Keri's Thoughts

Talk about a roller coaster ride...Last week's events were non-stop highs and lows. It's amazing how much the world can change in the blink of an eye. Treasure each moment you have with those that you love.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day with Mom & Dad at the shelter. Normally Dad would get tired and not hang with us for all the events, but he sat & visited with us all during dinner and our baby shower festivities we had for Amber. His spirits were good and over all he was having a "good day". It is wonderful that we will all have those memories to think back on just days before his stroke.

Monday, December 1st, was a unbelievably busy day for me at work and on my way home I called Lori to "chat". I was totally shocked when I dialed her cell number and got a recording that the number I had dialed was "no longer in service". After double checking that I had dialed correctly and attempting to reach her again, I called Dad and Mom's cell phone number expecting to get the same message. (Their number is a part of Lori's cell phone plan so it should have said the same thing...I figured I could really tease my sister about paying her cell phone bill on time to avoid these temporary disconnection issues.) For some reason their number was working fine and I had the chance to visit with Dad for a little bit. I can honestly say that if I had reached Lori, I may not have called Dad & Mom's number and may have missed my chance to talk to him that one last time before his stroke. I thank God every day for sending me that recording so that I had the opportunity to tell Dad I loved him one more time before his health diminished so drastically.

We have definitely had some interesting experiences in the last week and have seen some things that Dad would have wanted us to find humor in, as his mind has been in malfunction mode. It's amazing what the human brain can do and can't do under stress.

My 10 year old Jacki and I spent breakfast time with Dad on Saturday morning and boy was that an entertaining experience for both of us. The other patients sitting with us were quite animated and visited with us non-stop. We brought Rita to visit also, and found that the whole room lit up when we walked in with Dad's little dog. The sparkle came back to all of the patients eyes to get to see and pet her.

Ryan and Lori have both given very accurate accounts of the actual happenings of those first few days and we hope you will all continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we hope Dad & Mom can both find comfort in whatever the future may hold.

Thank you all for your love and support we have so many friends and family here for us that it is unbelievable! We are all so blessed to have so much help in times of need and everyday!

Keri