life getting complicated, again

I have been traveling so much I am quite tired of it. Last week I was in Chicago for work; calling on a couple channel partners. Great meetings, but it was 14 degrees. Ye Gods! You may know how I feel about the cold ;-)

The week before I went, on Thursday, got an email from my brother Greg, saying they had found Dad on the floor of his room in assisted living. The nurse there called an ambulance, got him to the hospital. They hydrated him, and he was being checked out for a reason for his weakness. They did a CT scan of his spine, and we were told it was severely degenerated. DUHHHHHHHH, he looks like a 'C' from the side. WHY has it degenerated/ bone, disk, both??? I talked with them that evening, and Greg said that Dad was looking much better and would probably be discharged the next day.

But on Friday, Dad couldn't walk. ! So he was put in a Therapy Care Unit. This is where people go typically after knee or hip surgery. Since he was admitted on a Friday, the weekend shift came in, no one knew who he was or why he was there. Andrea kept orienting the staff, telling them that on Thursday he was walking and now he isn't. This apparently impresses then and they start paying attention.

They started do some physical therapy and occupational therapy at the beginning of the week, to teach Dad how to safely move. He's got to transfer from the wheelchair to the toilet, or he can't go back to assisted living. On Tuesday I left California for Chicago, with extra stuff packed to go to Rochester at the end of the trip if it looks like I should.

Wednesday, I hear that all looks well, Dad's eating, walking again with a walker. And asking to get out of the hospital. Good! I continue my plans to finish the meetings and go back to California. Thursday I do just that. Get off the plane at SFO, turn on my phone and there's a message from Andrea. (that's not good) They found Dad face down in his dinner. He was asleep. Took 10 minutes to wake him. Friday he went for a sonogram of his carotid artery. They saw nothing unusual. But said he should stay there for more diagnosis. And now, again it's Friday, shift is changing, and nothing will happen until Monday. So Greg busted Dad out. Got Dad to ask to be discharged, called his doctor and said he wanted discharged and out they went.

As they found nothing to cause either this fall or his apnea episode, the insurance won't pay for his room and board at the hospital. $500 a day.

It's Saturday night, I have not heard anything today, which is good. All along, the director and nurse at Crimson Ridge, where Dad lives, have been working with Andrea and the hospital to get Dad back. They're installing another grab bar in the bathroom, changing out his bed to make it easier to get in and out, etc. They have been great. Andrea said they were all very happy to see him back there, when she dropped him off on Friday evening. All his guy pals were glad to see him back at the dinner table.

I had been planning to stay in California over the Christmas break, took a couple days off and wanted to just hang out at home and relax. But with all this happening, I'm going back to Rochester for a few days. It will be good to see everyone again, and I will help start clearing the extra stuff out of Dad's apartment. We're planning that when he can no longer stay at Crimson, he'll go to Greg and Andrea's place. We won't out him in a skilled nursing facility, that was just such a horror show when Mom was there for a couple months that we decided to skip that step.

I am hoping for warmish weather while I'm in Rochester. And perhaps I can have a lovely quiet, spiritual, fun Christmas break next year.