The Day of the Third Surgery (cont.)

                My mom, my sister, and I were all just sitting in the hospital waiting for any news about my dad, when my aunt Lori came in to the waiting room where we were sitting awkwardly with the families of other patients at the hospital. The room we were in was not really small, but under the circumstances it seemed like the smallest room I had ever been in. My aunt came in with some magazines for my sister and mom to read while we waited, and she brought me in the most current issue of “Sports Illustrated”, which just happened to be my favorite magazine. She also brought in some candy for us to eat while we waited for some kind of news about what was going on with my dad. At the time these things seemed like just small gestures, that really didn’t affect how things were, but looking back now, these small gestures really affected how things went for us. I can’t really speak for my mom and sister, but I know everything my aunt did that day really helped me. The candy and magazines helped me feel more comfortable, and helped make that somewhat cramped hospital waiting room feel more like home.

                After several hours with absolutely no news about what was going on in the operating room my dad was in a nurse finally came out and told us that he was doing okay and they were about half way through what ended up being close to an eight hour surgery. We were all greatly relieved by this news and at this point we all decided to go to the hospital cafeteria and eat a lunch that for me consisted of a slice of pepperoni pizza and some French fries, it was the first thing I had eaten all day besides a few Reese’s Peanut Butter, and it was great. It’s weird when you’re extremely worried about something how something as simple as getting something substantial to eat can make you feel so much better.

                After we ate we went back to the semi-cramped waiting room and waited for some more news on my dad, which didn’t some until several hours later. While we waited for some news I worked on homework and my mom, sister, and aunt all read the magazines my aunt had brought.

                After I finished my homework my sister and I went outside to make some phone calls and just let everyone at home no how things were going. My sister called my grandparents and out minister, Shane, while I called my uncle Mike, my mom’s brother, and my uncle Tom, my dad’s brother. We told all of them that they hadn’t given anymore news, but last we knew my dad was doing well and they should be done fairly soon.

                A couple more hours passed and finally the same nurse who had talked to us earlier came in to the waiting room we were in and told that my dad was finally out of surgery.