So much has happened in the last month, it's been insane. I remember chatting to a friend early in June and she asked what was new and I said not too much, same old same old, for the last month or so I was just wishing for "same old same old." So let me start from the beginning. About 6 months ago I started noticing our Guinea Pig, Charlotte seemed to be getting skinny. I remember that the vet said that's a sign that there's something wrong. Every morning I would wake up and wonder if I was going to find her dead in her cage. Then there was Chloe who loved Charlotte so much. Charlotte didn't love Chloe, and preferred to be alone, but Chloe loved Charlotte and didn't want to be alone, she was so attached to that baby girl. So then we knew that if we put Charlotte down we would have to find a home for Charlotte. We realized things were getting worse for her after my Dad had been in the hospital for a week. We picked her up and she was so skinny and was blind now. We knew we had to do something. On top of everything we were leaving for Vegas really soon and we knew my parents couldn't look after the pigs and Jacob. We couldn't ask someone to look after an animal that was so sick, it wasn't right.
So let me get the timeline right. June 23, 2011 my Dad was admitted to the hospital. Probably the scariest night of my life. I wasn't okay. June 26, 2011 took Jacob to the vet and talked to our Vet about Charlotte. Knew we had to put her down before we went to Vegas, Dad still in hospital. Visiting everyday and spending as much time there as possible. 2 more days with the kids 2 more days of work. June 30th, 2011 - Last day of work - visited Dad at the hospital for several hours - waiting to hear if we found a home for Chloe. Went to Airdrie to get Jacob (He had a sleepover) phoned the lady who wanted Chloe and secured a home. Drove home and Jordan put Charlotte on the grass (so she could a last hurrah) and she was so happy. Drove to the vet to say goodbye to Charlotte. Crying and lots of crying. Mom comes over to help. Get everything ready for Chloe. Chloe goes to a new home, a great home! Then Jordan and I have a really hard night. July 1st - Found out I have bronchitis and am on antibiotics. July 1st - No school!! Visiting Dad everyday until we go to Vegas. July 4th go to Vegas, Dad has his angiogram - it was clear!!! July 7th - we were driving to Arizona, Dad was allowed to go home. July 8th - finally home.
Now I know a lot of people were asking me what was happening with my Dad and I tried my best to write back and let people know. But I was so overloaded, working all day, hospital in the evening, too much crying, it was hard. **PROMISE TO GET TO THE SILVER LINING** So here's the deal. About a month ago he found out he had an increased heart beat. Wasn't serious at that point as he was supposed to try medication and get it figured out. Then on June 23rd he went for a stress test and his oxygen and pulse were not good. His pulse was 150! So he was admitted to the hospital. He was on 5 different I.V. bags and on oxygen. He wasn't doing well for the first few days. I was there and his pulse was 157! Should be 60-80. Because of this he was retaining water (almost 30 pounds of it) around his heart, his chest and in his abdomen. They had to do what they could to get him to loose the water without hurting his kidneys, it was a slow process. Slowly he started to turn around and he even came to meet me at the elevators as I was coming up to visit him. Then slowly he was only on one I.V. bag and his oxygen was needed less and less. Then just before we went to Vegas (It was a hard decision to go!!!), but my Dad wasn't hooked up to I.V.s or Oxygen! He looked great and was feeling better!!! So all in all he is home, his pulse is finally controlled, they don't know what caused it!! But now my Dad is doing everything he can to ensure he doesn't end up back in the hospital. He is inspirational! You should see this guy - walking like crazy and eating SO healthy!! He's amazing.
So I called my blog silver lining. I wanted to share with you all the praises in this tough time. I knew that so many people were praying for my Dad - it was so obvious to me that he was taken care of by God. Thank you guys! All this stuff with my Dad is now preventing him from having a heart attack and now he gets to live the rest of his life healthy and happy! That's a great silver lining - that now I get to have a father for years to come and he gets to continue his life!!! In the end, all of this saved his life! AMEN! With our Guinea's - It's a relief not worrying about finding my guinea not alive in her cage anymore, and I feel so good about the home Chloe went to. In the end Charlotte is no longer suffering, and Chloe has a great home! AMEN!!! Even my Bronchitis - my aunt is an RN and my uncle is a doctor (On my Dad's side) and she called my uncle and had him send antibiotics in for me, so I didn't have to wait forever in a walk in clinic and got the right medications ASAP! AMEN!!!
I have really learned that there is a silver lining. That even though it feels like walking through fire there is relief and God gives us so much peace. Keep praying for our family as we really need it. But that's it, that's all. That's my silver lining blog. I hope that when you go through difficult times you can rest assured that there will be a silver lining - God's promise to us!!! He is so good! I will try to remember this too as I know there will be many times when I am going through things and feel like there isn't hope!
