November 27, 2012 - Do I Go or Do I Stay?

Do I go or Do I Stay?

Today was a long day, but not nearly as long as yesterday ... Well, depending on what time you start your day! Christy and I stayed with dad last night and we didn't sleep at all. Well, I did snooker off for about ten minutes, but I woke myself up and never did even try after that. After almost loosing dad yesterday morning (more than once!!) we just had to keep an eye on him.

Sometime after 8:00 this morning Christy went home so her son could use her car. I stayed till Conrad came to get me. He arrived and stayed for a few minutes, then we stopped by Starbuck's, got our favorite breakfast, and came back to the house. I pretty much went straight to bed and slept for three or so hours, then took a shower and was ready to get back up to see dad.

We played fruit basket turnover because mom went up there as we left, and when she was ready to leave, we were going back in. She said dad asked for me the entire time. Bill was also up there when we got there and Christy came back shortly after us. Eventually, all of us were there at the same time and I needed their help.

I had a decision to make ... Do I go on home to California or do I stay another week? I decided I would ask my family to help me decide ... Including dad. I even posted on Facebook to get the much appreciated opinions of my wonderful friends. (Thank you all for replying!!) I decided I would weight some of the responses ... Dad's answer would represent 20% of the vote, Conrad's would also represent 20% while mom, Bill, Christy and I would each get 15%.

The nurses came in the clean dad up and check his vitals, etc., so we decided to use that time to look at options and place our votes. I asked one of the nurses if she'd do me a favor ... Please talk to dad to see how he felt about me leaving or possibly staying. She agreed to do it. The rest of us were in a waiting room, so I handed out slips of paper that said, " Carol ... Stay ... Or ... Go"

I explained that if I went home tomorrow I didn't know when I would be back, however, if something happened to dad I'd do my best to get back. I told them I would check about changing my flights so I would be able to stay another week or so. So, we voted.
Mom = Go.
Bill = Go.
Christy = Go.
Carol = Stay.
Conrad = Stay.
If you do the math, either way, without dad's vote, the "go" votes won. We all knew dad would ask me to stay. With his vote, that pushed extending my stay over the top. Conrad explained that by adding one more week that would give us seven more days to see how dad will be doing. The way he explained it was awesome. I knew in my heart that staying was the right thing to do. The selfish part of me wanted to go home because I miss my home, my cats, my friends, our walks, our bed, our life. The other part of me knows my dad would miss me terribly and that he listens to me, trusts me, and will likely do better if I am here. I don't mean to sound arrogant, but we just have that kind of relationship. We always have.

As it turned out, the nurse talked to daddy and said, "your daughter is going home tomorrow, isn't she?"
Dad said, "yes."
She said, "I bet you'd like for her to say, wouldn't you?"
He said, "yes."
She said, "do you want her to stay for your wife? Or for you?"
He said, "I want her to stay for me."

So, I went back to the house, got my paperwork out and called United. I had already pulled up the available flights online and found the ones I wanted. Knoxville to Denver to Sacramento. Inexpensive, too. I told the girl it was a medical emergency and told her about my dad. She took care of everything ... Updated my flights, selected my seats, and issued a credit voucher for almost $400.00! Can't beat that!

Conrad and I went back up to the hospital to see dad. I told dad about my flight changes. He smiled and thanked me. I think he knew Christy and I are helping out with the guardian angel duty ...