Dad

My Dad has always been a little larger than life to me, invincible. Always very athletic, he has either run or worked out with weights almost every day that I can remember. A couple of years ago he retired from a job that required excellent health, a rare thing to happen. Very few people reach 65 in that position--security guard at nuclear testing facility--because they can no longer pass the physical training exams. But that was never a problem for my father. Even in my adult life my 5'6" tall dad towered over my 5'11" frame in my mind. I've always been confident that he'd outlive me. That's why the call I got a few days ago stunned me. My mother told me he had had a heart attack. He'd started having chest pains and decided to work them off by lifting weights. When that didn't help, he shoveled snow off the driveway. The pain only intensified so he went to the doctor. I wondered if I should make the drive up to Idaho Falls to see him, but every one was saying that it was very mild and I wanted to wait to find out what action would be taken before I used sick time so I could optimize the time I'd spend with him. Then yesterday we found out that there were far more blocked arteries then the one that the doctor had expected. He said it was more like six or eight. What's more, one of the chambers in his heart was no longer pumping. I told my boss that I needed the rest of the week off and I drove up here to Idaho Falls. I went straight to the hospital and found that he looked a lot better than I expected. He feels better, too. We talked for a long time. The doctor still hadn't come with the results of the tests they'd conducted this morning so my mom, my brother, and I went to dinner still not knowing what might happen. The news is better now, though. I just learned a few minutes ago that the chamber had sort of shut itself down to preserve itself since it wasn't getting any blood. His heart is still perfectly healthy. They still haven't told us whether they're going to perform bypass surgery but that a pretty safe bet, I imagine.

The shock is starting to wear off and this news has helped. I don't know what I'd do if I lost him, but at least I've been given a chance to tell him how I feel.