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Wednesday, November 15, 2006

I’m supposed to be in Rouse Hill, Sydney, Australia

Shockingly, I got stopped at the Orlando International Airport by United Airlines because the Australian Embassy had basically flagged me. I can’t understand why since I had already been in the country twice before since November 2005 and only needed an ETA both times.

Shockingly, I got stopped at the Orlando International Airport by United Airlines because the Australian Embassy had basically flagged me. I can’t understand why since I had already been in the country twice before since November 2005 and only needed an ETA both times.

When all looked dismal, I was just about to give up, but then I thought, “Wait a minute. I’ve done NOTHING wrong here.” So, I’ve decided to work very hard at getting myself into the country so I can arrive in Sydney by Saturday morning in time to see my friends and be with them for this weekend’s Action Paintball Games Australian Masters. So, I find myself typing this from the Washington DC/DULLES International Airport and am hoping that you can pray for me that I get cleared to enter Australia.

I’ve been on the phone with them since yesterday morning once they opened their phone lines at 10AM. I first ran into this very rude Canadian (the Australian Embassy’s Information Line, 888-990-8888) whose name is Christopher at Position Number 6212. What’s crazy is that most Canadians are friendly people, but he had a slight accent, sounded French, so I am guessing he’s a “French-Canadian”. Anyway, he sounded like he was reading the responses to my questions off a screen, like a trained robot with no sensitivity whatsoever. Even after I explained my case, he kept saying, “I understand. I understand, but...” then he would read off the same sentences of explanation.

So, I decided that his response wasn’t good enough. I called back.

This time, I got a very polite, genuine-sounding, caring woman named Carol. She did a better job taking the time to offer her best customer service, unlike Christopher #6212. When she couldn’t help me any longer and I asked politely to speak with her Supervisor, Christopher #6212 gets on the phone! He says, “Hi. This is Christopher. Remember me? I spoke to you before and told you the same thing.” Rude. This time, he managed to make me so upset, so enraged, tears started swelling from my eyes. I was ticked off. He didn’t care, much like a robot, and didn’t sound Australian? I’ve known most Australians to be very friendly. Come to find out, the Australian Embassy’s Information office was located out of Montreal, Canada, if I remember correctly?! Canadians running the Australian Embassy’s Info Office?! Wouldn’t it be wiser to have Australians running their own Australian Info Office?

Update: I’ve got the VISA! BIG THANKS TO Josh for coming to my rescue at such short notice. Josh Silverman drove up from North Carolina with his girlfriend, Jen, to help me out. His parents live in Northern Virginia.

BIGGER THANKS to United Airlines for being so accomodating, to the Australian Embassy’s (202 phone number location) STEVE at the Front Desk and SARAH, who processed the visa for me.

Monday, November 06, 2006

God is Good. Dad’s doing just fine

But it’s still going to be a long road to recovery for him. Although he doesn’t have the pneumonia anymore, he still is fighting off a contagious bacteria (MRSA) and thus has three antibiotics going through his system (two of which are being administered via IV). His broken ankle (fibula bone) should be healed by now and hopefully he’ll be able to start bearing weight on it, but because he was bed-ridden for almost a month straight, learning to walk for him will be a challenging experience. He’s also got this ulcer (open wound) and this wound started to form right after his surgery (July of this year!) and that’s where he’s got that MRSA bacteria.

But it’s still going to be a long road to recovery for him. Although he doesn’t have the pneumonia anymore, he still is fighting off a contagious bacteria (MRSA) and thus has three antibiotics going through his system (two of which are being administered via IV). His broken ankle (fibula bone) should be healed by now and hopefully he’ll be able to start bearing weight on it, but because he was bed-ridden for almost a month straight, learning to walk for him will be a challenging experience. He’s also got this ulcer (open wound) and this wound started to form right after his surgery (July of this year!) and that’s where he’s got that MRSA bacteria.

So, it’s going to be a long time before it heals up. He’s going through alot of physical therapy and therefore he’s staying at a rehab facility known as Imperial Health Care in Naples, Florida. Prayers are needed still and thanks to all of you who have been. I can’t say thanks enough. Here’s a video of Dad at the new place where he’s recovering and getting better. This video was taken on the day that he first got to a seated position and outside in the fresh air after 28 days of being bed-ridden and in two different hospitals. CLICK HERE FOR THE VIDEO OF DAD.

Mike and I just got back from Toby Gilreath’s Line of Fire Paintball’s 12th Anniversary Celebration. We had a great time and look forward to the next time we see our friends in Horse Shoe, NC. It was tough for me to be away from my Dad, though. I caught myself getting upset about being gone from my Dad, afraid I was missing precious moments. What helped was the fact in knowing my mom and brother were spending time with him while he was at the rehab facility and that the staff at this facility are giving my father the best care possible.

We’re going to World Cup tomorrow (Tuesday). I’m just going to commentate the Intercontinental Cup for the day. Mike starts playing on Wednesday I’ll be going back to Southwest Florida to spend both Wednesday and Thursday with my parents, especially Dad. Then, I go back to Orlando for the NXL’s weekend at World Cup to again make announcements and such. I won’t see my family again until December 11th when I return from being in Sydney, Australia for the Australian Masters and then from being in Montana with Mike’s family for the Thanksgiving Holiday.

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

I’m sitting in the Intensive Care Unit

I’m sitting in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) waiting room here at Southwest Florida Regional Medical Center waiting to see Dad who’s been here since Monday. He was brought in by the Emergency Medical Service (EMS) via ambulance and first admitted to the Emergency Room (ER)…

I’m sitting in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) waiting room here at Southwest Florida Regional Medical Center waiting to see Dad who’s been here since Monday. He was brought in by the Emergency Medical Service (EMS) via ambulance and first admitted to the Emergency Room (ER). My Dad was wheezing and breathing fast. It was discovered that he has an pneumonia in his left lung. He was transferred to ICU after being in the ER for 16 hours straight on a hard bed, totally flat on his back. For 12 of those 16 hours, he was intubated (helping him breathe and sucking out the nastiness in his lung) in the ER until ICU had a bed opening. Now, he’s still intubated and has an additonal feeding tube down his throat.

Dad was born on August 17, 1943, and he’s 63 years old. My entire life, I’ve always lived to make Dad proud of me. Because of his constructive criticism and good advice, I am who I am today. Both my parents have been so supportive of my dreams and goals in my life, the least I can do to return all the love and support they’ve given me in my life is be the best I can be in whatever I decide to participate in. My Dad is the smartest man I know, who can still beat me in a game of Scrabble and says, “And YOU went to college?!” and I always laughingly respond, “Dad, they didn’t have ‘Scrabble 101’! Give me a break!” Anytime I had a question about anything in history, which I am terrible at knowing, or even geography, for that matter, Dad would know.

Dad worked for American Airlines for a good 35 years. Not many people nowadays can say that they’ve worked for one company for that long. He was in Passenger Service most of the time, having started out as one of those indivduals that directed the plane into the gate after it landed and then going into Baggage Claim before the rest of his time dealing with passengers at the check-in counter. Dad started at Newark International Airport and then was offered a job transfer to work in Sunny Southwest Florida. First, it was Naples, but ended up at Fort Myers Regional SouthWest Airport (thus the reason why the airport code is RSW and now it’s called “Fort Myers International"). He was then offered early retirement, or an “early-out” I think they called it. So, he retired in 1998, I believe, and he just couldn’t stop working. So, he picked up a side job with a computer software company I was actually working for and then after that experience, he went to work for a lawyer, both times as an “Administrative Assistant PLUS”, if you will.

Dad started experiencing some difficulty getting in and out of the car, getting up from chairs and out of bed, I believe, after retiring from American Airlines. Once my Dad gets out of the hospital, I will be able to get better timeline dates, but I think it was 1998. If that’s the case, that would be that this Parkinsons diagnosis probably started then and has been going on now for 8 years. Dad’s the type to be stubborn a little bit about going to the doctor’s, the typical American way of procrastination. It wasn’t until he fell down one too many times that he finally went to see a doctor, a family doctor. My mom was probably pushing and nagging him to Dad’s wit’s end to go and see a doctor, too.

(I’ll type more when I can… just please, please keep him in your prayers. Thank you so much.)