Coffee? Tea? Serenity?

We arrived at the hospital on Monday around 6:30 AM for the removal of the foreign object. The normal admitting processes took place and then we waited for his turn to be called. The waiting took far longer than the actual procedure did. The time of waiting turned out to be somewhere near four hours. The procedure took less than 15 minutes.

When all was done, the surgeon came to share the results with Mom and I. The foreign object that was removed from the skin on Dad's chest turned out to be a piece of the wiring that was used in the by-pass surgery. It was a piece about one inch long. I asked where this might have come from and was concerned that perhaps the wiring had broke. He said that he felt that the wire was still secure; no concern there, but was not sure how to explain the small piece coming to the surface of the skin. Our conversation ended with a chuckle after I said, "We'll just chalk it up as the usual unusual Roland kind of stuff."

The incision was small enough that no stitches were needed. He returns to the doctor in a few weeks for a follow up visit so they can make sure that the skin is healing.

Walking into a hospital knowing that someone whom you love deeply will be having surgery is never a comforting occasion. The feelings that I had the first time that Dad was going into surgery can never be put into words. The fears of the unknown, yet the gratitude for the blockages being detected in time to be corrected sort of run into one another making a jumble of emotions that are hard to sort through. On Monday, entering the hospital with Dad's minor procedure ahead of him was still a time for concern because of my care for him. Being able to drive the car up to the exit door and bring him home that very day was a time of excitement and a time worthy of praises to our God in heaven.

Dad continues to do well. During his first week back at work, there was a cold virus spreading around his work place. That very first weekend, he woke to find that the cold had attacked him as well. He had the sniffles, frequent nose blowing, and coughing that everyone else had. This tired him and may have set his recuperating time back just a bit, but he is back on the mend and kicking up every bit of dust that he possibly can.