i missed a call from my dad, and my mom called saying that she missed one too. my dad was at his doctors getting a checkup on a previous injury to his foot. originally, they had to amputate part of his foot to cut back at a deep infection. it took some healing, but he was doing much better, newly sober due to antibiotics (and loving it!), and working at a new place that he really loved.

suddenly, my dad comes in the door crying. i've definitely seen my dad cry (i get it from him, lol), but i could tell it was bad the second he walked in, hunched over, sobbing. i'll spare the worse details, but basically, his doctor took one look at his foot and told him he needed emergency surgery immediately. my dad was going to have to have more of his foot taken, but worse for him, he would need to take time away from his brand new job to heal. he was terrified to lose his perfect job.

i rushed him to the emergency room in his car and stayed with him for hours. i helped him send emails from his phone to his boss explaining the emergency. late that night, they moved him to a new room, and in the morning he went in for surgery. afterwards, his boss let him know that he hadn't been there long enough for HR to protect his job, but that he personally would hold his job for him as long as he could get to work by August 2nd. my dad had a new ultimatum on top of the stress of healing.

he came out looking a lot better. it was a few days in the hospital before he could come home to heal. during that time, they installed a PICC line to administer more heavy-duty antibiotics. the previous infection he had was worse, this one being a staph infection that was easier to treat. (for people who don't know, staph is already really bad, so something worse than staph is a nightmare.)

as soon as he came home, i was on nurse duty. i made sure he was stocked on drinks and food, did laundry, and kept up on chores he no longer could. when home-care nurses came, they trained me how to administer his antibiotics through the PICC line while they dressed his foot. my dad and i jokeed with nurses and laughed at their shocked reactions every time they were surprised with something worse than they expected, but i saw him wince during the more painful parts.

i felt so guilty i couldnt be there for him when he first had surgery, and i'm grateful i got to be there for him this time. anything was worth it to be there for my dad when he needed me. that said, i cant lie. it wasn't fun. it was scary and sad. i was exhausted. i juggled taking care of my father on top of other obligations that had me entirely deflated by the time i sat down on my bed. i fell behind entirely on the animation incentive (which my teacher was really understanding of). all of this, on top of other issues that came up for my loved ones throughout my trip, left me entirely depleted by the end of my visit. at various points towards the end of my stay, both of my parents would seperately say "happy summer vacation" with sad, teary-eyed laughs.