Part 163 Tearful prayers


I rest at home the day following the procedure, with considerable soreness but nothing
I can’t tolerate. Football games are on TV (which I glance at periodically) with the sound off. I listen to the Beach Boys’ newly released but previously recorded “Smile” album. I enjoy hearing it although much of it I am familiar with from previous albums and from Brian Wilson’s release several years ago of the album in its entirety. In any form, it’s an impressive piece of music. At night I have football still on, and I pay more attention as it is the two top ranked LSU and Alabama teams.

My brother calls me the next day to inform me that my dad is in the ER at the hospital. Bree is at a birthday party, so Becah and Brooke and I drive over in the early afternoon to see him. Tensions have been brewing between Becah and I, and a big argument chooses to surface amid all this. Arriving, we find dad uncommunicative. He appears to have had a stroke, although tests have not indicated this. It was determined that he suffers from liver and kidney problems (his skin does have a yellowish tint). Dad is unable to visually track or to respond to our words. We visit the hospice several floors above. It is roomy, with a nice view. The doctor has determined that he will go directly there instead of being admitted to the hospital.

Dad looks really bad today. He has plummeted downhill in just the past few weeks. Becah and Brooke go to the nearby mall while I stay awhile longer. He has been in ER for over five hours when we leave, but for hospitals, that’s not a surprise.

Prayers tonight at home are tearful.

I take the next day off to rest before driving to the hospice with my family. Despite my reservations, the kids have decided they want to see Granddaddy. My mom had called earlier and said he was “gurgling”. We arrive and Brooke immediately wants to leave the room. Breanna stays longer, but after about fifteen minutes we all leave.