More about today

Nate, Judson, and I went to the NCAA Championship track meet in Eugene today. It was only part of the finals and was over in two hours. My dad was so excited about going to the meet, and I knew it would mean a lot if Nate and I were at least able to use a couple of his tickets. It turned out to be a gorgeous day (FINALLY!) and we had a great time. Talk about some incredible athletes. Wow!

Anne and Donny Goddard bought my dad a t-shirt from the meet and gave it to us to give to him. My wonderfully thoughtful husband decided he should get some of the Oregon track team to sign it. That was easier said than done, but he did get one (very important) signature: Ashton Eaton's. He's the WORLD RECORD holder in the decathalon. Anyway, we were excited and my dad was, too. =)

By the time we got to the hospital, my dad was already in his new room. Super exciting! We saw him for a little bit and then left him to rest. Nate, Judson, my mom, and I took a great walk behind the hospital. It's gorgeous! There are humongous old fir trees and the Willamette River running through them. It was warm and wonderful, and Judson fell asleep and slept for about an hour (that's more than half of what he slept all of yesterday). We also played cards for awhile.

After that, we spent a couple of hours with my dad. It was so amazing to think about the fact that twenty-four hours before, he was just coming out of surgery. They got him up and in a chair again. It was different people helping him this time and caused him considerably more pain. =( He did it, though. Unfortunately, his room faces the west and the afternoon sun was beating in. Though my mom and I loved it, the three guys were roasting. My dad was dripping sweat after exerting so much energy to get up.

We left him around seven and he was still in his chair. (He'd been there about an hour.) We went to eat and my mom was going to go back up after we left. We really needed to get Judson home at a more decent hour, though he's still being a trooper. (On a side note, Judson's second bottom tooth is now coming in and he waved at three different strangers in the hospital today! He sure gets a lot of attention. One other lady came in the waiting room just to see him and he held his arms out to her and went right to her.) =)

Please continue to pray for healing for my dad and that his pain will lessen quickly. He's very tough, but I still hate to see him hurting.