May 1, 2006 at about 7:30pm I was moving my belongings from one apartment to another. I get a phone call telling me that my father was in NV on business and he was in some pain and that he was coming back to INDY that night. My mom said not to worry and I had a lot of things to get done that night so I didn't. A couple of days went by I got settled in my new apartment with to people and a new life so to speak. I had finals coming up in a couple of days so my mind was all about getting some homework done and relaxing in my new place. I call my mom on a Wednesday to talk about dad to see what was going on and she does on to tell me that he is going to have a CT scan of his lower half just to see what is going on in kidney area, but that it is probably nothing and that he was playing golf just a couple days ago and that it a muscle of some sort giving him trouble. The results came back.....there was a tumor in his right kidney and that would have to come out.
So I tell my boss that I would have to go home for a week to help my father and mother out . I told my boss that he is sick and I don’t know when I am coming back, but that I would call her first thing. Her words were "That’s a long time to take off work" I answered back well you could either have me back in a week or not at all it is up to you, I will see you in a week. I get in my car for one of the longest trips of my life. I get home after a 4 hour car trip and hug my dad, kiss my mom and we all talked. Doctors are going to take out my father right kidney by way of arthroscopic surgery. That night he had to drink some god awful tonic to flush his system. Next morning bright and early we are on the way to the hospital. When I was in the room with him before we went into his first surgery I just looked at him and did my best impression of Gladiator when they say strength and honor and walked out of the room. My dad didn't need to hear me say I will see him a little bit. It went great and he got home as soon as he peed, farted, and drop the kids off at the pool. I stayed at home for a week and then went back to Richmond.
I quit the job. The next week was spent looking for another one, and I got hired as a Line cook at a Winery near Richmond. Great job. It was soon after that I got that job that I found out that my dad had cancer. June 17th I go home for father’s day and have a nice cook out, took some photos. I have that photo on my desk as a reminder of good days. Mom goes on to tell us kids that they found another tumor behind his left eye next to his left ear about the size of a grape. I think we all started crying at that point. Funny thing is, is that I was writing my father a card and had just got done losing it up stairs. We drank wine and ate steak like it was going to be our last. Next weekend that tumor would come out. That ride to the hospital was a little worse. This time when he was in his gown I went up to him and said "you didn’t get dressed up for nothin" from Braveheart. It went well. He got 31 staples in his skull and was in the ICU over night. He got to go home a couple of days later.
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