Wow!

I feel like that is the only word I have used in the last few days. Monday I attended my first funeral. Luckily for me, it was just to accompany someone on the piano. Definitely the way to go for a first time experience. While I wasn't overly emotional, I did feel an overwhelming reminder of what life really is about: Family! On my way home, I called my dad. I told him I loved him and we talked for a bit. As we were hanging up I said, "No dying, Dad" To which he replied, "Not planning on it." No less than 24 hours later, my mom calls to tell me he is at the doctor's office at Fairchild AFB. Needless to say, I pretty much panicked. Turns out he'd been having some chest pressure for a couple weeks which had gotten worse over the weekend. He decided he better not fool around and went to have it checked out which is totally out of his character as he is more of a 'suck it up' kind of a guy. Boy am I glad he chose not to suck it up this time! The doctor gave him some nitro glycerin and scheduled a stress test for the next day, Wednesday, at Noon. The test on Wednesday ended at three and he saw the cardiologist about 3:30. Upon looking at the results, he told my dad, "I'm not looking at the calendar, I'm looking at my watch." Dad was in the operating room at 5:30, only waiting that long for the room to become available. The blockage ranked a 4+ on a scale of 1-4. The doctor said that if he would have gone on the hunting trip he has scheduled for this weekend with his brothers, he probably wouldn't have come home. The damage from the heart attack would have been so severe that it would have been fatal. Yikes! Fortunately, my dad is otherwise pretty healthy and wasn't on at kind of medications. The surgery took less than an hour and was successful in opening up the artery. He's having to take it easy, but will be able to go back to work on Wednesday. The doctor told him no more Diet Coke. Evidently the sweetener really doesn't digest very well and was a big contributor to this problem. That sure will be a hard habit to break, though he said he's been thinking about giving it up anyway. My mom did amazingly well through the whole thing. I actually kind of worry that she might break down later. But I believe in the power of the Priesthood blessings they each received and I know that everything will be okay. Now I am just left with the thoughts of what might have been. Often times, I think of what I should have done differently to make things better or how if something else would have happened that I would have been happier with it than what actually happened. This feeling of imagining the bad things that could have happened are totally new to me. I don't really care for it. I just can't be more grateful for how things turned out. It really does help put things into perspective and make you realize that we are all mortal beings. At the same time, I am so glad to be a member of a Forever Family! I think this experience will help us all work a little harder to do ALL the things that the Lord has asked of us and not just the things that are easy and convenient. Thanks, Dad, for teaching me another life lesson!