Sunday, April 20, 2008

April 20 2008 - Mis-titled?

I know this blog is supposed to be about our old farmhouse....but maybe I just should have called it "My Life".....cuz I'm not going to be writing about the old farmhouse today.

Last night my daughter and I drove back from Charleston SC playing a vehicular version of "leap frog" with my oldest brother Kevin. The three of us had headed up to MUSC to see Daddy Mac after open heart surgery......and as is the norm with our family, the trip was filled with mis-adventure and comedic moments galore!

Although Daddy Mac and Jan live in Kentucky at the moment, it was a no-brainer that he'd go to Charleston for his surgery...after all, we have a large family up there and who wouldn't want to combine a family get-together with open heart surgery. But anyone who shares our surname either in fact or in heritage seems to have a genetic disposition for drama!

First off the bat, Dad's fairly routine surgery (valve replacement) turned out not to be so routine.....tests showed he needed not only a new valve, but that it would be a cow valve instead of the pig valve he thought he'd get (80 year old Daddy Mac LOVES pigs...alive or dead so he was quite happy to share his heart with a pig).....and then there was the addition of a pace maker and then two arterial bypasses. To top off that, he decided to use up an additional four hours of his surgical team's time by bleeding on the table for four hours after the surgery should have been completed....
We got the miracle we all prayed for...despite being told the night of the surgery that he'd be on life support and experience a touch and go 36 or more hours, the next morning he surprised everyone by sitting up and taking nourishment!

But, as I said, we expect bumps in the road where our family is concerned and life couldn't just let Daddy Mac's little episode be the extent of it.......let's see....

1) Stepmother Janice gets up the morning after the surgery, understandably exhausted, stressed and still half asleep from her sleep aid the night before and promptly falls into the toilet tank....which cracks. From her position on the floor, she suddenly realizes she's sitting in water.....so she gets to her knees, runs her finger over the tank and slices it open (her finger...the tank was already ....well...sliced)......Now calling for my dad's sister Kitty....she tried without success to turn off the valve to the tank....meanwhile, the blood from her finger is mixing with the water on the floor and Aunt Kitty walks in to see THAT sight.....Aunt is trying to get Step-Mother to take care of the finger first....Step-Mother is trying to get Aunt to take care of the water first....! And then Aunt Madie, down with a severe cold, is awakened by all the commotion and comes to see what is up....only to be completely ignored for awhile by the other two.....Aunt Kitty calls Brenda who saves the day and has a new toilet installed before the ladies get back from the hospital that evening!

2) Later that same day.....I'm on my way up to Charleston and Jan is trying to call me to let me know that Daddy Mac is doing fantastically but she keeps getting a busy signal for my cell.....uncertain whether to be worried about my safety or furious at my lack of availability she keeps trying.....when I arrive I get the scoop on Dad's condition and then I get the look ....we all know it.....so I say "but Jan, everyone else was getting me on my cell and I have call waiting...can I see your cell for a minute?".....somehow, Jan had saved her own cell phone number over my cell phone number and had spent about 5 hours calling herself........and getting a busy signal! It's not Jan's fault....she just happened to marry into a family where this kind of stuff happens all the time! (Nikki fixed the issue for us!)

3) Next morning, Nikki and I stop at a Target to get her some meds (she's as sick as Aunt Madie!) and my cell rings....it's my sister Amy! Now, Amy's preggo and since her husband is serving in Afghanistan at the moment, I'm supposed to be in the labor and delivery room with her this time....needless to say, Amy's a bit stressed out by my being 4.5 hours away in Charleston SC! Despite a due date the first of May, she's just left the Dr's office and is having contractions, is dialating .....etc....! Telling her to hang in there till Sunday, we head to the hospital to see Daddy Mac..................!

4) Fast forward to Saturday morning....my cousin Donny Mac...at whose home we're staying...wakes up sick as a dog joining Aunt Madie and Nikki in this part of our adventure!...his wife Tammy takes us all to Cracker Barrel for breakfast and then we all head to the hospital to say goodbye to Daddy Mac .....so far so good.....after saying goodbye to Dad, we all head over to see Uncle J.P. who's in the the VA hospital across the street...and have a little get together with some more of our cousins.....Cousin Edwin jokes about having Cousin Butch send us out of Charleston with a police escort to get home to Amy who is still having those contractions off and on! Must have been an omen...............Cuz Donny Mac emails me to tell me that later that day that a family member to remain unnamed (to save my own skin) had run out of gas on the way home from the hospital and called Donny to come and rescue her. Donny, bless his heart, tries to be the hero but realizes he just can't do it cuz he's so sick....so he calls Cousin Butch who..............you guessed it, sends a police car to J....wait a minute I said this family member would remain unnamed.........anyway, Butch sends that car to rescue said family member....I wonder if she was escorted all the way home?

Donny heads to the care center to be diagnosed with strep throat (note to self....remember to tell Nikki to watch out....she's our strep catcher in the Florida bunch of this family!)....... Nikki, Kev and I all get home last evening prepared to head to the hospital to be with Amy and see Olivia be born.....and today, I'm writing this blog because Amy still hasn't gone to the hospital....I guess those contractions were just baby Olivia practicing for her part in the drama of our lives........

It's always good to go home...whether that's in Charleston or here in this old farmhouse....!

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