Faith, Hope and Love - Part II: Miracles

Scary things happen, and sometimes, you look back and wonder HOW you made it through. It's true of both worlds, and of all circumstances.

My dad has since woken up from his coma..he speaks, he thinks, he moves his body. He does all of the things that they said he would never do.

Is he himself ?

Not quite.

He doesn't remember who we are..or who he is all the time. He does sometimes, and he does remember people and places and things. So the memories are THERE - not erased. Just not being accessed all the time.

That's the brain injury - he needs time to heal.

He's been moved from the first hospital to a heart hospital - a defibrillator has been put into his chest (the surgery went well and he's responding well), and he's now in one of the best sub-acute rehab centers in New York.

The scariest thing? A lot of what happened after he left the first hospital was only possible because we were able to spend money and call in favors. If my dad were alone..he'd have died in the first hospital. I'm certain of it.

He's fought through EVERY single doubt that's been laid in front of him.

But God..he stepped in and gave my dad and my family the strength to do what had to be done. To dig down deep, and when we thought we had NOTHING left to give, God gave us what we needed.

For example..

The social worker at the hospital after his heart surgery said he should be put into a nursing home for rehab..and that he should go into one maybe out in the suburbs because they're easier to get into.

Unacceptable. We wanted him in a top notch facility that spent their time focusing on REHAB and not on a facility that would look to make him comfortable. See, the belief is that..he's too weak for true physical therapy. I don't believe that..like I didn't believe any of the OTHER doctors.

In order to get him into the rehab center, I had to call two clients who are trustees for the rehab center and have them pull strings - which they did. The social worker at the second hospital had already told me there was no way he could get in. She said only celebrities can get accepted in there on such short notice. And when she got back the acceptance notice, she was shocked.

Not only did we have a bed waiting for him there, but there's a spot in the Mount Sinai acute rehab center when he's strong enough. Another place she said would never take him in because they're very exclusive.

I've never really had much to do with medical insurance..and hospital administration until now - but I believe that it's all kinda shitty. The patient is lost somewhere in the paperwork shuffle..and God help you if you don't have someone there to fight for you every step of the way. (Just a side rant).

I believe..that with a little luck, a lot of faith and an unimaginable amount of love, anything is possible. It also doesn't hurt to have a ton of hysterical women on hand to drive doctors, nurses and administration NUTS enough to do whatever is necessary.

But I know that God gave me back my dad. Dad wasn't ready to go and we weren't ready to let him go.

People who normally spend 46 minutes in cardiac arrest die. It's that simple. But for whatever reason..my dad did not.

So while he's not 100%..he's still here. And I believe in my heart that he just needs time to heal and the right therapy to be almost back to his old self. I know he won't be the exact same as before, but there's no reason that he can't be almost the exact same.

I kissed his hand tonight and said.."You're my dad and I love you." He kissed my head and said.."I'll always be dad and I love you two times more."

Yeah. He wouldn't be dad if he didn't. :)

Wishing you and yours a VERY Merry Christmas..filled with love, faith and miracles. :)




XOXO,
B