I wish I meant "Proof of Delivery" or even 'P*d off' but unfortuntately, I don't.

Today has been a very long day. We started off with a phonecall early this morning asking us to get to the hospital right away. My Dad was agitated and not sure where he was.

We rushed to the hospital, which is still a good half an hour away to find my Dad very confused. He had no idea where he was. In fact, he thought he was at a dentist office. He knew he had to get to the hospital but they wouldn't let him out of the dentist chair.

As we sat with him, he seemed to focus more. Well, in and out. At times, very lucid and aware and others, completely out of it. The worst was when he was in between and knowing that he wasn't in his full faculties. 'I'm losing my mind', he'd cry.

Apparently, 30% of open heart surgery patients go through a Post-Operative Delirium. It comes from a mix of medications, lack of sleep and the trauma of the surgery itself.

I wish we'd known this before today, as it would have at least given us an idea to expect it.

He was convinced that there were seagulls outside of his window (there weren't), that my Mom had vivid blue hair (she may be grey but no blue rinse by any means!) and that she had worn dirty clothes. In fact, he kept trying to brush the dirt off her clothes where there was none.

To me, he asked why I'd left school early and if my teachers knew. Hell, I haven't been in school for 2 decades!

He'd then seem to focus and wonder what all the fuss was about.

There's another complication as well. His heart is just not regulating properly. He is averaging 140-150 bpm (should be 80) and his blood pressure is very low. This is difficult because the meds they would normally give him to lower his heartrate cannot be administered because of the low bp.

Also, during this stint, he has been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. It has likely been going on for some time but was unknown as he hadn't been to the doctor in years. We are now getting a crash course on checking his blood levels.

We stayed at the hospital for 10 hours today. Scared to leave, lest he lose his grasp on the slim reality he has. But finally, this evening, my brother came and pushed us out to go home. I thought he was talking to my Mom when he said "You look a wreck. You need to go home and rest or you won't be help to anyone'. That's when I looked beside me and realized my Mom was in the other room. Apparently, I really am exhausted.

I have to be positive though. This is just a standard complication of major surgery. He is in good hands and we just must be patient while his body heals.