My Dear Pappa

It was exactly 10 days ago when my sister called to tell me the news that my dear Pappa had a heart attack. We were at the Jaguar football game when I noticed that there were two missed calls on my cell phone and as soon as I noticed it was my sister's phone number, the phone rang again and I burst into tears.


That night I didn't know what to think as we came home. Was he okay? Was he unconscious? Was he breathing? Not knowing how bad or good the outcome was going to be, I was thankful for two things big things: my sister being there for my parents and second, that they were both here last month to see the kids. Had Pappa never met lil' Sohan, I might have taken this news even harder.


The evening of Monday the 17th, Mummy had a heart attack in reaction to all of this and was wheeled into ER. At that point, I had to get on the next plane...


Tuesday was when I saw Pappa and Mummy in ICU for the first time. It was quite an eerie experience as they were both just doors apart and I had never seen Pappa in a hospital for anything. Mummy had her pelvic fracture last year in July, so I remember seeing her go from hospital to physical therapy, but this was totally different.

He was so swollen and still. A large breathing tube seemed to engulf his face and there were tubes running all over his body. I didn't know whether to cry or scream. I had always joked with Pappa of how I inherited his hands and feet - short, stubby and full of veins! Now there were so swollen I could hardly recognize them.

Sunil arrived Wednesday night and helped all of us decipher what the doctors were saying in laymen terms which was a huge help. It was only on Thursday that Pappa opened his eyes for the first time and we couldn't tell if his frowning was out of feeling miserable or being confused or just nothing. We stroked his hand and tried our best to get a reaction. He seemed to react better to male voices than my sister and I, so we let the son-in-law's do the talking. Meanwhile, Mummy was released to the floor upstairs and was doing better, so we tried to focus on getting her stronger for Pappa.

Friday, we saw him shed a tear and boy, it caused us to gush a lot more of them. It's really hard to describe the state we were in. I hate to admit it, but because of his comatose state, we were supposed to be thinking of a eulogy or a plan for him to come home? Stranger yet was simply seeing him this way. This is a 75-year-old man that had traveled the world, had sacrificed so much so we could live well and have the best education. He was smart, adventurous, spontaneous, an up-for-anything guy. And now, here he was...completely dependent on machines to keep him alive.

We had to head back home on Saturday as I hadn't seem Saloni and Sohan for five days and Sunil had work on Monday. I was on the plane and the tears kept coming. Having just spoken to Dad that Sunday morning on the 16th and then hearing at 4pm that he had a heart attack was so shocking.

Now, ten days later, he is alert and is responding more to the doctors and my family. Smita is taking awesome care of everything and my Mom is out of the hospital and on her way to getting stronger, mentally and physically. I can't wait to go back again and see his beautiful face - aged, tired, worn out, but always Pappa.

Gerber Days

Sohan turns 6 months old in two days on the 13th and we just started introducing him to baby food. What a cute little mess he loves to make! His favorites are sweet potatoes and bananas so far. He always makes a funny face when it comes to peaches or green beans. Look below and you'll see what I mean!

"Fall"ing in love with Color

This is Fall in Jacksonville.......crisp blue skies, cool creezes, gorgeous sunsets and color everywhere. Ready to visit?