The miracle of my step-father

This morning was a big tado, a bruhaha, concerning Dads lost prescription he got from doctors last week. My gosh. I think they should PIN important notes to his shirt like they do in kindergarten! He also lost a fancy manilla folder I gave him to put in all his important paperwork from the doctors (which probably contains the lost prescription.) I don't now what to do about his mental lapses.

Anyway, Dad, whose really my step-dad, had a heart attack last March which they attributed to a blocked artery. He actually stopped breathing! My son was there and called 911 and was instructed in mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, which wasn't working, the paramedics got there and shocked his heart back to beating. So, then Dad spends a few weeks in the hospital, unable to communicate, where they blasted the plaque out of the blockage. At that time his survival was still questionable and I got a late night call from a Doctor asking what I wanted to do with him. As he had been without oxygen his complete recovery was in doubt(There was also no advance directive that he ever signed!) Gosh! To be put in this position is quite difficult, to say the least. I'm his closest living relative and he's 89.

I tried to reason what he would want done and what was right from an ethical, moral view. Even that is debatable! And I was on the phone to the doctor at the hospital 3,000 miles away so I couldn't even see Dad! And the doc had to know now! Like at that point Dad could be taken off life support or kept on it. Finally I said that they should do everything they could to save him and bring him back, no matter the consequences. I didn't get much time to pray about it. But that night I prayed, man did I pray.

Anyway he's mostly back to himself now, in spite of the doctor's prediction (I think they just like to cover their asses in case something goes wrong). He is walking, talking, able to do everything for himself, thank God. The doctors are very impressed with the outcome. But now there is a responsibility on my part: Dad is really unable to drive anymore, cook meals, etc. So since my husband and I were empty nesters anyway, I thought we could easily add another hungry mouth to the nest. It's just that his memory isn't that great anymore. At times he's very difficult to get along with and he is totally deaf, which makes communication almost impossible. I never know if he understood some information, or just didn't hear me, or just nods! But he is still very much alive. I am glad I made the right decision that night.

I just wanted to mention this miracle of the step-father, and tell the world that no matter what the doctors say, there is always, always hope! I know he'd want everyone to know too. I also want to tell people to get their loved-ones to fill out an advance directive so you won't be faced with such hard decisions like I was! You can get advance directives from your doctor or even a form online, they usually have to be noterized when its signed.