I love my dad!

My dad is one of those people who everyone likes. He makes potential suitors nervous with his deep baritone voice and yet always has a way to make friends laugh. If I ever need advice or just someone to bounce ideas off of, he is the person I go to. I have been blessed to have both of my parents in my life, but to have such a caring, softie of a father is extra special as far as father's go. I cannot wait to someday (please?) be married and have my father be there. A father fills such a large part of a daughter's heart, a part that nobody else can fill.

Two Friday's ago my family had quite a scare. My sister called me to let me know she was worried about how my dad was sounding on the phone. I called him and he was really out of it. He said he didn't feel well. I asked him some easy questions, but he struggled to think and couldn't retrieve information that was simple. For those who know my dad he is a walking Jeopardy game, Smithsonian magazine and calculator all rolled into one. So when he couldn't answer very coherently, my first thought was that something was affecting his brain.

My mom was at work until late and she wasn't answering her phone, so I called the cops to check on him at my friend Kris' suggestion. It was all out of my hands from there. The cops got a ward member over to take my dad to the insta-care, then the hospital. The CT scan showed something abnormal in his brain. So Friday night they sent my parents on life flight to SLC where they had neurosurgeons. My dad was in the hospital for a little over one week. After a few differential diagnoses, a couple MRI's and treatment, it was decided that he'd had a hemorrhagic stroke. It was on the left side, which is mainly cognition and speech. He will have to do months of therapy in order to get everything back up to speed. It has been really scary and I've never thought I might lose my dad or anyone that close to me before. I had a massive headache all Saturday from crying but I was so lucky to be with Dana and other supportive friends through this. I have faith that things are going to be okay.

I talked to my dad for the first time on Saturday after all of this, almost a week since I knew something was really wrong and called the police. When I heard my dad’s voice it was all I could do to keep from crying. I choked out a hello and asked him how he was doing. He sounded perfectly normal and told me he was doing just fine, not to worry. (Leave it to my dad to go through this and say everything was great.) He said just a few memory things need to get back to normal. It was so nice to talk to him and let him know how scared I was for him when I called last Friday. He wanted to hear about me, how work was going and I told him about getting an extra day of hygiene work and getting my own place. My dad eventually told me he was feeling pretty pooped, but said “I am so proud of you girl” and told me he loved me. I could barely get the words out back to him because I was so emotional. Talking to my dad was unbelievably comforting. I love him so much and I am so lucky that I got to keep him. :)

One of the best things that will most likely come of this is a move for my parents up to Bountiful area. It will be wonderful for them to be closer to family. And even more wonderful for when I get to come out and visit, because I will get to see EVERYONE I love so much all at once! I know that the Lord has kept His hand in these things. I know that the Lord influenced my sister to call dad when she did because he'd been fine just a couple hours earlier. I know that my dental hygiene education prepared me well to see the symptoms for something serious and act on it. I am constantly grateful for the blessings that the Lord will give us if we just ask.