A week in Springfield

Last Sunday morning, shortly after J. left for church and as I was preparing to leave the house for my church, the phone rang. It was my sister who lives in Springfield. She said that an ambulance had just taken Dad to St. John’s Hospital. She said Mother had the cell phone with her and to call her on it. I tried calling her but could get no answer. (I later learned she left the house without it.) I called J. on her cell at the Methodist church and told her what was happening. She did not stay for the Sunday morning service, but came home immediately after Sunday school.

She started packing for a week as soon as she got home. Meanwhile, I delivered a sheet cake to the HAT meeting which started at 1 PM. The sheet cake was in honor of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin. I arrived at the library meeting room just as the library opened. I told those who were there that I had a family emergency and would be traveling to Springfield. Although Gail was at the HAT meeting, I sent her an e-mail later postponing our weekly practice session. (We are scheduled to play the special music tomorrow at Church of the Restoration.)

When I got back home, J. had finished packing, so we hit the road. Darkness fell as we passed through Joplin. There was less then an hour of visiting time remaining for the day by the time we arrived at the hospital. We got the key to the apartment from my mother and stayed there for the night. For the next five days we spent the daylight hours with my father in his hospital room and slept at my parents’ apartment. My mother spent all her time with my father in his hospital room.

What had happened to my father was this: Possibly as a result of the gall bladder surgery he had on Jan. 28, blood clots formed just above his left knee cap (on the back side of the leg). The clots (or a portion of them) broke away and traveled to near his lungs. When they lodged there, they caused him pain. He called for an ambulance on Sunday morning.

It was an ultrasound examination that revealed the blood clots. His heartbeat fluctuated much during his first hours in the hospital. Medicine stabilized the heart rate. Blood thinners dissolved the blood clot. The use of blood thinners was complicated by treatment for a prior condition known as AAA.

Dad came home on Friday around noon. We spent the night with them and left early next morning.

We arrived back in Sand Springs in time for me to attend the Progressive Revival 2009 being held at the Congregational Church. First to speak was Robin Meyers (author of Why the Christian Right is Wrong) of OKC. He talked about the state legislature and what bills to expect to come forth from this legislative body now that the Republicans are in control.

I was glad to read on Marti’s blog that Galen is continuing to recover from heart surgery. We met again after being separated by four decades of time. Galen is the kind of Christian you wish every Christian could be.