He's Back!

Thank God my Dad's brachytherapy went well. After three or so hours of torment, he woke up, regained sensation after being numbed (for the first time ever) by spinal anesthesia and asked our driver who won the basketball game on TV.  I tried to wake up and say the rosary for him at 3am which was 6pm in the Philippines, the start of the procedure. Then I fell back asleep, but I fell asleep praying hard so I know that God heard me anyway.  The comforting part is that we know that 66 tiny radioactive seeds have been implanted and are now at work inside him -- oh God's little army! A few weeks from now, he'll be undergoing external radiation, which buys me more peace of mind at this point. Peace of mind. But that's not what I need. I just need him to have a new lease on life.  I just want him to live. Period.

Isn't this just a perfect example of the saying -- or question -- why do bad things happen to good people? But it's not my question to ask. I will just keep praying and hoping that he pulls through. I hope this is just one of those hurdles that will pass, a nightmare we'll eventually forget, and drama that won't leave an indelible mark (nor a permanent empty space) in our hearts.

On the lighter side, here's something funny.  As I was told, when my dad was in the recovery room, he was so bored and needed to look at the time frequently.  He asked for his prescription glasses and my sister (or was it the driver ---loyal Mang Romy, thank you for always being by my family's side!) handed it to him. He put them on and instantly got very alarmed saying that his vision seemed to have totally gone bad.  They had to ask the doctor if it was possible at all as a side-effect of knocking him out, my dad bugged the puzzled nurses, worried my sister and subjected himself to some self-inflicted horror trying to figure out why all of a sudden he had impaired vision. Then my mom, oblivious to the situation, arrived and complained about misplacing her own specs.  They later realized that my dad was wearing hers after all! That's my funny family, folks!   We are all walking unpredictable comic reliefs, you know.  And about my dad, this is his way of showing the world that he's back.  You see, nothing can keep a good man down.