Pacemaker

A few months ago my dad was out on one of his daily walks when he said that everything just stopped... and then started up again. He didn't tell me about this until a couple weeks ago when he shared that he needed to have a pacemaker installed. Apparently, his heart chambers weren't communicating as they should have which caused them to skip beats.

So Friday I took my dad into get his pacemaker. Before the surgery my dad was told there were a number of things he wouldn't be able to do once he had the surgery (such as use a gas chain saw) so he was pleased when the doctor and Medtronic Rep assured him that he would be fine. My dad is a very active 84 year old who owns 4 gas chain saws. And now he is looking forward to cutting down the neighbors dead trees.

Waiting to go into surgery.

See the toilet? Yeah, that's it hidden under that bench so you can go to the bathroom right next to your bed. Weird, but I guess it saves space. 

I was hoping to bring Riley back and walk through the hospital marsh, but it was raining by the time we returned.

My dad got through the surgery without any issues. I was surprised at how small an incision they made. I actually took a picture of it so my dad could see as he was on bed rest at the time. I used my good judgement and decided not to post it here. It's really not that disturbing, but certainly not for everyone. I brought Riley back around dinner time to see her grandpa. Unfortunately, she was wired up which was probably super annoying to the other patients on his wing which was simply 4 'rooms' separated by curtains.

On the way out Riley saw some Sesame Street character stuffed animals in the gift shop window. As we passed by she told them good bye and that she loved them. She's been doing this with a lot of things... like her water bottle which has been getting a lot of hugs lately. She's a nut (just like her dad).

The next day my dad was to get out of the hospital around 10 so I called over at 9, but wasn't able to get through. After multiple attempts I went to the hospital and found my dad waiting in the lobby for a cab. Apparently, he tried called me multiple times, but couldn't get through. Oh, the shame if my dad had to take a cab home.

My dad pretty much resumed his regular schedule as soon as he got out of the hospital by driving over to my mom's nursing home (I followed him for good measure). Apparently, not even a surgery can keep my dad down.