My Dad did end up having Surgery at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, New York.  And wouldn't you know it but that Friday when surgery was to take place and I was to fly up, it was one of the worst snowstorms the northeast had ever had!  They were cancelling flights left and right and when I called Delta Air Lines, they said my flight hadn't been cancelled.  I told them that it hadn't yet but they were cancelling all the flights and so I asked to be rescheduled.  They did grant my request but it ended up being five days later!  I appreciate everything that they did for me in trying to rearrange my flight -- I know that was a very busy time for them and the customer service rep that was on the phone was very gracious!

It ended up being a very emotional seven days.  I got up every morning at 5am and left the house by 6am to make the 1 1/2 hour trip to Rochester to spend the good portion of the day with my Dad in ICU.  I was very fortunate that I could do my work in that room as they had wifi and a corner area that could seat 3-4 family members.  I would end up leaving around 4pm to make the 1 1/2 hour trip back to my parent's house.  When I got back there, I would have about 3 more hours work to do so I would do that and spend as much time with my Mom as I could. 

My "me" time was during the drive to and from Rochester.  It is one of the most beautiful drives by the lake off of Route 14 passing the different wineries.  What a time to reflect and admire the beauty of the region --- one that I took for granted when I lived there and didn't take the time to explore.  Sometimes you don't tend to appreciate something until you are no longer around it and/or it's gone. 

When it was time to leave and go back to Dallas, I was so torn.  I wanted to stay longer.  Here my Dad was 90 miles away from home and I didn't want him spending time by himself and not have any family members around to see him.  My brother Jimmy ended up staying for a couple of months so there was always a family member there every day.