Saturday, January 19, 2008

i don't know how describe my father's condition right now. he is alert. he is awake. he has movement in his arms and legs. the grip on his right hand is strong. he seems to have his gross motor skills, but his fine motor skills seem to be affected-- i think. also his memory seems to be addled, but i'm not sure if that is because of the incident, or because of everything that is going around him. he's very tired. we are trying to get him to relax, but he gets excited when we get there. he keeps trying to get out of bed (i sort of take that as a good sign) so the nurses have put a bed alarm on so they can keep track of him. he can stand, with help, so i take that as a good sign, too. there is going to be physical therapy involved, i'm sure, but i don't much more than that. its the weekend, so there aren't many doctors around, obviously its bad form to get sick on the weekend and need a doctor. the nurses don't know much because they aren't told much. dad can't really tell us what's happening because i either doesn't know, doesn't comprehend, or just doesn't understand, or maybe a combination of all three.

he is conversant, but muddled. he asks about things, but then forgets things, too. when he found out how cold it was going to be tomorrow, he stated: "well, i won't be going to church tomorrow. i can't go out in this kind of weather." he also worried that the heat was on at home for "the cats." he asked if emma missed him. i told both she and woody did. he smiled at that. he wants his glasses, but he hasn't asked for a book, yet. that's a little disconcerting. i may take a book tomorrow and see if he wants it. just to test. books are very important to him. i can't stress that enough. books are his life. seriously.

his heart is good. his vital signs are fine. he looks good, a slight lilt of the right side, but nothing too bad. he has decent color, he's eating, but he started to hack like he was going to throw up while he at. he ate, but i fed him. he wasn't too sure what the fork and spoon were for. he couldn't quite get them to work properly. i helped, i didn't mind.

i'm not going to lie. i've found myself, today, asking what will i do? i can't quite my job and stay home and take care of him, as much as i want to. i'm not going worry about that right now. when that bridge comes, i'll cross it. this when my faith comes into play. i have to believe that God will be with me, my mom, and my dad in the next few days and weeks. there will be a lot of adjustment to make.

so, he's doing well. considering. the journey continues.

1 comment:

thirdworstpoetinthegalaxy said...

That's all you can do — play it by ear, see how he recovers, and listen to the doctors for advice.

And never underestimate the value of a second opinion.