A Touch Of Tyrell

Since Dad was really, truly gone, it was crunch time to get the memorial planned.  If Dad didn't want a funeral (which I'm sure he didn't) he made it super clear.  We ran into alllllllllllll the problems. With everything. Getting ahold of people to schedule the service, scanning in photos for a slideshow, getting a program made and every other detail you could think of. It was SUPER frustrating.  So we all took Roxy to Dad's house so she could play with her cousins (Everett and Breckie were at school) and so we could start to go through Dad's things (since this would be one of the only times we could) because Montana and Wes lived so far away.  We picked out some things that we'd really like to have. It was a little strange. But knowing it had to be done, it was easier to do it sooner than later.  The hospital let us know that they were matching up his organs with people in need of transplants and that the transplants would be completed ...

Monday January 7th.  Because my dad was an organ donor, they are unable to take any organs from a situation like this unless the donor is medically declared "brain dead". So the night before, after we left the hospital, they did the glucose test and scan on his brain. The test showed that he had no brain activity at all and would therefor not regain any.  They let us know the news Monday morning. I spent the morning at the hospital. Montana stayed and played with Roxy while the older two were at school. I decided it was time to start telling loved ones about what was going on. I'm sure they would have appreciated it if I'd let them know sooner, but we didn't have any answers. I let my two closest cousins know about the situation the day before and they made plans to come to the hospital. I found my dad's iPad and typed up a long email to his siblings.  Still more tests on his organs, questions about his history and health history.  His hea...

Sunday. Jake headed to the hospital early. I was home when Jake called me to tell me that my dad was an organ donor. I was so happy and relieved because that was the silver lining in this whole situation. I hadn't even thought about how that was a possibility and I felt so grateful. The happiness and gratitude I felt outweighed the sadness in that moment. If my dad was dead but his heart was still beating, I'm confident he'd be happy knowing that his body was brought back to a working & healthy condition SO THAT he could give life to others. I came to the hospital later after I got the kids fed and off to a friends house. So many people were willing to help with the kids. It's nice to have a circle of friends like that. I called Wes to let him know that Dad was basically gone and that we were going to have a memorial for him on Saturday. He said okay and said he'd be on his way soon... driving from Montana State. He said he hadn't s...

Jake and I got home around 2:30 a.m. I slept for a few hours and then headed to the airport to pick up Montana. I cried on the way there and then cried as soon as I saw her.  We headed straight to the hospital. On our way to the hospital the surgeon called me.  I pulled off the freeway so I wouldn't miss a word he said. He let me know that during the night my dad's heart took over and was beating on its own.  That was great news.  But he still needed the breathing machine because his brain wasn't telling his lungs to breathe. Then the surgeon just started sobbing and apologizing over and over again. I cried and tried to reassure him that is wasn't his fault. He said that he had reopened the incision and it was healing normally and their weren't any blood clots or abnormal swelling. He just didn't understand how it all happened.  Nobody could tell us what happened. Because nobody was there.  When we saw my dad on Saturday, he look...

If you need further proof that Jake is the best dad and husband of all time, here ya go: He really is the best. Roxy had one of those nights where she was just up all through the night, so Jake ended up sleeping next to her :) That morning we packed our stuff and said good bye.  I was having a rough morning. It was just an extension of the night before. I couldn't pinpoint the problem or find the source of my discontentment but it was there.  On our way into Farmington Jake pulled over real quick so I could look at some antique places.  There was nothing amazing so we continued on.  We stopped for lunch. The kids wanted Wendy's (most likely because they always want the 4 for $4 so they can have a soda) but Jake and I weren't feeling it. So we got the kids Wendy's and then went across the street to Arby's.  I love Arby's. It always reminds me of my dad. Pretty much everything reminds me of my dad. While we were driving through ...

One thing I really love to do while we are in Colorado is to hunt for treasures. There is just something  fun about finding something cool for your home in a place that is so far away. It makes for a good story and it will probably be something unique.  I promised the family we'd go to the Chocolate Factory. Don't they look thrilled????!  Again, I whispered "this is SO pretty" a thousand times into town.  The first place we went had some cool things but they were pretty spendy. $350 for the old typewriter! We found a really cool one at a vintage market in October for a tenth of the price.  We stopped by true thrift store and I bought Everett a new pair of soccer cleats for $1.50! Then the Chocolate Factory, as promised.  It was SOOOOOOOO cold that day. Like maybe 10 degrees as the high.  The whole WHOLE family (all of us + Effie & Tillie, Mom, Tim & Braxton) ended up at lunch togethe...

Roxy still isn't much of an eater but Grammy is determined to help Roxy eat real food :)  So she had frozen blueberries from a cup for breakfast.  For Jake's birthday present, he went snowboarding at Purgatory. He left that morning and we found a can of diet coke that he put outside to chill but then forgot about 😅 Today was the kind of winter day I always remember. The cold, crisp, snowy and sunshiny bliss that Colorado has to offer.  The kids and I played outside for a good while (I gave Everett my jacket because his was a little too small and mine fit him perfect). I took them on a double sled ride down the 'dirt' road. I figured it would double as my workout for the day. I ran with them up the road.  When we got to the end of the road, Grammy was conveniently coming back from getting new snow tires so I sat on her bumper and we rode behind her car on the way back to the house.  Good thing Jake was gone. H...