Please Pray

I never thought I'd be in this situation. Especially on Christmas Eve. I don't know why I felt like my family, just wouldn't be here. But we're here. My Dad is in the hospital. The same hospital where I work part-time. In the ICU. And I have this horrible feeling, in the pit of my stomach. I'm just praying. Because I don't really know what else to do.

Just a little background here. My Dad has epilepsy. He hasn't had a series of seizures in a while. In over a year? At least over a year. I'm thinking, that it's been longer. But yesterday, he had 5! People...5! That hasn't happened in forever. As in, longer than I've been alive. That's at least 27 years. Yesterday, my Dad had 3 during the day. Then 1, right before we tried to get him to go to bed, for the night. During that 1, he hit his head on the tile floor. There was blood. And his lips were turning blue. He was really sturggling to breathe.

I just knew that this wasn't the "normal" type of seizures that he has. Something was very different. Very different. The actual seizing wasn't the same. And he was so incredibly mean and irritable all day long. Not the norm here. So when he hit his head, and was struggling, I called 911.

Usually, my Mom and I are able to take care of him. We know what to do. And as long as we can get him to rest and take his medication, in a few days, he's back to normal. But this was different. I knew he'd be upset that I called the ambulance, but it was necessary. Completely necessary.

So I stood in the rain. In the middle of the street. In my PJs, and my Mom's slippers, waiting for the ambulance. My Mom taking care of my Dad. Making sure that he was breathing. It was crazy to see my Dad being loaded onto an ambulance. And later in the ER. Where he had yet another seizure.

Through it all, I had to be the strong one. My Mom, I know that she was scared as heck. As was I. I was able to call my oldest brother. And I told him, it was up to him to call anyone else. I just needed to be with my Dad.

Last night was spent watching my Dad. He underwent a number of tests. And I'm so relieved that the doctors let me go with him. I was able to keep him calm. And thankfully, nothing horrible was wrong. We're still trying to figure out what happened. What caused this last series of seizures.

Sometime around 1AM, my Dad was moved into the ICU. We had to wait about an hour in the waiting room. That was so the doctors could evaluate and monitor my Dad. My Dad is still struggling to breath. And at this point, the main concern is pneumonia. My Mom and I spent the night with him in his room. My Mom is sleeping. And I'm relieved. I have a feeling, this is going to be a long haul. And we need to stay together. It's the only way we're going to make it through this.

I know that I need to call some people. Like my Auntie and Uncle. And some family friends. As far as relatives, I'm leaving that up to my brother. He needs to help out here. And our family is just too big, for me to track them all down. Oh, and it doesn't help that I have no one's phone number. I need to get on that.

So I know that you are all busy, but please keep my Dad in your prayers. I know that this is the holiday season and that there is so much going on. But my Dad really does need your thoughts and prayers. If you are someone that we know in "real life," please send me an e-mail or call me. I'll let you know where we are. But whatever you do, please keep my Dad in your prayers. We really do need it. ♥