My dad and I have always had a very strong bond, even when we were at each other's throats. Over the years, our relationship has grown much stronger, and we have realized the two of us are very much alike. My mom would agree.
My parents have been together since my mom was 15 years old.
61 years.
They are each other's yin and yang, no matter how much they drive each other crazy sometimes.
My dad's life has been spent fiercely and effectively protecting my mom. This was the one thing he could not fix. And it's breaking his heart.
Ever since he realized she was "sick," the panic on his face has become a permanent expression. When he was rushing out the door to get to the hospital the day of her surgery, he fell down the basement steps and nearly impaled himself with the hooks on the coat tree at the bottom of the steps. Fortunately, his obsession with always needing to carry a full-sized box of Puffs saved his life, as he used the box to soften the blow to his head. The large metal hook landed its punch in a bed of tissues instead of his forehead. Day saved. So far.
Dad arrived at the hospital with a red mark on his forehead, his mask below his nose, and his e-cigarette vaporizing clouds around his head. This, coupled with his sunglasses, all black clothing, and loud voice were already causing stares from the hospital staff as he exited the 5th floor elevators of St. Clair Hospital. Remember, it was a hospital during COVID, so the staff was already doing us a favor by allowing us to be there.
My dad, my daughter, Hannah, her fiancé, Dylan, and I were all sitting in my mom's room, waiting for surgery to end so the doctor could hopefully give us some good news.
I certainly don't want to point fingers at my dad while he's dealing with his wife being sick, so I won't directly blame him as the reason we were kicked out of her room. Apparently they were concerned enough to call the Charge Nurse Manager who came to speak with us to say we all couldn't stay. While she was speaking, vape clouds were circling the room, and my maskless Dad loudly apologized.
Hannah and Dylan left the hospital, and I took Dad to the cafeteria to get him set up at a table and told him, "DON'T MOVE! I will come back to get you when mom is out of surgery!"
If you're reading this, then you likely know my dad. So you likely know he didn't stay put.
The next couple of hours, I was on an adventure with my dad, as he roamed the halls of the hospital, attempting to look inconspicuous. We eventually found our way outside to get some fresh air, and we ended up getting locked out of the hospital. This normally wouldn't be a problem, but during COVID, the front entrance to the hospital was out of order. All entry was from the back of the hospital, which would have been about a 3/4 of a mile walk down the street, around the corner, and then into the back of the building.
His efforts of knocking on the glass while attempting to bribe those inside the hospital with money fell on deaf ears. I wouldn't have let him in either if I didn't know him. He looked frazzled from the stress. We did eventually find a hospital worker who was sympathetic to knowing my mom was in surgery and that my dad couldn't make the walk around the building. Thank God she let us in.
Dad and I headed back up to the 5th floor and quietly waited for mom to return from surgery. We were starting to get concerned it was taking too long when we saw her surgeon approaching us with a big smile.
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