Meet My Dad!!

My dad, John Newton Ryland, III, (or Jack) is quite an amazing man. He and my mom Darlene have been married 54 years and live in Danville, Virginia. He is affectionately know as "Peepaw" to his three grandchildren Catharine, Emily and Jacob and "Pops", "Peeps" and "Daddy" to his four children: Jack IV, Dave, Suzanne and Kathleen. He is Uncle Jack to his nieces and nephews who are very near and dear to his heart. My dad has a great sense of humor and very quick-witted. He can also be a stubborn, strong-willed individual and needless to say is determined to recover quickly so he can return home. He is a Virginia Tech Hokie fan and is looking forward to football season! Since he missed his beach trip in July, my dad is also looking forward to some R & R at Emerald Isle in late September...maybe a birthday trip for both he and my mom!!

My dad is here at Duke because of Aortic Stenosis. Aortic stenosis is a narrowing of the valve. When this happens, the heart has to push harder to get blood through the smaller opening and less blood circulates through the heart and to the rest of the body. In older patients, aortic stenosis may be caused by calcium that builds up on the valve. This buildup also hardens the valve, which can hinder its ability to open and close properly.

Friday, July 22, 2011

Hit the Jackpot With Dad's Nurse Today

Valley Girl must have forgotten where she parked her car today (thanks Peach!!  Dad laughed so hard he had to hug that heart pillow) because Nurse Katie showed up bright and early and full of life and smiles.  (OK...she is blonde....well...with highlights but no VG or Cracker Jack box and she can speak in complete, understandable paragraphs!) She had all of his IVs removed and he just returned from a chest x-ray which translates into the chest tube hopefully being removed tomorrow!!  The Foley catheter was also removed earlier as well.  Today was more stressful than usual and I was relieved when Tommy arrived this morning at the hospital to see my dad.  Tommy beat us there and helped my dad with his scrumptious, "slick" oatmeal and other gourmet no salt, no taste breakfast goodies.  :) Tommy always seems to say the right thing (no matter how ridiculous it is) to make me laugh.  Not to mention he left me $60!!  That always helps!! Dad had a hard day with a lot of pain.  The meds made him "loopy" and he would tell us "I can hear you talking about me" and comment on what we were saying with his eyes closed.  He finally perked up and agreed to "dance" down the hall with Katie tomorrow.  I have always heard that the third day is the worst but my dad never conforms to those "wives tales" and said today was the worst.  Let's hope he is right!!  The plan is for him to walk aggressively tomorrow.   Bring those dancing shoes, Katie!!
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)