From The Past: February 16, 2005

Monday morning the battery light and “service engine soon” lights were on in my car; one bright red and the other bright orange. I ignored both just because here lately every time it rains the battery light comes on. Most times when the service engine soon light comes on, it goes off after a while with no problems. This was not the case Monday afternoon.

I was sitting in the school pick-up line of probably 40 other cars when I noticed my clock was no longer working. I knew right then that I would not be able to start the car again. I called Kevin and told him what was going on and he said that he would leave work and be right there. The only problem is, his work is a 35-minute drive away; and that’s with little traffic. So, I called my dad. I am so thankful that with his job he is normally in town! I called him on his cell and he dropped everything to help me. He picked Andrew up from school, and then came out to Ashley’s school and tried to give me a jump. Unfortunately, the jump didn’t help. It turns out that it was the alternator.

Dad was selfless. He helped Kevin tow my car to the service center so that I wouldn’t have to pay a fee. He even crawled around on the ground, dress pants and all, and got dirty for me. It makes me feel good to know that he is always there for me when I need him. Even though we sometimes disagree, he’s always willing to help.

Currently (2021): On Monday, my dad thought he was going to have a few stents replaced in his heart. Years ago, he had a heart attack and because of this, his doctor used stents to open the clogged arteries. He has had these replaced since the initial procedure.

Recently, he noticed a decrease in his energy levels. Taking the garbage to the curb would tire him out, so he made an appointment with his doctor and went in on Monday for tests, certain that the stents would, once again, need replacing.

Imagine his shock when the doctor told him his arteries are totally clogged and his body is running on one. The doctor said, “I’m surprised you were able to walk in here.” Long story short, he will be having triple bypass surgery this Friday. Doctors will take a blood vessel from his leg and use it to help improve the blood flow to his heart. They expect him to be in the hospital for two days and then in a recovery center for an additional four days.

What makes a hard situation even harder is that we cannot visit. He may be allowed one visitor each day, but as far as we have been told, it will have to be the same visitor every day. It cannot be someone new each day.

He’s scared. He’s so scared that he updated his Will. I can’t blame him though. I would be scared too. I hate this for him. I hate that this is happening and he is having to go through this, but thank God he realized something was wrong and didn’t have another heart attack.