26!!! WTF!!!

I have come to the conclusion today that I'm an "old fart". Both my 13 year old niece and my 13 year old nephew made it a point to say that I'm twice their age today with and extraordinary amount of shock and awe. When did 26 become old you ask? When I get to be twice the age of my own family members. Now I know how my siblings felt when I said the same bloody thing to them. I guess its only fair then right? No actually I'm digging being 26 even though I'm only about 12 hours into my new age its been treating me well. Can't say as I've done anything all that spectacular but I am getting to spend it with my Dad, Mom, and the whole Hancock crew. Can't say thats a bad deal at all. Just wish Mace was here to share the day with me as well. I guess since we're going to married and all there are plenty of years to make up for a couple missed birthdays on both our accounts. Anyway... hope everyone else out there is having a great day where ever you may be. Love you and miss you all.

Long Couple of Nights

It has definitely a few long nights here in Denver. Mom had to go deal with some stuff up in Cheyenne with Brain so Robin and I have been staying overnight in the hospital room with Dad. I don't think we have slept for more than about an hour over those 3 nights. The oxygen that Dad is on constantly makes him super thirsty and he somehow manages to ask for a sip of water in the middle of the night even when he is completely asleep. So one of us has jumped up and made sure he hasn't been getting too parched. And I thought I drank a lot of water over a 24hr period. Dad has been putting me to shame in that category lately *grins*. When Dad's awake we've all been cracking jokes just to get him to smile a bit and when we are successful it makes each day seem worth while. Sadly the smiles are harder to come by these days since Dad has been snoozing quite a bit. Healing from multiple surgeries over the past month takes the piss and vinegar out of a person. Our hope though is to take him back home to Brenda's within the next few days. The idea is that he will be less stressed and more comfortable there with just family taking care of him and a nurse coming every few days or so to make sure everything is alright. Hope all is going well with all of you and that you are enjoying each and every minute of your days.

The theme for today is "Foresters Rock"

So one of the new things that the hospital in CO that my dad is in has added over the past few months is a white board in each of the rooms and an accompanying marker to go with it. Now most people would probably leave this alone thinking that it was just for doctors and nurses to write details about the patients on such as goals for the day and goals for discharge. My family on the other hand has gotten crazy with this little piece of easily changeable mode of art at the end of dad's bed. Each day since it has been up on the wall I write the basics on it such as the date,who Dad's nurse and CNA are for the day, and how many reps of his PT he has to do for the day which takes up very very little of the space. SOOOOO I've gotten creative much to the amusement of dad and my siblings. Anything to put a smile on dad's face. For the past couple days its been drawings and messages related to the New Years celebration but today it was time to get creative and reflect dad's roots at UM. In big bold letters I wrote Forester's Rock and then drew a pine forest that had gone through a selection cut... stumps and all! Dad thought it was great and that just made my day. Just have to start thinking about what I'll have to draw on there tomorrow to entertain my father and distract him from the pain. I'm taking suggestions so feel free to contribute. Keep smiling and keep us in your prayers.