Unbelievable Week

< If anyone told me last Monday that we would be traveling through many states to get to Michigan quickly, I would have told them they were crazy.

On Monday, Presidents day, we got a call from Bill's sister saying we had better head home. Bill's dad had fallen on Friday night/Saturday AM, and broken his hip. He was scheduled for surgery, but due to his potassium levels due to kidney function, it was delayed. However, sometime during the night on Sunday, he had a heart attack, and things headed from bad to worse. We tried to get a flight in on Monday, or at least Bill out on Monday, and due to the weather in Michigan, we were unable to get a flight until Thursday. Bill could have gotten out Wednesday night, but we didn't figure we would gain much. Long story short, we found flights on Expedia, and arrived Tuesday night, after taking three planes, and two airlines.

We went straight to the hospital, and were able to see Bob. Long story short, things were not good. We had a family meeting the next day, and it seemed that things were going in a positive direction, so we held onto hope. Thursday, Bob was breathing on his own, and we really had hope. Unfortunately, on Thursday night, things turned, and he was back on the respirator on Friday morning. The doctor stated that she would pull him off all pain and sedation meds to see if they could get any response. Unfortunately, by late afternoon, there was still no response. Bob had been on continuous dialysis for 5 days, along with the heart only functioning at 50%, and the respirator, things were not moving in a positive direction. The Dr then suggested that we meet with the Palliative team and decide what to do next. Bob's patient advocate stated that he did not want life support unless it was short term, and there was hope for recovery. The palliative team informed us that they had tried all forms of treatment, and that he was not responding. Being that this was against his wishes to continue keeping him alive by machinery and medication, the family honored his wishes and had all the "stuff" removed. Pastor Dave was with us, and all of the family was there, and after a few short hours, he drifted quietly off to sleep, and was finally at peace. It has been a few tough days, but we are thankful that we are all together.
The last few days have been busy with planning for the service on Thursday. We spent Saturday at the funeral home and florist, and Sunday, we stayed home, going through pictures and paperwork. Bill & I found a great photo of Dad that none of us had seen. It speaks volumes of Bob's character and it is now a favorite of ours.
Monday, Kristin & I snuck to Ohio for a few hours to visit with my grandparents. It was three hours and a smidge down, and about 4 hours back with a dinner stop....all worth it. It was a surprise for Grams & Gramps...and we stopped to get flowers for Grams, as her birthday is Thursday. It was a nice day, and Kristin got to see her Big Papa. Ryan & Bill stayed here and worked on some things for Thursday. We were able to change our tickets to fly back to Oregon on Sunday, and are so thankful for Jenny who is watching the house and all the animals for us.



Today we did some cleaning...some running around, and then spent a nice evening with some life long friends of Bill's. It was a nice change, and the place we met in Ann Arbor was full of character, and great food!





I have also posted a few pictures..I guess it's not all been a drag. Ryan is tired of shoveling snow....we did get some REAL chili dogs, and cribbage has been played with Grandma.



Off to bed, a few things to do before Thursday....and hoping to sleep in tomorrow!

Thanks to all for your prayers, your cards, your calls, your e-mails and your face book messages...it means so much to us.