8 years ago today was the worst day of my life.
Not the "I locked my keys in the car and my washer went out and then my dog chewed up my new pair of shoes" kind of worst day, but I mean literally, the absolute worst day of my entire life.
I remember exactly where I was.
I was 15 and in in the 9th grade.
It was after school and I was staying late in my English classroom working on a project for my Lord of the Rings book report with my partner.
We finished up and (as this was pre-cellphone era for me) I used my teachers phone to call my house to let my dad know I was ready to get a ride home.
Instead of hearing my dad's voice on the other end, I heard my grandpa's.
"Brooke this is Grandpa, your dad is in the hospital. We'll come pick you up and take you and your brothers down there"
My heart sank. I didn't know why he would be in the hospital. Was it a car accident? A heart attack? Maybe it wasn't that bad, just stitches... yeah it could just be stitches.
My teacher, (who, I'm pretty sure, was born with a rock instead of a heart...) asked if I was Ok. When I told her my dad was in the hospital she just said "a lot of old people have to go to the hospital when they get a cold or something..."
What? You seriously just said that? First off, my dad was 39. Second, he wasn't the kind of guy to go to the doctors, let alone the hospital for "just a cold" are you kidding me? My grandparents met me outside the school and my brothers Colter, Sawyer and I were taken to the hospital. We met my mom in the Emergency room.
She explained to us that my dad had had a stroke.
It happened that morning right after we had left for school and they hadn't figured out what it was until just before we arrived. My dad had all the symptoms of a stroke, but the doctors just wouldn't believe that someone that young could have one.
A stroke is normally a blood clot in the brain preventing blood and oxygen to get to it. In my dads case, the blood vessel blocked itself in a way. Blood broke through the wall of a blood vessel, which pushed it out, creating a blockage. The doctors said that there was no reason that this happened other than it was basically just a freak accident.
Things began to get scary.
My dad was getting worse, and the doctors were planning on life-flighting him to the hospital in Salt lake for emergency surgery. I remember feeling so scared that I was going to lose my dad that night. Something in my heart and the back of my mind told me that I needed to be prepared in case this was his last night.
By this time, my aunts, uncles and cousins had shown up and we decided that we needed to give my dad a priesthood blessing. I remember that almost immediately after the blessing, I felt that horrible scared feeling leave me and a feeling of peace washed over me, and not only over me but over the whole room. I suddenly felt that everything was going to be ok and that my dad was going to pull through.
Soon after, the doctors came back to check on him and realized that he was beginning to stabilize. They were not going to have to life-flight him!
Those first few days were the hardest. My dad was paralyzed on his left side, couldn't swallow, couldn't walk, could barely talk. You never imagine seeing your big tough dad so sick. It breaks your heart.
It was weeks in the hospital, then many more weeks in rehab. When he was finally able to come home, we were constantly worried about him. Even just watching him eat was nerve wracking because his throat was still partially paralyzed. Our lives had changed so much.
But 8 years later and my dad has made so much progress!
It's incredible looking back and remembering the way he was, lying in a hospital bed for weeks, paralyzed on one side, feeding tubes, IV's and all sorts of monitors all over him. Then you see him today and he is a modern miracle. He now walks with the help of a cane, he went back to college and got his degree in fine art, he can still go hunting, camping, take airplanes, ride the Indiana Jones ride over and over at Disneyland, paint and draw, go to concerts, build fences, attended my wedding and a million and one other things. Things that many people who have had strokes never get the chance to do again.
I am so proud of my dad. He's such a hero in my eyes and I'm so grateful that he was there to scare away boyfriends, get mad at me when I was past curfew, attend all my dance competitions, come to my high school graduation, take art classes with me, be there to watch me be sealed to my husband and in 5 1/2 months become a grandpa.
What would I do if I didn't have him to be a grandfather to my child?
I love you Dad. Thank you for being so strong and always being there for me. You really are the best dad in the whole wide world and I'm so grateful that you are here with us today.
Not the "I locked my keys in the car and my washer went out and then my dog chewed up my new pair of shoes" kind of worst day, but I mean literally, the absolute worst day of my entire life.
I remember exactly where I was.
I was 15 and in in the 9th grade.
It was after school and I was staying late in my English classroom working on a project for my Lord of the Rings book report with my partner.
We finished up and (as this was pre-cellphone era for me) I used my teachers phone to call my house to let my dad know I was ready to get a ride home.
Instead of hearing my dad's voice on the other end, I heard my grandpa's.
"Brooke this is Grandpa, your dad is in the hospital. We'll come pick you up and take you and your brothers down there"
My heart sank. I didn't know why he would be in the hospital. Was it a car accident? A heart attack? Maybe it wasn't that bad, just stitches... yeah it could just be stitches.
My teacher, (who, I'm pretty sure, was born with a rock instead of a heart...) asked if I was Ok. When I told her my dad was in the hospital she just said "a lot of old people have to go to the hospital when they get a cold or something..."
What? You seriously just said that? First off, my dad was 39. Second, he wasn't the kind of guy to go to the doctors, let alone the hospital for "just a cold" are you kidding me? My grandparents met me outside the school and my brothers Colter, Sawyer and I were taken to the hospital. We met my mom in the Emergency room.
She explained to us that my dad had had a stroke.
It happened that morning right after we had left for school and they hadn't figured out what it was until just before we arrived. My dad had all the symptoms of a stroke, but the doctors just wouldn't believe that someone that young could have one.
A stroke is normally a blood clot in the brain preventing blood and oxygen to get to it. In my dads case, the blood vessel blocked itself in a way. Blood broke through the wall of a blood vessel, which pushed it out, creating a blockage. The doctors said that there was no reason that this happened other than it was basically just a freak accident.
Things began to get scary.
My dad was getting worse, and the doctors were planning on life-flighting him to the hospital in Salt lake for emergency surgery. I remember feeling so scared that I was going to lose my dad that night. Something in my heart and the back of my mind told me that I needed to be prepared in case this was his last night.
By this time, my aunts, uncles and cousins had shown up and we decided that we needed to give my dad a priesthood blessing. I remember that almost immediately after the blessing, I felt that horrible scared feeling leave me and a feeling of peace washed over me, and not only over me but over the whole room. I suddenly felt that everything was going to be ok and that my dad was going to pull through.
Soon after, the doctors came back to check on him and realized that he was beginning to stabilize. They were not going to have to life-flight him!
Those first few days were the hardest. My dad was paralyzed on his left side, couldn't swallow, couldn't walk, could barely talk. You never imagine seeing your big tough dad so sick. It breaks your heart.
It was weeks in the hospital, then many more weeks in rehab. When he was finally able to come home, we were constantly worried about him. Even just watching him eat was nerve wracking because his throat was still partially paralyzed. Our lives had changed so much.
But 8 years later and my dad has made so much progress!
It's incredible looking back and remembering the way he was, lying in a hospital bed for weeks, paralyzed on one side, feeding tubes, IV's and all sorts of monitors all over him. Then you see him today and he is a modern miracle. He now walks with the help of a cane, he went back to college and got his degree in fine art, he can still go hunting, camping, take airplanes, ride the Indiana Jones ride over and over at Disneyland, paint and draw, go to concerts, build fences, attended my wedding and a million and one other things. Things that many people who have had strokes never get the chance to do again.
I am so proud of my dad. He's such a hero in my eyes and I'm so grateful that he was there to scare away boyfriends, get mad at me when I was past curfew, attend all my dance competitions, come to my high school graduation, take art classes with me, be there to watch me be sealed to my husband and in 5 1/2 months become a grandpa.
What would I do if I didn't have him to be a grandfather to my child?
I love you Dad. Thank you for being so strong and always being there for me. You really are the best dad in the whole wide world and I'm so grateful that you are here with us today.
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