emergency leave

Greetings from London Heathrow airport. 

For those of you who dont know, my dad was admitted to the hospital on monday due to chest pains. 

Receiving this information while being so far away was extremely difficult. Possibly one of the toughest things I've faced in Moz yet. 

The doctors ran a catheter into his veins and inserted dye to see where/if there were blockages in his heart.  All 4 of the arteries that go into his heart were almost blocked.  The back right 100%, back left 90%, top 80%, and the rear 75%.

I woke up yesterday (wed) morning to this news from my mom-
"Your Dad has to have a Quadruple by-pass surgery."

I was in shock.. this was the same man that just visited me in June. We literally just traveled all over Africa together, and I spoke with him on the phone that past sunday
 During the catheter procedure, they discussed whether to stint and balloon  but since the only real way to deal with the rear artery was through surgery, they decided to just take care of all the blockages with surgery. Basically, the by-pass surgery is as such; the doctors will be cutting him open, breaking his chest bone, deflating his lungs, and taking a vein from around his collar bone and other veins from his leg, etc.. one of the most invasive and intense surgeries.  This procedure was scheduled to begin around 600am EST, on Wed and when they took him back to insert breathing tubes, wash and shave his chest (do the prep part of it), with the cutting part of the surgery to begin around 730am EST. 

HE MADE IT THROUGH THE SURGERY :) like we all knew he would. getting that news here in London during my 2 hour layover was such a huge relief. 


So yes, i was granted Emergency Leave by Peace Corps. if i could give them a huge gold star, or bake choc chip cookies for everyone who helped make this possible i would. honestly, the hoops that some people jumped through to get me tickets all the way home and back (i return to moz in 2 weeks) was amazing. i packed a backpack in under 10min when i got the news i was granted leave, hopped out onto the EN1, and hitchhiked to the Inhambane Airport. I took off from there at 14:30 Moz time, landed in Maputo, took off from there to Johannesburg, South Africa. From there, I flew to London (where I am now) .... its 730am here (london time) .... next stop is Paris, then from there Pittsburgh. I will be back stateside at 5pm, and hopefully next to my dad at the hospital shortly after.
Have i mentioned that i am still in my pj's, havent really washed my face, and am not sure if i remembered to pack underwear? (thankgoodness they give you a toothbrush on the plane).
I'm not sure how long ive been awake, with time differences and everything. kind of running on adrennaline and such right now.
see you all stateside. 
to all who sent kind words of love and support, and positive vibes towards my family and i..... it is truly appreciated. the number of people who care has been astounding. i love you all.