Health Scares

Health ScaresAug 22, 2025File this in the “Hey Simulation, this is a little on the nose” category: My father went in for a routine procedure, and it was enough of a big deal that two of my sisters were going to be in the recovery room, but he should be able to come home that day. Routine, right? Well, not everything is routine as we age…Long story short (and without specifics, see below), he required a massive surgery with an extended recovery period. What was routine has now become A Big Deal. And that is scary. Scary for my dad. Scary for me. Scary for my sisters. Scary for the family. It raises infinity more questions than answers. And many of these answers will have to be emergent and handled in the moment.We are all going through this story, to some degree. And we can help each other meet this moment. While we are of course responsible for our children, many of us are also becoming responsible for our parents. We are The Adults now, and we need to serve our families well. We can help each other lead our families, forward…For the record (1): I am not going to go into my family details. Private is private. But the process is public (enough), and I will discuss that because as critical as my father’s details are to me, it is the process that is applicable and hopefully valuable to everyone else.For the record (2): While I was appropriately worried for my dad in the moment, I was actually more concerned with how he responded to the recovery process in 30-60-90-180 days. As much of a force of nature as he is, he is also 81 years old. His surgery went well, and we’ve started the recovery period. It will be longer than any of us want, but it gets him and us back to the quality of life he needs, wants, and deserves.And as hoped for and expected, The Force of Nature is still dancing with Father Time and Mother Nature…

Health ScaresAug 22, 2025File this in the “Hey Simulation, this is a little on the nose” category: My father went in for a routine procedure, and it was enough of a big deal that two of my sisters were going to be in the recovery room, but he should be able to come home that day. Routine, right? Well, not everything is routine as we age…Long story short (and without specifics, see below), he required a massive surgery with an extended recovery period. What was routine has now become A Big Deal. And that is scary. Scary for my dad. Scary for me. Scary for my sisters. Scary for the family. It raises infinity more questions than answers. And many of these answers will have to be emergent and handled in the moment.We are all going through this story, to some degree. And we can help each other meet this moment. While we are of course responsible for our children, many of us are also becoming responsible for our parents. We are The Adults now, and we need to serve our families well. We can help each other lead our families, forward…For the record (1): I am not going to go into my family details. Private is private. But the process is public (enough), and I will discuss that because as critical as my father’s details are to me, it is the process that is applicable and hopefully valuable to everyone else.For the record (2): While I was appropriately worried for my dad in the moment, I was actually more concerned with how he responded to the recovery process in 30-60-90-180 days. As much of a force of nature as he is, he is also 81 years old. His surgery went well, and we’ve started the recovery period. It will be longer than any of us want, but it gets him and us back to the quality of life he needs, wants, and deserves.And as hoped for and expected, The Force of Nature is still dancing with Father Time and Mother Nature…

File this in the “Hey Simulation, this is a little on the nose” category: My father went in for a routine procedure, and it was enough of a big deal that two of my sisters were going to be in the recovery room, but he should be able to come home that day. Routine, right? Well, not everything is routine as we age…Long story short (and without specifics, see below), he required a massive surgery with an extended recovery period. What was routine has now become A Big Deal. And that is scary. Scary for my dad. Scary for me. Scary for my sisters. Scary for the family. It raises infinity more questions than answers. And many of these answers will have to be emergent and handled in the moment.We are all going through this story, to some degree. And we can help each other meet this moment. While we are of course responsible for our children, many of us are also becoming responsible for our parents. We are The Adults now, and we need to serve our families well. We can help each other lead our families, forward…For the record (1): I am not going to go into my family details. Private is private. But the process is public (enough), and I will discuss that because as critical as my father’s details are to me, it is the process that is applicable and hopefully valuable to everyone else.For the record (2): While I was appropriately worried for my dad in the moment, I was actually more concerned with how he responded to the recovery process in 30-60-90-180 days. As much of a force of nature as he is, he is also 81 years old. His surgery went well, and we’ve started the recovery period. It will be longer than any of us want, but it gets him and us back to the quality of life he needs, wants, and deserves.And as hoped for and expected, The Force of Nature is still dancing with Father Time and Mother Nature…

File this in the “Hey Simulation, this is a little on the nose” category: My father went in for a routine procedure, and it was enough of a big deal that two of my sisters were going to be in the recovery room, but he should be able to come home that day. Routine, right? Well, not everything is routine as we age…

Long story short (and without specifics, see below), he required a massive surgery with an extended recovery period. What was routine has now become A Big Deal. And that is scary. Scary for my dad. Scary for me. Scary for my sisters. Scary for the family. It raises infinity more questions than answers. And many of these answers will have to be emergent and handled in the moment.

We are all going through this story, to some degree. And we can help each other meet this moment. While we are of course responsible for our children, many of us are also becoming responsible for our parents. We are The Adults now, and we need to serve our families well. We can help each other lead our families, forward…

For the record (1): I am not going to go into my family details. Private is private. But the process is public (enough), and I will discuss that because as critical as my father’s details are to me, it is the process that is applicable and hopefully valuable to everyone else.

For the record (2): While I was appropriately worried for my dad in the moment, I was actually more concerned with how he responded to the recovery process in 30-60-90-180 days. As much of a force of nature as he is, he is also 81 years old. His surgery went well, and we’ve started the recovery period. It will be longer than any of us want, but it gets him and us back to the quality of life he needs, wants, and deserves.

And as hoped for and expected, The Force of Nature is still dancing with Father Time and Mother Nature…