48 Hours Are Over!

My dad passed the critical 48 hour mark at 3:00 this afternoon. And at 2:30, he was transferred out of the ICU and into a regular cardiac care ward! Great news! (Also great news, Michael and Lucas and Dottie arrived safe and sound this afternoon after a grueling car trip!)

He is feeling VERY feisty and he's very confused, which is making for an interesting combination today. He called Judy and I both into ICU this morning to make sure we knew about his will, made sure we wouldn't fight over his assets, and made sure that certain provisions were made despite the fact that his will stipulates we get everything 50/50. He was sure he was going to die. I tried to convince him that he was going to be just fine, but he didn't believe me and after a point I realized that it was making him more aggravated to try and argue with him than to just agree to whatever he said.

He kept saying that he was so confused and he didn't know what day it was or what time it was. I told him several times it was Sunday at noon, but he kept trying to find his watch. He demanded to have his checkbook, even though it's at home at the moment. I promised to bring it back with me on Wednesday, so Tuesday I'll spend the day at home with his lengthy list of demands, getting things he wants from the house.

When he got moved over, he was very unhappy in his new bed. The sheets and blankets were tucked in and he asked me to please untape his toes. He was furious that the nurses had taped his toes together. He kicked the blankets off, but we couldn't find any tape on them (obviously). So he kicked me out and Judy went in, and he demanded to know why they had tied his feet together! Eventually they just uncovered his feet and pulled the sheets out from under the mattress and he felt better. Until the doctor came in and he asked the doctor, "How much longer do I have to put up with this bullshit?" "What bullshit is that, George?" "Sitting in this hospital, I want to go home."

They tried explaining that he had a major incident and major surgery and he needs a lot of recovery time, but he didn't want to hear it. He is supremely unhappy today. I think it's probably a very good sign. We left around 5pm to try and give him time to rest. Tomorrow Lucas will stay here with the babies and Judy, Michael, and I will all return to the hospital for some quiet visits. The new ward that he's on is right next to a family lounge, which is WAY NICER than the waiting room for ICU, so I'm excited to have a new place to relax and hang out.

As I said, I'll be in Star Lake on Tuesday and would love to see anyone and everyone who wants to come visit. I'll be bringing Leah with me, so she can meet her NY relatives :-)

Still not sure what will happen the rest of the summer. I'm inclined to think I'm on an extended vacation up here, but of course I have a lot to do at home too, so we're going to have to see what's what.

That's all for tonight! I'm thrilled Dad's doing so much better, but I hope he'll continue to allow his body to heal (he's convinced his muscles have all atrophied already!).