Ode to Jack (my Dad)...

Recently, my family had a bit of a scare surrounding my Dad and his health. He is 60+ (I stopped counting for him) and he is generally healthy and he strongly believes in donating blood and has done so since I can remember as a young child. (Donating isn't easy for us as we tend to all be slightly anemic in my fam, and so we power through it because we know how much it helps to save lives.)

My Dad was going in for some routine exams and a colonoscopy, and so I checked in the night before and wished him luck. The next day seemed to go fine and he rested. We were told he had a pre-cancerous polyp which they removed, and later that day he awoke to a loss of blood and my Mom rushed him to the emergency room. A few hours later I got a call about what was going on and that they believed everything was fine and they'd keep me updated. And, then my Dad started losing more blood and had begun fainting and then they decided to run a slew of tests on him. He began to get really weak, and they soon realized he had been internally bleeding on top of the external, which amounted to him losing 50% of his body's blood mass and all within a few hours! Pretty scary, and so immediately he had to prep for surgery so they could repair the tear he had (causing the complications). After about 4-5 blood transfusions and a few nights in the ICU, he was finally sent home to rest. Thank God for all of that blood that he was able to get from donors, instant Kharma I tell ya! We are still waiting on some more test results to make sure he is in the clear, but it was a bit of a panic stricken 2 weeks for our family. Dad is doing much better though and back to his normal routine.

I wanted to post this photo of my Dad and I (at my wedding in 2003). We are about to walk down the aisle together. (Photo credit: Kim Heiligman)
I realized last week that I don't have a ton of pictures of him from more recent days. So, now I am on a mission to start photographing my parents more, as I guess it hit me that they won't be around forever. So, if anything, I wanted this message to remind you of two things: 1) make sure to get to the doctor more often and for your regular routine exams and 2) donate blood if you are able to!!

Also, I hope you all know how much I cherish the special days and moments that I get to share with each of you, and I do know how much the photos mean to you, as they also mean the world to me. Much love, Sarah