Tonight, I went to visit my dad again in the surgical ICU at General. He'd just been given a strong pain killer, and was dozing in and out of consciousness, mouth open, tubes once again poking out from every direction. He woke briefly, long enough to recognize that we were standing at his bedside, and then dozed off again.
Suddenly, his green eyes flipped open, and he said, "guess what!"
Stunned, we replied, "what?"
He said, "guess what was on in the operating room?" He didn't wait for us to answer, before he said "Meatloaf!" And smiled weakly. "Who would ever have thought they would be playing Meatloaf in the operating room!"
"What song?" my mom asked.
At this point, he dozed back into sleep.
At 67, he is probably an unlikely candidate for being a Meatloaf fan. But fan he is. For his 60th birthday, I bought him and my mom tickets to see them live. I think it was one of the most memorable moments of my dad's life.
So, that Meatloaf was playing when my dad went in for his fourth (and hopefully final) surgery to repair his lung, to him, this was a sign from God. That God was near, keeping an eye on him.
Tonight, dad rested comfortably in the SICU when we left him. My mom is exhausted. She called me sobbing tonight at 7:30. The only thing I could make out was that she needed me. So I rushed to the hospital.
After waiting 12 hours to see my dad post-op, the SICU secretary refused to allow my mom to see him until precisely the 8 p.m. visiting hour. Not only this, she spoke very tersely to my mom. It was just enough to send her over the edge. That's when she called me sobbing.
We reported her to the charge nurse in surgical services.
What happened to "family centered care?"
Hi Shan, Thank you again for keeping me posted on Dad. I called Debbie earlier and she said she was down there and looked all over for him before they told her that he was still in recovery.So she went home.I hope Dad is ok. It's funny he likes Meatloaf..lol I used to be a big fan too. I wonder if Dad owns the new one Bat out of Hell 3..If not I would like to send it to him. Do you know? Or could you ask your Mom? But not Dad I would want it to be a surprise. Maybe it would seerve as healing music.....I hope that this is the surgery that will make him well again and let him live his life. I talked to him yesterday and we found out that we are both allergic to iodine. Your little girl looks so cute. And those pups she's hanging with look pretty cool too. When you sent me the poem the other day I did not realize that you had lost your dog. I am so sorry....I know what it is like to lose that kind of a friend...keep her memory close to your heart...maybe Grandma will look after her up there in heaven.
ReplyDeleteThank you again...Love Oddie