Sunday Conclusions

Yet again the day has been filled with moments of progress and hope--and lots of visitors, which we have enjoyed! Again we thank all of you--we are grateful for all the support and love.

In addition to people listed previously, we also had nice visits from Elaine and Stirling Brinkerhoff, Barbara & John Hansen, Cory Cummings & Keith Davies (valiant home teachers), Greg and Saige Bonner, Dianna Hasselfeld (thanks for the cute grandma kit!), Maryetta Tsukamoto, and more family members. Thanks again for the continuous stream of food (the soup is delicious Sherrill). Since Randy did not get to visit all of you, and since he may not remember these days, we wanted to keep track of visitors here. If we missed your name, we apologize--we're a bit spacey at times.

Randy became quite alert tonight. His eyes were wide open, and he was looking around the room with interest. He asked Kevin and April if we were in France, and he asked Barbara if he was in a new room. He told Tyler and Andrea he thought it was 1979, yet he remembered the names of all his grandchildren without hesitation. When Kevin told him he was at the U of U hospital and that he had had a heart attack, Randy wrinkled his brow and said "That doesn't sound good." Later, Barbara asked if he knew why he was in the hospital, and he replied "I think I had a heart attack. . . how did that happen?"

Tonight's attentive nurse is Nurse Sloan, and she is very kind. Before the shift change, Barbara went to thank Nurse Valerie, who works Friday-Sunday, and said "I probably won't see you again since he will be moved before your next shift, and I want to thank you for all of your help." Valerie looked at Barbara and said "It truly is a miracle." Yes, it truly is!

Prince Charming Has Returned!

Here is Randy responding to a visit from Barbara Sunday morning. It was originally intended to show the grandchildren how well Grandpa is doing, but it is just so cute that Barbara agreed we could share this tender moment here.

A long day

There have been a lot of visitors today! The last time mom went in to see dad, he wasn't quite as perky. We're thinking it's just fatigue, since he's had close to two dozen visitors today. Having never had open heart surgery myself, it's hard to say for sure.

His blood pressure is still high, and the doctors are thinking of giving him a patch to help control that. In talking with the nurses, his condition is good. They would have moved him out of the ICU into the intermediate care ward, but there aren't any available beds on the 5th floor. Janell and Andrea went to check out his new home, and we most heartily disapprove. The waiting room up there isn't nearly as nice, so we're okay with him staying here for a while.

Party Fun Time

Dad is missing out on a great party in the waiting room. The party began yesterday afternoon when Scott and I flew in, and Scott showed off how he can eat a banana and watch endless hours of Elmo's World on dvd. (Dear Elmo: Rock on! Love, Janell)

I am a bit sleep-deprived (much less than other folks here, though) which is making me blind and stupid. But I can remember the discussion last night that Randy went through a lot of effort to get a helicopter ride. He could have just asked. And he also went to extreme measures to get a family reunion. Matt and Karrie weren't going to fly out here for Christmas. Randy: "We'll just see about that." Then we all get together and he can't even join us. I told him that he needs to move out of the ICU so that the grandkids can visit him and jump on him. Randy: *thumbs up*

We were discussing the blog, and its wide audience. Our cousin Shannon has a fridge for sale. We discussed selling the fridge on the blog, but perhaps decided against it. So forget I mentioned it.

Kevin and April just came out of the ICU. Kevin to Dad: "Ian wants to come see you, but we told him he couldn't wrestle you." Dad: "That's a good idea." Kevin: "Do you have anything to say to the grandkids?" Dad: *smiles, raises arm and waves*

This morning, Dad's brother-in-law Mike Jackson came to visit; he's also had visits from his other brother-in-law Dan Bradshaw, and his other brother-in-law Steve Kimball, and his other brother-in-law Mike Moffitt.

While he's been resting, Dad missed Scott and Erin sharing a bath last night with "too many bubbles!" And he missed Scott's attempted naked-rocking-horse-riding, but I have a feeling there will be more attempts in the future. And he missed my fabulous homemade very secret recipe Irish oatmeal for breakfast. So, he's got lots of catching up to do.

A steady stream....

Things have been picking up here in the SICU waiting room. An organ donor became available a couple of days ago, and several families have been in for transplants. A heart, liver, kidney (for a 16 year-old girl), and a double-lung transplant. Very moving to see the effect of one person's decision to share their life.

Kevin and April, Matt and Karrie, and Janell all came up. And they brought food! Thank you again, everyone who's been bringing food by the house for the family. It's very delicious, and very appreciated. After lunch, the number of visitors ramped up considerably! We've been busy thanking everyone and swapping stories about dad. Thanks to all the neighbors, friends, band members, and loads of ward members who've stopped by to offer support. Technically it's only immediate family allowed in the ICU... the nursing staff has probably never seen so many in-laws!

He's been doing very well today. He's starting to remember who's been in before, and he's very good about knowing peoples' names. One day he'll be reading this blog and will laugh when he remembers how we all used baby-talk around him and asked the stupidest questions. Well guess what? You gave us a serious scare! Punk. :-P

Once his throat's well enough to really start talking we'll have a better assessment of things, and maybe then our voices will all lower an octave and we'll start holding philosophical discussions. In the meantime, I'm delighted every time I remember that he knows my name and who I am. Family relations are dear, and I'm grateful he's able to know us and how much we love him.

Huh?

Tyler and I were in talking to Randy a few minutes ago. I asked him if he had any idea what was going on, and he shook his had and shrugged his shoulders . I explained that he had some heart problems and had to have major open-heart surgery. His response? A hand to his forehead and a 'Huh?' No kidding, papa! That's what we think!

The doctors want him to wake up today, so we threatened to make Tyler sing at him until he opened his eyes- he smiled and chuckled at that and opened them up a bit. (Poor, maligned Tyler!) When we told him about all the people who were visiting and what a party we were having in the waiting room, he put on his pouty face because he was missing the fun... It is so nice to see him acting like the same guy we all know and love- albeit a more drugged one than we are used to.

The Morning Report-from the home

We cannot all be at the hospital all the time, so here is the report from the house. Scotty is thrilled that there is a dog in the house (Barbara would be less thrilled, but she's not home). Erin, Ian, and Megan are happy to have their cousin here, as well as their aunts and uncles. Mostly the children have been playing, reading, and drawing. They are anxious to see Grandpa, but are happy to hear of his progress.

There is food everywhere! Thank you to everyone who has brought in meals, snacks, and goodies.

Christmas music is playing, we are much more relaxed than 2 days ago (and worn out), and all in all it is a happy, quiet atmosphere (other than the occasional shrieks from Erin). Janell has noted that every clock in the house tells a different time, so it's not surprising that Randy did not know what year it was.

The Morning Report

Mom just got back with the report.... They stood him up twice-- no walking, but he's sitting up in bed now. He had a good night. For some reason he thought it was 1977 when they asked him. Which is cool, because that's the year I was born in-- apparently it's a big deal to him! Mom told him, "The ward is having a fast for you today." To which he replied, "Why?" Ummm... because you're very sick and they love you!

Morning wake-up call

Last night we left the hospital around 11 or so. There was a bit of an adventure getting to Barbara's car which was parked underground in a lot that you access by elevator. And you access the elevator from the building. Which was locked. Thank heavens for medical students having study groups near midnight on a Saturday-- they're getting in practice for rescuing people at all hours!

Everybody got to bed in the house around midnight, and we all slept very well. Andrea woke me up this morning to come with Barbara to the hospital, and it was a gorgeous drive with blue skies and white trees. Barbara's in with Randy now, and I'll post more as soon as we know.