Sometimes having your life saved hurts. A lot.

The end of Day 2 couldn't have come any faster. Dad had a pretty rough day, but by the time we left tonight, he was maybe just a little bit better. He had a shower today (which he doesn't remember), but no shaving just yet. His right side of his face and jaw are incredibly sore from where they made the incision and the muscles of his face are revolting a bit. His sense of time is still way off, and we're doing what we can to protect all of you from middle of the night phone calls from Dad to check in.

The new message we're trying to get into some of the space he now has in his head is that this surgery saved his life. Of course, I'm getting a lot of credit I don't really deserve but at this point I'm taking it all. Apparently in Dad's mind it was my idea (and mine alone) to come to Mayo's. I may not have given him four adorable grandkids, but I saved his life. That has to be worth at LEAST the keys to the beetle convertible someday, right? :)

No "sitter" in the room tonight - the nurse is going to extend a little more trust and let Dad have the room to himself tonight. What he may not quite realize is that about ten feet away is the nurses' station, where his nurse for the night will be sitting and keeping a watchful eye.

He did seem a bit better as we were leaving, and some chocolate ice cream and some hot chocolate were on the way. Hope he gets a bit more sleep tonight than last night, but only getting tylenol to combat the pain seems a bit medieval. They know what they're doing, though, and getting him off of narcotics was what they really needed to do for a lot of reasons I won't get into here.

Tracy reported tonight that there were neighbors stopping by the house tonight to check in on how things were going when she went out to just check in herself. Our dear neighbor Gene across the street was out pulling weeds. We can't thank you enough for all you all are doing while we're up here. Figuring out a way to say "Thank You" to everyone for all they have done may be our next biggest challenge, one we will be happy to tackle.

Here's hoping tomorrow is a little better, although Day 2 and Day 3 are tough according to Dad's nurse who has seen a lot of these before. She said that these days are really tough as the first full day there is still some anesthesia and good drugs on board to help fight the pain; and the muscles haven't quite woken up to the trauma. Day two things start picking up in the pain and discomfort department. Still no target on when he may get out of the hospital, but could be Monday.

One day at a time. And after a little laundry, this one will be complete.