On Wednesday evening, Greg and I returned back to Springfield after a road trip to Utah. Unfortunately the reason for the trip was not a happy one--Dad had to have surgery on Wednesday the 15th. Greg and I arrived in Utah the day before the surgery. It was so wonderful to see everyone--we just wish it had been for a happier occasion! This was the last thing Mom and Dad needed right on the heels of Mom's thyroid cancer surgery this past spring. Dad was diagnosed with bladder cancer at the end of August, and the doctors realized that action needed to be taken immediately. Mom, Dad, and I took this picture just before Greg and I took them up to Salt Lake for the surgery. Poor Dad was then in surgery for six-and-a-half hours as the doctors removed his bladder. The good news that came out of all of this is that pathology reports showed that the cancer had not spread beyond his bladder! So hopefully the surgery took care of everything. Dad will have a long road to recovery, but thankfully additional unpleasant experiences (cancer treatments) are not on the horizon.The surgery left Dad in pretty rough shape. Having your stomach sliced open and your insides moved around/removed is never a pleasant thing! But Dad has been very brave throughout the whole process, as has Mom. Greg and I were sad to have to leave this past Tuesday--especially with Dad still in the hospital and not yet able to eat/drink--but we have been glad to hear of the progress he is making. Today he was able to eat solid foods! If I had to go without food and drink for over a week, I would turn into a monster, but Dad didn't. Thank you to everyone who has been praying for him.
Though we spent most of our time at the hospital, Greg and I still had time to have some fun with the Barrett girlies. They are so cute and funny! They are excited for Grandpa to come home from the hospital so they can take care of him. On Sunday evening Lindy, Nate, Richard, the girls, Greg and I had a fun trip up Provo Canyon to see the beautiful fall leaves at Sundance. I love the mountains and miss them in Illinois. As you can see, the leaves were awesome!
On Monday evening the girlies invited us to their school carnival. It was quite the happenin' place! The kiddos made a haul with all of the prizes they won. Here they are with their winnings. It was so nice to see friends and family while we were there in Utah. And we appreciate our Illinois friends Crystal and John agreeing on last-minute notice to take care of Tiger Lily while we were away (the doggies went to the doggie hotel, but there isn't a kitty hotel around here). We returned to find Lily as chubby and happy as ever. We wish we could have stayed in Utah longer, but we are so glad that Dad is improving, and we hope that he can come home from the hospital very soon!