The Circle of Life

My Dad went in for a surgery last week. He had been having difficulty breathing through his nose, and essentially, the procedure was to clean out/remove some sort of blockage. I talked with some friends ahead of time, and was reassured that the procedure was fairly minor, and in fact, I wasn't too worried, as it was a day surgery, and he would be out by the evening.

Thankfully, everything went well... however, when I went in to see him in the afternoon, I was a bit taken aback by what I saw. He was totally sedated, hooked up to a IV, and face was heavily bandaged. It was alot more than what I was expecting. I am very lucky to say that I haven't had to spend much time in the hospital myself, as my friends and family have for the most part always been healthy, and maybe thats why I was a bit taken aback.

We took him home, but for the next 12 hours or so, he was totally disoriented and groggy... his nose was bleeding quite profusely, as we had to change his bandage every hour or so. Basically, he was in an infant state, and was unable to do anything on his own. Of course Mom and I were there to look after him, but it felt a bit weird...

I have always been closer to my Mom in the family... she is kind of the strong silent type, and has really always been the leader... we just let Dad think he is though... ;) But still, it kind of hurt me to realise that my Dad has aged and become somewhat feeble. It isn't the first time that he has come back from the hospital, but it seemed as if this surgery really took alot out of him.

A few weeks ago, I was travelling through Europe... I spent alot of money, and vacation time on myself, exploring... I am wondering if those resources could have been better used elsewhere now... at some point kids reach the age when they begin to take on the responsibilities of their parents... the 'Circle of Life' I suppose... I guess, I didn't even realise it, but maybe my time to start walking on the circle has come as well...