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The Rapture/My Dad's 70th Birthday
May. 21st, 2011 10:29 pmFirst of all, I'm very disappointed in the Rapture. Hardly anyone I know either disappeared or turned into a pillar of salt. Sigh.
Perhaps he misread the "maths," as the British would say, and we were supposed to be expecting a few raptors or maybe some captors instead.
So my poor dad spent his 70th birthday in the hospital. For those of you following along, Mort has been in and out of the hospital since a very serious bout of sepis about a month ago. The most recent issue has to do with the fact that he contracted c-def, which, ironically, he got by being in the hospital for so long. C-def is a particularly nasty super-bug that's hard to kill. His other problems were made worse by the fact that c-def causes a lot of diarrhea (a problem he'd already been battling with the sepis). The sepis, which was caused by a kidney stone, has also meant lingering issues with low protien blood level. This has cause fluid swelling and all sorts of nasty side effects.
My dad, in short, is in a very bad way.
However, yesterday and today were good days. My dad, mom and I started strategizing after a particularly unhelpful visit by the nutritionist. I'd asked about foods that might help combat the diarrhea and they didn't have a lot of suggestions. So we went to Dr. Google and my mom thought of probiotics. This morning we talked the doctor into proscribing them (which I guess can be risky in certain situations), and Mort had a nearly-diarrhea free day.
So fingers-crossed.
If he continues to improve, the plan is to move him to what we've been calling a "recovery spa" (really the recovery wing of a nursing home), because this whole illness has made him so weak that he needs extensive physical therapy to get back on his feet (almost literally.)
I plan to stay in LaCrosse until Monday, when he will hopefully make that transition. My mom, who has been the sole care provider each time the hospital dumps him out, has REALLY needed a break -- physically and mentally. I think, particularly for my folks who are both relatively young (and certainly young at heart) and active and normally vibrant, this has been a real blow. It's been hard to keep spirits up. So, one of my jobs here has been just keeping up the pleasant chatter. I've been reading to my dad from the New York Times, the Guardian, and the Huffington Post. I've been encouraging him to check into his e-mail and do other business that keeps him engaged in moving forward and thinking about the future OUT of the hospital. He's been in so long, I think it's been easy to imagine that this is all there is... or worse, will be.
We, I think, have actually managed to have a little fun. My dad does a lot of work internationally, so I had Mason and Shawn set up a Skype conversation this morning. We've had a LOT of undivided time to talk and I've learned about my dad's experiences with the march on Washington (he was almost headed South to join/support the Freedom Riders, but their bus was divereted to DC.) He was once at a wedding with Sein Finn leader Martin McGuinness, which freaking FLOORED *me*, but which my dad admitted to being completley clueless about. And just general discussion about the "revolution" (which my dad would like to start by instigating more "great books" clubs at coffeeshops around the nation) and the meanness of the recent crop of Republicans/Tea Partiers.
But, I would like my dad to get some positive news and measurable forward progress that would make him really BELIEVE he has the strength to beat this thing. Also, Shawn would like me home soon... and I'd like to go too, but not before I know things are more settled.
Perhaps he misread the "maths," as the British would say, and we were supposed to be expecting a few raptors or maybe some captors instead.
So my poor dad spent his 70th birthday in the hospital. For those of you following along, Mort has been in and out of the hospital since a very serious bout of sepis about a month ago. The most recent issue has to do with the fact that he contracted c-def, which, ironically, he got by being in the hospital for so long. C-def is a particularly nasty super-bug that's hard to kill. His other problems were made worse by the fact that c-def causes a lot of diarrhea (a problem he'd already been battling with the sepis). The sepis, which was caused by a kidney stone, has also meant lingering issues with low protien blood level. This has cause fluid swelling and all sorts of nasty side effects.
My dad, in short, is in a very bad way.
However, yesterday and today were good days. My dad, mom and I started strategizing after a particularly unhelpful visit by the nutritionist. I'd asked about foods that might help combat the diarrhea and they didn't have a lot of suggestions. So we went to Dr. Google and my mom thought of probiotics. This morning we talked the doctor into proscribing them (which I guess can be risky in certain situations), and Mort had a nearly-diarrhea free day.
So fingers-crossed.
If he continues to improve, the plan is to move him to what we've been calling a "recovery spa" (really the recovery wing of a nursing home), because this whole illness has made him so weak that he needs extensive physical therapy to get back on his feet (almost literally.)
I plan to stay in LaCrosse until Monday, when he will hopefully make that transition. My mom, who has been the sole care provider each time the hospital dumps him out, has REALLY needed a break -- physically and mentally. I think, particularly for my folks who are both relatively young (and certainly young at heart) and active and normally vibrant, this has been a real blow. It's been hard to keep spirits up. So, one of my jobs here has been just keeping up the pleasant chatter. I've been reading to my dad from the New York Times, the Guardian, and the Huffington Post. I've been encouraging him to check into his e-mail and do other business that keeps him engaged in moving forward and thinking about the future OUT of the hospital. He's been in so long, I think it's been easy to imagine that this is all there is... or worse, will be.
We, I think, have actually managed to have a little fun. My dad does a lot of work internationally, so I had Mason and Shawn set up a Skype conversation this morning. We've had a LOT of undivided time to talk and I've learned about my dad's experiences with the march on Washington (he was almost headed South to join/support the Freedom Riders, but their bus was divereted to DC.) He was once at a wedding with Sein Finn leader Martin McGuinness, which freaking FLOORED *me*, but which my dad admitted to being completley clueless about. And just general discussion about the "revolution" (which my dad would like to start by instigating more "great books" clubs at coffeeshops around the nation) and the meanness of the recent crop of Republicans/Tea Partiers.
But, I would like my dad to get some positive news and measurable forward progress that would make him really BELIEVE he has the strength to beat this thing. Also, Shawn would like me home soon... and I'd like to go too, but not before I know things are more settled.