Our Visit With Grandpa

We left for Florida Friday evening around 5:00 right after DH got home from work. We stopped for gas, windshield washer fluid, the bank, and then to my dear friend, Becky's house to pick up the portable DVD player we borrowed for the trip down. THANK YOU, B! What a life saver. Then a quick drive thru at Mickey D's and we were on our way.The trip was loooooooooooooooong and uneventful. We had stopped off at a rest area to try and sleep for a few hours, but wound up leaving after a few minutes because it was way too hot in the car (and way toooooouncomfortable), plus that fact that Skippy didn't want us to sleep with the windows wide open. So, I drove for a bit while David slept. I HATE driving at night, but it was a good chance for me to do some deep thinking. (OUCH......it always hurts when I do that!)We arrived Saturday morning around 9:00, just in time for breakfast. My mother-in-law, Pat, made us bacon and eggs. It was wonderful after a long drive, plus not having to cook it myself, made it that much tastier........YUMMY!

When we arrived, D's parents were there plus one of his brothers, Sam. His other brother Norman was working and would not be home until after 5. David brought Steven's PlayStation 2 with us along with some of his favorite games, including SpongeBob Squarepants and Guitar Hero. D said, now you can, "Beat the pants off your uncles!" B looks very, very tired. He has lost 35 pounds in the last couple of months. I have never seen him like this, not even after his liver transplant. P said he looks a lot better than he had. I just can't imagine. It is so good to see him in spite of the circumstances. B and I are very close and it hurts my heart to see him like this. But, I know God is in control of this situation so I shall not fear! :)

We ran to the bank before it closed and stopped on the way back to get S a treat.....a Peanut Butter Cup milkshake from Dunkin Donuts. It was a good thing we did because it cost $6.58. OH MY GOSH!!!!! I asked her why it cost that much and she said, "Well, you ordered two donuts as well.” No, I did not I told her. She said...."Well, that's ok; I didn't charge you for them anyway!" ???????

We hung around the rest of the afternoon catching up with each other then we all went out to dinner. After that, D's mom took us to Daytona, where she had a surprise for the three of us. They had gotten us a room for Saturday evening. It wasn't just at a hotel......it was a BEAUTIFUL resort called The Cover. We had a two bedroom suite with a full kitchen, washer/dryer, two full bathrooms with jacuzzi tubs and glass showers, a private balcony for each room, and three full screen TV wall units. They also had a pool, but, but not just any pool. It was a huge water slide with a lazy river and wading pool. S loved it and was so excited, that's all he talked about for hours. WOW!! Thank you, P & B!!!Sunday, we all met at 1:30 and went over to Gainesville where the hospital is to check in and to find the hotel we will be staying at until B is released. He has changed his mind many times about the surgery, flipping back and forth between I am not having this surgery to I know this is what I have to do. I really can't say I blame him with everything he has been through in the past. He has had to take frequent doses of medicine to clean his system out before his surgery tomorrow and it is causing him to be sick. Oh, how I wish I could take all this pain away from him!!! There is not much we can do accept all here with him to support him, get him what he needs, and tell him how much we love him!We are spending the evening at the hotel to get ready for tomorrow, but most importantly to just be together! B is already in his pj's and is trying to rest in between his many trips to the bathroom, poor guy, but he seems to be managing it all ok. What a trooper!! With all of the changes over the past few days, he has been doing so very well, but he is just not himself. B cried and told P that he was so afraid he was not going to wake up this time.Ok, going to get S his medicine and get everyone into bed. I will write again in the morning.

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Monday morning, B & P were up 5:00 and at the hospital b 6:00 a.m. DH and his brother S, were there by 8:00. They got there just before they brought him to surgery. P and I waited in the waiting room until about 12:00, when the Dr. came in. He was smiling from ear to ear. He said everything went very well, and he was extremely pleased. B was in recovery and we should be able to see him around 2:00. PRAISE THE LORD!!!By 3:00, B was in a room. He was hoarse and in pain, but was in good spirits. He slept on and off for awhile, waking up to get a drink of water. P, his wife, was by his bedside just doting on him. It was so sweet to watch! We left the hospital about 6:00 to go have dinner and then went back. They had decided to give him solid foods to B's delight. He had not eaten for 4 days. When we returned, he had eaten and looked a whole lot better and had some color to his face. B said he was feeling good! So, about 8:00, DH and I took S back to the hotel to swim for about a half hour before it closed, but S said the water was too cold, so we went back to the room to play video games. He LOVED that!Tuesday morning, P was up bright and early and was at the hospital by 8:00. We overslept and didn't get there until 12:00. When we arrived, B was in a lot of pain and he had been extremely nauseous all night and all morning. He was not able to eat anything accept jello. After while, P said that he looked funny and went and felt his head. She said he is burning up, so I went and got the nurse and they checked his temperature. It was 103*F. They immediately called the Dr. He said he was not worried at this point, that this was somewhat normal, but that they would keep a very close eye on him because of his medical history. They also want to make sure he drinks LOTS and LOTS of water so he does not get dehydrated.Skippy, Kiddo, and I are back at the hotel right now. B wanted to sleep, so P asked if we would go do something fun, so we came back to go swimming. Unfortunately, it started to rain so we are just relaxing right now watching tv, playing video games, and blogging, waiting for it to pass! I will update when we find out more information on B. He was supposed to go home tomorrow, but on that, we will have to wait and see.

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Wednesday morning, we woke up late. I hate those hotel curtains......they keep the room so dark you think it's really early......... BUT IT'S NOT! :>0 We arrived at the hospital about 12:30, where we then spent the next 45 minutes driving in circles in the parking garage looking for a place to park. When we arrived at B's room, he was sitting up in bed looking much better than he did when we left him the evening before. His color was better, he was eating some, his fever was gone, and he was generally just feeling better! This was wonderful to see. OUR GOD IS AN AWESOME GOD!!!!! Since B was doing well, we decided to get S home. Schooling has proven to be somewhat difficult while here under the circumstances, but we have had a chance to do some work. We even did the M&M experiment using probability, estimation, averaging, etc. Dad, Uncle Sam, and grandma had NO trouble helping him with this project! :>) (yummmmm!) Well, with things quiet and S getting ready for bed, I will take this opportunity to say thank you to everyone who had kept B and his family in their thoughts and prayers. He was extremely touched by all the people that were praying for him. Please keep B and his family in your prayers as he will be undergoing a kidney transplant once he has regained his health. Also, please pray for my DH. He has volunteered himself as a possible donor for his dad's transplant. He is praying that God give will give him the wisdom and guidance to make the right decision.

Thank you again!

Blessings~
Laura