The Emersons know the way to San Jose

As luck would have it, Dad was approached and recruited by a new bank in early December, providing him with a lovely Christmas holiday vacation between jobs! Having found themselves with heaps of unexpected vacation time on their hands, mom and dad booked themselves a quick trip down to see Team Thompson!

They arrived the Tuesday after Christmas. That evening, we went to dinner at Frankie, Johnnie & Luigi, too in Mountain View. In case you were wondering, I had the Mostacioli di Bari, Justin had the Spaghetti with meatballs and mushrooms, mom had Fettuccine Prawns Portofino and dad had a what is now listed on the menu as Tortellini & Scallops alla Vodka, though his dish was spaghetti and shrimp alla vodka.

While Justin and I were working Wednesday, mom and dad prepared a second Christmas dinner for us to come home to, complete with filet mignon and crab cocktail, a mandated Evans family Christmas meal component. After dinner we opened a few gifts, ate more fudge and enjoyed each others company.

Justin unfortunately had to work Thursday while mom, dad and I took a drive down the coast to Monterey, with a goal to see the RCI/Worldmark timeshare resort. We'll save you the time of checking it out for yourselves...it's nothing to write home about, at least compared to the Eagle Crest resort near Bend, Ore. That one holds a special place in the Emerson family's hearts.

While in the Monterey area, we sought out the Giant Artichoke at the Giant Artichoke Restaurant in Castroville, attempted to drive through Cannery Row in Monterey while every school-aged child and their parent were walking through Cannery Row, and also decided to see what the famed 17-Mile Drive scenic route was all about.

Yep, I bought a shirt to prove I've been to the Giant Artichoke!

As it turns out, the 17-Mile Drive was the definite highlight of our drive. The trail, which requires a $9.50 entry fee, weaves along the coastline to the Pebble Beach Resort, home of the Pebble Beach Golf Links. Along the route are scenic markers and points of interest, as well as beautiful, outrageous and ludicrously humongous homes. Here's a description of the drive from the Pebble Beach Resorts site:

17-Mile Drive is widely recognized as one of the most scenic drives in the world. The famous coastal landmark runs through Pacific Grove to Pebble Beach, from the dramatic Pacific coastline to the majestic Del Monte Forest. The awe-inspiring vistas and legendary sites can easily fill an entire day with exploration and discovery, although visitors with less time should not miss the opportunity to experience this wondrous journey as well.

Marvel at some of nature’s treasures found along 17-Mile Drive including The Lone Cypress – one of California’s best-known landmarks – Spanish Bay, Cypress Point Lookout and Carmel Bay. You can also see the emerald fairways of The Links at Spanish Bay, Spyglass Hill and the world-renowned Pebble Beach Golf Links.

Despite the wind, it was a gorgeous day on the coast, making for many Kodak moments. We finished the drive with lunch at a resort cafe and a quick walk through the grounds, fancy shops and the Lodge. Mom and dad even got a picture on one of course holes, right where many famous golfers and celebrities have stood themselves.

Look closely for the sunbathing seals!

Just one of the many mansions overlooking Pebble Beach.

The "Lone Cypress" is the official logo/icon of Pebble Beach.

Thursday night we ate at home and watched the Stanford Cardinal women's basketball team beat UConn, the first game the UConn team has lost in more than 90 games. We also ate more fudge and watched those darn Huskies win against Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl.

We met mom and dad at their hotel for breakfast Friday before they left for the airport. Saying goodbye to our guests is never easy, especially when it's parents. It's so great to see both mom and dad in great shape after their surgeries -- it's amazing to think of what they've both been through in just the last year and to then watch them power-walking the Pebble Beach Golf Links like spring chickens.

It was especially wonderful to see dad because the last time I saw him, I was taking his temperature, administering a 1/2 cup of pills at regular intervals, and making sure he practiced his respiratory/breathing machine between pain-pill-induced napping episodes. Both mom and dad had their own struggles during recovery, from poor appetites to severe heartburn and leg infections, but their recoveries have been a success and they're here today with spanking new pipes in their tickers. We are so blessed!

Chronicles of the Open Hearted

Dad's recovery is still going quite well and we are so thankful! Overall, he was in good spirits in the hospital and as I said in an earlier post, dad sure does know how to butter up the nurses! He even got some of the most hardcore, tough-as-nails nurses to warm up to him after a while. I have a feeling that doesn't happen too often.

Dad moved from the ICU to a general recovery floor after a few days so we were able to go to and from his room more freely. (The ICU is kept locked and you have to buzz in and out, asking for permission each time. And I'm glad they do -- you don't want just anyone walking into the ICU.) He had a few more visitors once he was in his new room, including this lovely lady:

She was a gift from my mom's ladies group. She kept the nursing staff entertained, too, but after a day we had to take her home because dad kept startling himself when he'd wake up and see a near-naked lady at the foot of his bed!

The day before dad went home, it was just the two of us in his room as mom went to work. In between his naps and pain pills, or over lunch, we'd chat about this and that, and there were a couple topics that dominated our conversations (pain pills may loosen your lips, but they do not enhance memory). One topic being the material on TV these days, and the other being the hospital food.

Every once in a while, dad would flip through the TV stations, find something somewhat interesting, and then doze off. When he'd wake up, the show had since changed or he had pushed a button in his sleep, so he'd usually wake up wondering how in the world he'd ended up watching a strange cartoon or why he had settled on BET or the TLC network. His just out-of-a-nap confused look was usually coupled with, "There really isn't anything good on TV these days, is there. We have all the channels in the world and there isn't anything decent on here!" Which was usually followed by "Zzzzzzzz."

The other topic, the food, was always good for a laugh. I think that knowing he'd soon have to follow my mom's new heart-healthy diet on a regular basis, made the flavorless hospital food that much more flavorless. Right before they brought him lunch the day before we went home, he started singing:

"I love non-fat food
I love non-fat food
I hate hamburgers
I love turkey burgers
I hate pizza
I love Mrs. Dash, even though it tastes like the dust from the air after I've mowed the orchard.
Boooo Hoooo!"

Then he offered me his minestrone soup saying, "Chris, do you want my soup? It doesn't have any flavor, I'm sure. I mean, they don't put any salt in anything in this place. I haven't had enough salt in the last 4 days to give a slug a backache!"

So I ate his soup. He was right about the no salt, too.

We got him home without a hitch on Tuesday the 31st. Here's a pic of our guy in the car on the way home, all strapped in with his heart pillow.

It was wonderful to be home during his first few days out of the hospital. I helped get his medications organized and made sure he did what the doctors wanted him to do daily (take his medication, write down his weight & temperature, practice his lung expansion machine, etc.). He slept most of the time, so I just sat at the opposite end of the living room doing my work and paying close attention to any changes in his breathing, waking him up and asking if he was hungry or needed another pain pill.

Aside from the pain pill part, I'm sure this is similar to what one does the first week home with a newborn.

Eating was the tricky part, simply because the doctor said he can eat whatever for the first week or so as he heals, but mom has mostly heart-healthy food in the house, and I didn't feel right slathering butter on a piece of white bread for a man who just had 5 bypasses. Eventually, we did find a few things to eat that rode the fence in terms of health and he was a happy camper, especially after mom brought home Kaiser rolls so dad didn't have to eat the "14-grain bread that smelled like what I used to feed the steers on the farm." :)

I had more of an appetite than dad did the first few days home, and during his naps I found my mind preoccupied by a bag of Cheetos I'd spotted earlier in the week in the "candy drawer." I sat there and stewed about them for the better part of his second day home, thinking about how it wouldn't be nice of me to sit in front of a heart patient and munch on a bag of Cheetos.

It got to a point where I told myself it would be better for everyone if I, the one person in the house who had not had open heart surgery, ate the Cheetos.

Plus, I'd gotten to the point where I swore I could hear Chester Cheeta calling my name, so I tip-toed into the kitchen to rescue the orange delights.

I opened the bag as I walked from the kitchen back to the living room...I couldn't be bothered with waiting until I was reseated...but wouldn't you know it, I was overcome with excitement and opened the bag using too much force, which sent the Cheetos flying all over the dining room.

Serves me right :)

I ate them anyway.

Then I swept and mopped the kitchen and dining room floors that night.

Besides that, by the time I went home, I'd proven myself as a bona fide nurse for ol' pops and he let me sign his heart pillow...on the side he reserved for hospital staff only :)

On Sunday the 5th we left for home. Justin had been able to rearrange his vacation schedule so he was in Washington the same week I was, but just on the other side of the state visiting his family. He drove over to Grandview on Friday the 3rd, helped with a few odds and ends, like mowing part of the orchard and rewiring the TV/stereo, and then we drove back to California together.

We've been back for a week and a bit now, but I'd really rather be playing nurse and eating sneakily Cheetos in a dark corner of my parents' house.

Thank you all again for your prayers and well wishes :) As I said, Dad is healing well, but his legs, where they "harvested" the veins for the bypasses, are giving him a bit of pain. The legs bothered mom, too, as the blood and veins have to reroute themselves after they're removed, so not only are the incisions a bit painful, the insides of his legs are in pain as well, but they'll get better!

We're headed home!

Thank you all for your prayers, messages and phone calls during dad's prep, surgery and recovery. He moved out of ICU on Sunday and gets to go home today (Tuesday)!

Dad ended up with a 5-way bypass. The doctor added in one extra for good measure, just as he did with mom. Mom, with her 7 bypasses, is still ahead -- however, I'm not writing that as a challenge. Eat your vegetables and go for a jog, peeps!

The doctors say he's recovering wonderfully, and we couldn't ask for more. He's still in a bit of pain and pretty weak, but he's getting better every day. Today he did some stairs, showered and is now in his going home clothes...some soft v-neck shirts and lounge pants. This is a different look for him, considering I don't believe I've ever seen him in anything other than a button down shirt with a collar. Ok, yes, he does wear the occasional polo shirt. Either way, he's always got a collar on his shirt!

This is his heart pillow. It's given to all heart patients as something to wrap their arms around while getting up or coughing...it's basically something to hold so you don't get carried away using your arms and disrupt the sternum healing process. It also doubles as a cast or memorabilia item people can sign when they come visit. This side was reserved for the doctors and nurses.

I'll follow up with a post I think I'll call the Chronicles of Hospital & Home Recovery sometime soon, but I'll leave you with this. Dad sure does know how to charm the nursing staff!

Ticker update III

Dad's surgery is scheduled for next Thursday. Thankfully, my employer is letting me go to WA where I can work from hospital/home so I can be with the fam. I couldn't be more grateful for that. I'll head to WA Wednesday night.

Dad is in pretty good spirits, which is very nice. The doctor preforming the surgery will be the same one who worked on mom, so that brings us a lot of comfort, too! I'm not sure how long I'll stay in WA...JT and I are working on those details now.

Thanks so much for all your thoughts and prayers, blog readers!

One other event to note...My hometown area suffered the loss of three people to a horrible house fire earlier this week. One was the dad of my friend Steven, who we lost last October. I have yet to write about that, not sure I will. I grew up with Steven. His mom was my 4th grade teacher. He helped with our soccer team. He visited me in college. I visited him in Seattle. He was with me when I threw out a first pitch dressed as a potato. He held regular BBQs at his house on Alki. He came to my wedding. I have one of his drawings hanging on my dining room wall. My heart aches his family as they now work through this loss.

Please keep the families of those lost in your prayers, too.