South Dakota
I get a message on Facebook about two weeks ago from my birth mom, Audrey. She tells me that my Auntie Carla (birth father's sister) has contacted her trying to get ahold of me. Rodney (birth dad) isn't doing so great health wise.
So with a lot of planning and prayer, we managed to get a trip to South Dakota planned on short notice. We flew into Omaha, NE on the 8th and now we're in Sioux Falls, SD.
We made our way through Beresford, SD on the way to Sioux Falls so I could meet my birth mom for the very first time. It was such an amazing experience! We had talked on the phone and via e-mails for a while... but this was our first face-to-face meeting. I only with we had had more time to spend together. Next time. :D
We got into Sioux Falls around 8pm yesterday and once we got settled into our hotel room we crashed. Well, I crashed... Matt had a hard time falling asleep and staying asleep.
Today we explored a little and then Heather (cousin) and Rodney met us at our hotel so we could follow them to their home.
It's been about 15 years since I last saw my birth father and his family. So much has changed.
Rodney looks pretty good. The brain surgeries he had to help with the tremors from his Parkinson's disease has really helped. But he's in chronic pain and still has a hard time talking. But there was no mistaking the smile on his face when he saw me again. :D
He has several lesions in his esophagus that could be cancerous. We're waiting on the biopsy results. He's had a lot of gastrointestinal issues lately.
But the most worrisome issue is his heart. He has a highly irregular heart-rate. I don't have all the details, but he'll go from tachycardia to bradycardia on a fairly regular basis. His heart is just plain sick. The doctors have told the family, "Take him home, make him comfortable, because his heart won't last much longer. He could go at any time." So Rodney's heart is a time bomb.
I'm so happy we were able to make it here to see him. So glad that Matt is able to share all of this with me. I'm looking forward to the rest of our trip in beautiful SD and NE. :D
So with a lot of planning and prayer, we managed to get a trip to South Dakota planned on short notice. We flew into Omaha, NE on the 8th and now we're in Sioux Falls, SD.
We made our way through Beresford, SD on the way to Sioux Falls so I could meet my birth mom for the very first time. It was such an amazing experience! We had talked on the phone and via e-mails for a while... but this was our first face-to-face meeting. I only with we had had more time to spend together. Next time. :D
We got into Sioux Falls around 8pm yesterday and once we got settled into our hotel room we crashed. Well, I crashed... Matt had a hard time falling asleep and staying asleep.
Today we explored a little and then Heather (cousin) and Rodney met us at our hotel so we could follow them to their home.
It's been about 15 years since I last saw my birth father and his family. So much has changed.
Rodney looks pretty good. The brain surgeries he had to help with the tremors from his Parkinson's disease has really helped. But he's in chronic pain and still has a hard time talking. But there was no mistaking the smile on his face when he saw me again. :D
He has several lesions in his esophagus that could be cancerous. We're waiting on the biopsy results. He's had a lot of gastrointestinal issues lately.
But the most worrisome issue is his heart. He has a highly irregular heart-rate. I don't have all the details, but he'll go from tachycardia to bradycardia on a fairly regular basis. His heart is just plain sick. The doctors have told the family, "Take him home, make him comfortable, because his heart won't last much longer. He could go at any time." So Rodney's heart is a time bomb.
I'm so happy we were able to make it here to see him. So glad that Matt is able to share all of this with me. I'm looking forward to the rest of our trip in beautiful SD and NE. :D