The past 2 weeks

On Monday, October 18th I had my appendix out. I had not been feeling well all day on the 17th. My stomach hurt and I couldn't really pinpoint what was wrong, but I didn't feel right. That evening I started throwing up, but thought I just had a stomach bug. The next day David had to go to work, so I called Ame to come help me out with Xander. She drove to Charlotte and hung out with Xander all day while I attempted to sleep and rest upstairs. I came downstairs that afternoon so she could go home and mentioned that I couldn't get comfortable with the pain in my right side. She was a little concerned and said that it sounded like when she had appendicitis 27 years ago. We ended up going to the emergency room and arrived there a little before 7pm. They admitted me right away, took a blood sample, urine sample, started an IV, gave me some pain meds, had me drink contrast fluid, took me to have a CT scan and after all that confirmed that my white blood cell count was over 20,000 and that my appendix was perforated. Ame had stayed in the waiting room with Xander, my mom had driven down from Mocksville, and David came straight from work. Mom and David stayed with me until they took me into surgery around 11pm. Ame took Xander back to her house to put him to sleep for the night. Since my appendix hadn't actually ruptured and was only perforated they were able to do the surgery laparoscopically. I woke up from the anesthesia around 12:30am and they took me to my room. Mom and David were there - I told them both to go home and get some rest. The next morning David came back to the hospital, but my mom stayed home with Xander. My dad flew in from Nashville and spent the day with me in the hospital. David had to go back to work that afternoon, so Dad drove me home when they released me that evening around 7pm. I spent the rest of the week in Mocksville at my mom's house so she could take care of me and Xander. I'm so thankful to have my family close by!

On Saturday, October 23rd my dad and Karen drove in from Nashville to stay the weekend at Erin's - a trip we had previously scheduled. David, Xander and I stayed at Erin's, too, and we were all able to enjoy the weekend together, despite my recent surgery.

David, Xander and I drove home on Sunday night. David and I were in bed that night when my mom called around 11:30pm. I knew it was strange for her to call so late, so I answered the phone right away. She told me that my grandfather had passed away that evening. He was 93 years old and had been in the hospital that weekend for pneumonia and a kidney infection. I immediately started looking up flights and trying to figure out what I should do. David doesn't have any sick or vacation time since he's working a contract position, so there was no way he could come with me. I finally decided to take Xander and fly to TX on Wednesday morning, the 27th. Erin flew with me or I wouldn't have been able to go. I was only a week post-op and my child weighs over 30 lbs, so I definitely couldn't have done it alone.

The visitation was on Wednesday night and the service was Thursday afternoon. It was beautiful. Xander and I couldn't stay too late on Wednesday - it had been a long day and he was very tired. Thursday we met a good portion of my family - around 50 people or so - for lunch at the church. About 15 minutes before the service I took Xander and rocked him in the nursery. He fell right asleep and I was able to slip into the sanctuary for the entire service. I was so thankful for that. It was a nice service that paid good tribute to my grandfather and allowed me to say goodbye. Xander woke up just as we were exiting the church and we drove on to the cemetery. The graveside service was very short and Xander did beautifully. He even leaned in and kissed me unprompted 3 or 4 times and gave me some hugs, too. I guess he knew I needed some extra love. It was a gorgeous fall afternoon and I appreciated that Isabel showed up at the cemetery for the graveside service.

I loved my Papa very much. He was very elderly and frail and had lived a long, full life. I'm thankful that he's no longer suffering here on earth. I am so glad that he is now with our Lord and Savior. One of the things I never want to forget about my Papa is that when I told him I loved him he never told me he loved me back - he just said, "I do you, too." I'm so thankful that we got to visit with him in August of 2009 when we took Xander for his first trip to TX. I got some great pictures and even a couple of videos while we were there. I'm especially glad that "Big" Papa got to meet Xander - he loved little children and I hope that Xander brightened his day.

I do you, too, Papa.