Curveball

Well, we made it to South Carolina and back, but not for Thanksgiving. My dad was admitted to the hospital on Sunday with severe shortness of breath and we headed up that way on Monday, after Andrew got off work. We made it in record time (traffic was a breeze) and the boys slept almost the whole way!

Unfortunately, eight days later, Dad is still in the hospital. Turns out, he had an unusual bacteria in his bloodstream and also his chest cavity. This caused empyema (pus, fluid, infection) around the left lung. They drained the fluid for days, but realized it was beyond them, and he was transferred to a hospital in Columbia. He had a procedure to clean out the fluid, but because of unusual bleeding, the surgeon had to stitch him up without cleaning it out. He's awaiting news today to see if he needs another surgery to remove lung tissue (we hope not!) or if things are improving. There were some scary moments this week for all of us! I'm thankful my dad is a strong, determined man and I'm confident he will overcome this and be on the road to recovery very soon.

Most of our time back home was spent driving here and there, staying at various houses in the family, and of course hanging out at the hospital. I'm glad I got to see my dad and help out where I could! It was also a blessing to spend the night at my grandma's (just the two of us!), see family, and spend a day celebrating Andrew's birthday a week early. We still went to the USC/Coastal Carolina game and had a good time. Our seats were pretty awful (we got to see Coastal Carolina players on the sidelines up close and that was about it! Haha), but we had fun and then went on to visit my parents in the hospital and have dinner at our traditional spot: Arizona's Steakhouse.

The boys spent most of the trip at Mimi and Poppy's house. They played with balloons, made cookies, rode the Jeep, and even got to call Santa. I'm glad they had a good time, even under stressful circumstances.

Jude trying on Uncle Jody's motorcycle helmet at the hospital. 

We left Carolina on Sunday and made it back to Florida safely. When we left, it was hot. Now it's freezing!! It actually feels like the holiday season.

We made our usual Dunkin stop in Tallahassee. The boys love the donut holes and a chance to stretch their legs.

As we settle back into our house and plan our little Thanksgiving menu, I hope we get good news  and that "Papa Joe" gets to go home soon!  I know Nana is ready to get out of that place too!

Thank you to everyone for all the kind thoughts and prayers!