A year ago today was one of the most terrifying days of my life.
My Daddy went in to have surgery on his neck to fix a couple of bones that were in need of repair. From everything the doctor doing the surgery said it was pretty routine and he did thousands of these surgeries a year. He did say there was risk of heart attack but that he had never had a patient suffer from one so he wasn't concerned but he did have to let us know it was a risk with the surgery. Daddy went back and they performed the surgery. I was 6 months pregnant and refused to leave until I saw with my own eyes that he was okay. So reluctantly they let me back to see him in recovery. I fed him ice chips and found him some water finally. I felt comfortable with what I saw and went home. That was in the middle of the afternoon.
Later that evening at around 7:30 my Mom called and said that Dad was having some chest pains and they were doing some tests. Seth was on his way home from work. He had been working all day. I called him hysterical. My Daddy was having a heart attack and I was 30 miles away. Mom told me to come as soon as I could but to wait for Seth and not to drive because I tend to speed in times like that. Seth got home and we left. On the way there Mom called again and said they were taking Daddy back for emergency surgery. I made it to Lawton right after they took him back. I was a wreck. But in true "Denisa" fashion I kept it together until my Uncle Peaches called me. I was strong for my Mom, my grandparents, and my brother who was in Illinois. It felt like a nightmare.
Seth stayed until we saw the doctor and I knew my Daddy was okay. Then I sent him home. I stayed until I got to see my Daddy. I got to see them wheel him out of the operating room and to the ICU department. I waited til they said I could go back and see him. Once I knew he was okay I let my Uncle Joe take me home. I went to the hospital every single day he was there. I was so thankful to Dr. Mark Duncan for leaving his family to come and be with mine. And I was so grateful to Dr. Saliba and Dr. Pariq (not sure I spelled that right) for getting through the blockage and making sure my Daddy lived. Because of these men I still have my Daddy. Talent has his Poppy and my life is so blessed. I font know if these men know how much they mean to my family....or to me. But in my eyes they are heroes. They saved the life of the first man I ever loved.
So today I just wanted to say I'm thankful to have had the last year I've had with my Daddy. I know it could have been a lot worse. And I'm so thankful it wasn't.
