in and had an anagram done. When he woke up the Doctor explained to him that he has the worst case scenario! He had 4 clogged arteries, 3 that needed to be fixed. He had one that was an 1 1/2 long and 90% blocked. We were all shocked when the Doctor said that he would have to have Triple Bypass the next morning!

Shortly after finding out the news we went to the hospital so the kids could say goodbye to him and so he could get a blessing. Ryan was at a concert when he found out the news so Jayson and his brother Jaren came and gave him a blessing. I don't think any of the kids realized really what was going on, they just thought it was an extra bonus to see their cousins!

Friday July 9 was a very long day. During the surgery their was me, Payton, my Mom, Jaime, Molly, Ryan, Grandpa Rhodes, and Karla. I think for most of the day we were still shocked that this was happening, but happy too know that we were given a chance for him to be healed. He hadn't had a heart attack, he was just getting fixed! Around 11:30 in the morning the Doctor came and told us that he was out of surgery and that everything went as expected. We had to wait another hour until we could see him for the first time. It was hard to see him like that, there is nothing that can prepare you for what you see. It was so hard to see him like that because he is not one to just by lying there, it was just hard to soak it all in that this was happening to us. Throughout the day we could only see him 2 people at a time, every hour on the half hour, and only for 5 minutes. By the time it was my 3 time to go back I felt more at ease to know that he was going to be okay, it was a long day to get to that point, but a peaceful time to end the day and go home and get the kids!

While we were sitting around waiting we decided it was perfect time to document Ry's "cool" hair!

During the day while we were waiting in the waiting room my Grandma and Grandpa Simmons stopped by to see how were doing. 8 years ago my Grandpa Simmons went through Bypass surgery, it was nice to talk to him about it. It was nice having them there and being able to laugh for a second, they always have such adventurous stories about their vacations! While they were there they were talking about when my Grandpa was having heart problems. They told us how their Cardiologist told them that one sign of Heart Disease was a crevasse in the ear lobe. My Grandma said that my Grandpa had it in both ears and while he healed his ears started to go smooth again. So you better believe the next time we went back to see my dad we were checking out his ears and sure enough he had the same thing! We have been taking many pictures of his ears because we also want to see if they smooth out!

I have to say how proud I am of my children. Payton was such a good baby both days at the hospital all day long. He struggled a little bit not being able to get down and crawl around, but he was a great little man! Took many naps and gave us many reasons to smile! The older three did great being shifted around to all my many friends!

I love this picture. It was Saturday morning, we were way tired from the day before, but I was needing to get ready to go back down to the Hospital. Olivia was nice enough to to "babysit" Payton while I got ready, she did a great job getting him to sleep!

I have to give a big shout out to my friends for being so kind taking care of my kids during such a big and emotional weekend. On Friday the Paynes were so nice to have them during the morning and at the end of the day. They had tons of fun, they were still so busy playing and watching movies that they couldn't come right away when I stopped to pick them up! I also have to say thank you so much to the Sandall family for watching them during the afternoon and early evening. They had so much fun swimming and playing around. I feel so lucky that my kids have so many people that will love them and treat them like their own and take such good care of them!

Olivia and Whitney

Olivia, Whitney, Marcus, and Alec

On Saturday there was a Rhodes reunion, so my cousin and friend Shar was brave enough to add three more kids to her three kids and take them with her. They had a wonderful time. They also got to spend some time at my dad's brother Tim's house were they watched movies and made darling Get Well cards for Papa.

Alec, Marcus, Brooklyn, Olivia, Jaguar

This has been hard to go through without Carson hear with me. He is the one that would give me that hug and reassure me that everything would be fine. I really needed him, but it wasn't possible for him to be here. It honestly helped so much by having the help I had that weekend. It was nice to know that my kids were in good hands and I didn't have to hurry back, thank you! I also appreciated all the phone calls that weekend. I always knew that my Dad was a very well liked guy, but I was able to witness it again during that weekend. So many people were tracking down my cell phone number so they could call and see how he was doing. Every ones kind words were so appreciated!

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Sunday after Church got out at 11:30 me and the kids headed down to the hospital to see Papa, he was finally out of ICU. I had just barely got on the freeway when my Mom called and said they were coming home! I was shocked and way excited!!! So me and the kids turned around went to their house and made signs to hang up. They thought it was so much fun!

He is now two 1/2 weeks out of open heart surgery, I am so amazed at how much he can do. Last week he had a little set back, he found out he was have fluid on his lungs. After a few Doctor appointments he found out that he will just have to wait out the discomfort and let the fluid re-absorb back into his body. Truly he is a trooper. He has lost a lot of weight, he looks a little weak, but he is doing amazing. He is able to walk 1 mile two times a day! I am so thankful we have been given a second chance!!!