Thoughts appreciated...

A few months ago, Dad's oldest brother was working in his garage and dropped a beam on his head. No one knew that day how much of a blessing his accident was. Thankfully, a neighbor was with him when his accident happened and called 911 to get the squad to take my uncle to the hospital.  He was conscious, but the hospital wanted to do a CT.  When they got the results, we were told that he had two brain aneurysms.  He then met with a neurologist in Columbus. They found 3 aneurysms with that scan. One of the aneurysms was so large and clogged that it could not be stinted. They had to actually go into his brain to correct it. Surgery was planned but of course getting two neurosurgeons to be free at the same time and getting insurance to approve the surgery took longer than expected. He went into surgery in November and was told to expect to the in the hospital for 4 days or so.  After his surgery, we were told that he would be "touch and go" for a few days. Things were much worse than expected but the doctor was certain that if he did not have this fixed, it would have burst.  I guess he was lucky to hit his head. He was on a ventilator for over a week and in a medically induced coma for that time.  He also had a stroke a day or so after surgery.  Two weeks after the surgery, he was released to the local hospital for rehab.  Being moved to the local hospital was great for him. Some of my family lives in Columbus, but most of them live in Minford.  He had so many visitors, both family and friends.  After a few weeks of rehab, the therapists wanted to take him to a nursing home but he and my aunt insisted he go home.  Uncle Bob has made a miraculous recovery so far. He still has a long way to go.  He can walk and take care of himself for the most part but still can only say a few words (yes, no, etc).  He cannot stay home alone. And, he still has 2 aneurysms to be fixed. Thankfully, the doctors think they can stint those, so this procedure will be like having a heart cath and a lot less risky. I have a large family (that's an understatement), and since my grandma died 10 years ago, we haven't really had a family member sick.  Bob getting sick has made me realize that my uncles and aunts are getting older and it scares me. I am so close to most of my family and I can't imagine life without them. If it tells you anything, out of 8 uncles, 8 aunts, 17 first cousins and over 20 second cousins, I am the ONLY one who doesn't live in Ohio and only 1 cousin doesn't live in between Minford and Columbus. 

The whole reason I am going into all this is because the doctors are concerned that his type of aneurysm is genetic. With there being 9 kids in the family, statistically, another family member has them also.  My Dad is probably the only "kid" (that's what I grew up call my dad's siblings) that goes to the doctor regularly. I guess he knows between my mom and I that we will make him go.  Dad had a CT scan December 15th. He finally has his appointment tomorrow to get the results.  My mom can't get off work to go, so I am going with him. I'm scared. I'm scared that my dad is going to have to go through what my uncle Bob has. I'm scared to go through that with my Dad.  I can't cry in front of my dad. I don't know why, I guess its looking weak in front of him (I couldn't even let myself cry in front of him at my grandma's funeral).  I'm scared to have to be the one to break the news to my mom and sister while being strong for my dad.  I keep telling myself that the doctor was optimistic that the scan would come back ok because Dad has perfect blood pressure and perfect cholesterol (shockingly!).  My only request is that if you re reading this, you say or a prayer or think good thoughts for my family tomorrow.

Wow, I didn't think this would get so personal, but it makes me feel better to get it out!