light at the end of the tunnel

I should have udpated earlier but yeah.. I've been getting more calls now than I did on Tuesday.

So, he arrived in Landstuhl yesterday at 6PM our time, but the physicians hadn't had gotten to see him yet but nothing had changed while enroute from Bagram. Good. I told them they needn't call me at midnight but they could just touch base with me in the morning.

I looked forward to this particular call since I had given them plenty of time to do something, and so I was thrilled that when at 8 I got a call from the caseworker. You see, yesterday I called after I hadnt heard anything from them by 9 (in their defense, he was supposedly getting a status update from Bagram), but today they were early. First, I was asked whether I had talked to anyone at the hospital and if I hadn't they would put me through, but (secondly) that he was scheduled to depart Landstuhl tomorrow, 7 AM our time to head to Walter Reed medical center in DC.

so then I finally got to speak to a Doctor!

She was truly amazing. She had been there since my dad had gotten in and was beyond willing to take her time and speak to me. What sort of irks me though is when they are like... well, how much do you know? To me its always like...well, what wasn't I told?! So I told her what I told you guys yesterday and from there she gave me a small recap and gave me their diagnosis.

His crucial injuries were sustained to his right chest, shoulder and thigh. The doctors in Bagram must have assumed that due to the immense amount of blood loss that an artery had been hit so thats why they broke his sternum, but no it doesnt look like the heart was directly affected. GOOD!!! so they are continuing with the washing of the wounds and then attaching a wound vaccuum. His humerous and clavicle were also fractured so they are concnered about blood clots (he actually has 1 in his arm) so he's put on a blood thinner. Then I guess during the transport his blood pressure dropped so they elevated it again and now he's on a beta blocker which supposedly lowers it. he's waking up sporadically but not responding to commands but we shouldn't worry about any neurological issues since nothing indicates there will be any but that it's the sedation thats causing the unresponsiveness. so... it seems positive. i mean, as positive as the situation can be.

Then at lunch time, I  received a call from a Reservist Colonel, he wasn't sure if anyone had already called me and since he saw my number on my dad's board, he thought he'd call to tell me what excellent care he is under and that although he will probably have to go undergo a few more surgeries once in DC, he's doing overall well. That he himself understands the stress I've been under and that if I need anything to call, and I wondered then where someone like him was when I received the devastating news.

The girl who called me at 20 till midnight Monday night was, in my opinion, unprepared to deliver such devastating news. She stuttered and sputtered and had me believing my dad was on his last breath. True, the notes she probably received were scribbled and hastily written, but to wake someone up and give such news, I'm sorry but you need a special touch and that she did not have.

so yeah I'm back to waiting... waiting to see if he really does get out tomorrow, and then waiting to see if I can go visit him. As of right now due to the fact that he's at a high infection rate, they arent letting even the Doctors in without full surgery gear on. I dont really want to burn through my vacation sitting around DC without being able to actually see my dad so I'm not really sure whats going to happen. I have a feeling it could all happen Saturday afternoon so I'm trying to prepare work as well as everything else so I can be ready to go.

and once again... thank you, thank you so much for caring, reaching out and praying for him. it's stuff like this that truly puts all the other dumb stuff into perspective. I need to remember that when I stress about the scale or something else trivial.

i promise to write about something weight related tomorrow.. it's long overdue and should have been up on Monday but I was too consumed in my own self-pity because of the scale! ha! had I only known what would hit me later that evening... insanity I tell you!