Sorting through the week, I learn what's important...
My sister called me on Friday afternoon, crying, and said, "Come home. Dad's been in an accident. We're at the hospital."
For a while, I didn't know what had happened, even if he were alive. Finally, my sister called back with details. He'd been turning left and was hit by a man who had run a red light. He had been hit on the driver's side- three broken ribs, a punctured lung, and a cut on his spleen. But alive. Very much alive. There he was, my dad, my invincible dad, in a hospital bed hooked up to wires and tubes. He was awake, signing, asking for water. Each day he improved, first getting his neck brace off, then having his breathing tubes taken out.
The human body is an amazing thing. Reinflate a lung and then it fixes the puncture itself. Drain some blood from around the spleen, and it heals itself. I could feel myself coming together as I watched him improve. I was there with my mom and my sister, with relatives and friends calling constantly, sending cards and emails and balloons. I want to thank everybody who got in touch with me. It means a lot.
The recovery process will be slow and somewhat painful, but it's nothing compared to what could have happened. Daddy's little girl is going to be all right.
On other fronts: NYC was great; roommate situation has been resolved. For more, ask me. This thing is getting too long as it is.
For a while, I didn't know what had happened, even if he were alive. Finally, my sister called back with details. He'd been turning left and was hit by a man who had run a red light. He had been hit on the driver's side- three broken ribs, a punctured lung, and a cut on his spleen. But alive. Very much alive. There he was, my dad, my invincible dad, in a hospital bed hooked up to wires and tubes. He was awake, signing, asking for water. Each day he improved, first getting his neck brace off, then having his breathing tubes taken out.
The human body is an amazing thing. Reinflate a lung and then it fixes the puncture itself. Drain some blood from around the spleen, and it heals itself. I could feel myself coming together as I watched him improve. I was there with my mom and my sister, with relatives and friends calling constantly, sending cards and emails and balloons. I want to thank everybody who got in touch with me. It means a lot.
The recovery process will be slow and somewhat painful, but it's nothing compared to what could have happened. Daddy's little girl is going to be all right.
On other fronts: NYC was great; roommate situation has been resolved. For more, ask me. This thing is getting too long as it is.