On Thursday my father-in-law, Don, was admitted to the ICU for a torn esophagus. He had been puking up blood for hours. The doctors sedated him, gave him an exam and then clipped or stapled the 5mm opening shut. (It is amazing to me that they can do that!) Next, they put him on a breathing tube and let him rest for a few days. Part of the issue was the danger of Don coughing roughly and tearing out the staples/clips, which would cause the bleeding to resume. One doctor said that Don would likely die. Another said that Don might live, but that if he had any hints of dementia, it would likely develop much faster and that Don might be bed ridden the rest of his life. One of them said that there was a very slim chance that he might be okay, but weak.
On Sunday the doctors took Don off of the medicine that was keeping him sedated. We were all anxious to find out what Don would be like after he woke back up. Waking up took a long time. Amazingly, he was responding to questions even before he appeared to be fully awake. He would nod his head or grip your hand when you asked him a question. Once he was fully conscious his health numbers were good. Then the breathing tube came out. I imagine that all of the sons held their breaths to see what would happen. Don simply breathed on his own. A bit later he was even attempting to tell a joke or two. He will stay in the ICU for a few more days, just to be sure that he can eat and breath on his own without ripping out the staples/clips. Then he will be moved to another wing in the hospital or into a care facility for a while. We all determined that his speedy return was a birthday miracle. After all, Sunday was his actual birthday.
Sunday was a big day for Ethan as well. On Wednesday he received a call from a company that he had been hoping to work for. They called to say that they would put him on a crew to do geological field work for a few weeks. The owner told him that his attitude was good and that if it was still that way after the trail project, that there might be a future for him with the company.
They sent him the employee packet. He gathered what he needed and headed off to the airport very early on Sunday morning. Today he met with the folks in the office and then was sent off to the crew. He is very excited for this opportunity. I am proud of and glad for him. However, I will miss him as he will be living in a hotel for the next few weeks.
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