Pray for my Granddaddy

Hello my friendsI wanted to ask you all to lift my family up in prayer today. My grandfather has been in poor heatlh since Brad and I got married in April. As a result, he has lost a lot of weight, a lot of spirit and most of all a true will to live. This morning at approximately 8:30am Granddaddy will be undergoing surgery to remove an anyeurism from his aorta. This is a major surgery, especially given his age, his frail nature right now and all that he has been through the past seven months. We don't know that he will make it through the surgery, but the alternative of not going through surgery provides a bleaker outcome of the anyeurism eventually ruptruring and causing him to go into shock and bleed to death.

At this point, I am turning it all over to God. I want His will to be done. Granddaddy is ready to go if this is his time and if he did die, he would be reunited with my grandmother who passed in 1997. He told my mom one night this weekend that he knows that Nannie is waiting for him and is going to "beat his tail for making her wait so long for him". Still, I am not ready to let go. I went to see him yesterday and thinking that it may have been the last time I see him is so hard. I am really a shell of a FOCUS teacher today.

I enjoyed my visit with Granddaddy. He looked a lot better than I thought he would though he was in his pajamas when he greeted me at the door :0). He greeted me like he always does with a joking " Who is that? Who is coming up here to see me?" and a hug and kiss. I told him if I had known we were having a pajama party then I would have dressed more appropriately. He still cut up and joked like he always has and I thought that was a good sign that he still has some spunk in him. We sat on the couch and my sister took some pictures of us. Then I encouraged him through eating a bowl of soup and jello. He had preop procedures done to him yesterday and he was there from 11 to 2. They had a very hard time getting blood from him ( it took four people and he cried and Doris that took him there cried) and when he started to think about that, he talked about how he did not want to go back there anymore. Of course, that is where he is going today and we told him that he had to go back in order to get well enough where we can get him out raking leaves and cutting the grass again.

After all that happened, my aunt was coming in and my sister, mom and I were going to go get something to eat. I went to hug him and I told him how much I loved him. It didn't feel like I was done so after Mom and Suzanne hugged him I went back over to him and told him that I needed another one for the road. We stood there and embraced each other and I told him slowly, " I Love you so much Granddaddy......You look really good today " and as I said that I looked at him , holding his hand and he started to tear up and sob a little as he tried to talk ,almost like a child and I told him through my own tears "I am proud of you and you are strong you can do this. I love you" Between sobs, he said" I am proud of you too and I love you" He embraced me and Suzanne and then we left to go get something to eat.

When we got back from eating, I walked back in the house first, and he lit up and he said " Well look who's here?" His face lit up and while I don't think he remembered that I had been there earlier seeing that I caused that reaction in him was very comforting. After that, he went back to the back of the house and as he left the room he said " I will see you all next week." I hung on those words thinking they might be the last ones I hear from him and yet ...wouldn't you know always the jokester. .. He came back out for an encore. He walked through and said " I am going to bed and as he graced the doorframe to the hall, did a "broadway kick" in the air and went down the hall.

I don't know what to expect from today, in a lot of ways I don't know why I am here today ( I am going to be teaching for 30 minutes due to the early release schedule conflicts and do carriders today...that is it.) but just know he is expected to go into surgery at 8:30 am ( though everything around this has been late) and the surgery would take four hours if everything were to go okay.