At 7:30 last night, Daddy got settled into Ellen's house. Whew! Apparently, there was a delay because the doctor had neglected to sign off on one of his medications or something to that effect. His billiruben count is elevated but we are hoping that will level out as he is able to take in more food and drink at Ellen's. He was unable to eat much hospital food of any substance. He did have a temperature spike last night higher than it had been in the hospital, but it was normal this morning. He got up and got a shower (first REAL shower in two weeks) ate some scrambled eggs, some grits, two cups of coffee, and said he was ready for bed....to wake him up at noon for lunch. He is still weak, but walking better and we hope all of that will continue to improve with time and all the TLC that Ellen, Mama, and Tommy are pouring out on him. He will see the doctor in about a week to see what progress has been made.
Hospital humor for 2008: Mama was giving Daddy little sponge baths in the hospital. She jokingly said she would bathe him from the top down, as far as possible. Then she would bathe him from the bottom up, as far as possible. Then she would bathe possible! I laughed so hard when I heard her say that. What characters they are to be in their 80's! Priceless!
I stayed up until 3am before going to bed. I had just gotten to the point where the thought of going to sleep was unnerving. I have awakened every morning with a migraine for so long and I just wanted to keep feeling good for as long as possible. I eventually got too sleepy to stay awake and took a migraine tablet before retiring and to my wonder...no headache today! Maybe I have broken the pattern, or the spell, or it has run its course or the medicine to prevent the headaches has finally built up in my system, whatever, I don't care. I am so happy to be headache free for a day!
Things in my world are starting to get back into order somewhat. Change is inevitable and life may never be the way it was before May 13, 2008, but it is on the upswing and I am feeling good about it. Today, life is good.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Better Late Than Never!
It is catch up time for me since I am late in joining the numbers of friends and family in creating a weblog.
Today, is Memorial Day (celebrated). Callie and I went to Uncle Malcolm's grave and placed a flag on it to honor him and his service to our country. Uncle Malcolm is my daddy's little brother who was killed during the last days of WWII. He was shot down over Italy. He was only 20 years old or so. We also placed a flag on Uncle Harry's grave. I don't remember if he served in the military, but I believe he was a police officer and that counts in my book. So we had a solemn few moments of reflection then moved on to our activities for the day.
I have been experiencing migraines for over a week now and today was no exception. I am thankful, however, that I am feeling fine at the moment. Just wish this tightness in my neck and shoulder would go away and maybe the headaches would disappear, also.
My daddy, who is 89, has been in the hospital since May 13th (my son's birthday). For nearly two weeks he has been there while the doctors found what was wrong, got him in good enough shape to do surgery, performed the surgery, and have gotten him in decent shape to be up and about a little on his own. Now he is going to the home of my sister to gain his strength for about a week until his post-operative check up at which time we hope he will be coming home to Fort Deposit. It has been a long twelve days for all of us, but most of all for my dear mama.
Mama is tired. She has only left his side to sleep at my sister's house at night. She has been there with him from morning until late evening. She is so devoted to my daddy. They have been married for 65 years this June 13th. Can you imagine 65 years with the same person? She pampers him and although I think she spoils him, there is a part of me that appreciates that she treats him so sweetly.
My brothers and sisters are to be commended for their care of our parents. I know you are thinking that I only have one brother, but Ellen's husband Tommy Williams is as much a brother to me as anyone could be and he is so good to my parents that to neglect to count him among my siblings would do our family and injustice. With my children in school, I was unable to stay at the hospital at night. My brothers and sisters pulled every shift without fail so that Daddy was not left alone and Mama never had to worry about him. I just came to fill in the gaps in the daytime as my headaches would allow, and give them time to go home by day. I have the greatest family! Even the doctors and nurses talked about how great it is to see a family who takes care of each other. I am so proud to be a part of this wonderful group. Oh, we have our moments, after all we are made up of people, so it is far from perfect. But what means so much to me is the fact that when times are tough and trouble brews, we all put aside whatever we need to and pull together for the good of the family.
Life is tough, but it is so much easier to tackle when you have people on your side. My peeps are the greatest! I am blessed...I come from good stock! Happy Memorial Day!!
Today, is Memorial Day (celebrated). Callie and I went to Uncle Malcolm's grave and placed a flag on it to honor him and his service to our country. Uncle Malcolm is my daddy's little brother who was killed during the last days of WWII. He was shot down over Italy. He was only 20 years old or so. We also placed a flag on Uncle Harry's grave. I don't remember if he served in the military, but I believe he was a police officer and that counts in my book. So we had a solemn few moments of reflection then moved on to our activities for the day.
I have been experiencing migraines for over a week now and today was no exception. I am thankful, however, that I am feeling fine at the moment. Just wish this tightness in my neck and shoulder would go away and maybe the headaches would disappear, also.
My daddy, who is 89, has been in the hospital since May 13th (my son's birthday). For nearly two weeks he has been there while the doctors found what was wrong, got him in good enough shape to do surgery, performed the surgery, and have gotten him in decent shape to be up and about a little on his own. Now he is going to the home of my sister to gain his strength for about a week until his post-operative check up at which time we hope he will be coming home to Fort Deposit. It has been a long twelve days for all of us, but most of all for my dear mama.
Mama is tired. She has only left his side to sleep at my sister's house at night. She has been there with him from morning until late evening. She is so devoted to my daddy. They have been married for 65 years this June 13th. Can you imagine 65 years with the same person? She pampers him and although I think she spoils him, there is a part of me that appreciates that she treats him so sweetly.
My brothers and sisters are to be commended for their care of our parents. I know you are thinking that I only have one brother, but Ellen's husband Tommy Williams is as much a brother to me as anyone could be and he is so good to my parents that to neglect to count him among my siblings would do our family and injustice. With my children in school, I was unable to stay at the hospital at night. My brothers and sisters pulled every shift without fail so that Daddy was not left alone and Mama never had to worry about him. I just came to fill in the gaps in the daytime as my headaches would allow, and give them time to go home by day. I have the greatest family! Even the doctors and nurses talked about how great it is to see a family who takes care of each other. I am so proud to be a part of this wonderful group. Oh, we have our moments, after all we are made up of people, so it is far from perfect. But what means so much to me is the fact that when times are tough and trouble brews, we all put aside whatever we need to and pull together for the good of the family.
Life is tough, but it is so much easier to tackle when you have people on your side. My peeps are the greatest! I am blessed...I come from good stock! Happy Memorial Day!!
Monday, May 26, 2008
Better Late Than Never!
I finally joined the throng of my friends and family and started a weblog. I have a great deal of catching up to do, but for now I will say that I am happy tonight. I am coming off a week of migraine headaches and tonight (so far) I do not have one. That makes me happy! Far more than that however, is the fact that my 89 year old father who has been in the hospital for 12 days and is recovering from the removal of his gall bladder is leaving the hospital tomorrow. This is not a complete victory. He will recuperate at the home of my sister just 15 miles from the hospital until he sees his surgeon for a post-operative visit in a week, so he is not coming home just yet, but it is progress.
My mama is tired. She is so devoted to my daddy. They will be married 65 years this June 13th. 65 years!!! She has only left his side to sleep at my sister's house and then she is right back there in the morning to sit with him all day until late evening. She pampers him so and although I think she has spoiled him, there is a part of me that appreciates that she treats him so sweetly.
My brothers and sisters are to be commended for their care of our parents. I was unable to stay at night at the hospital because of my children. My brothers and sisters pulled every night without fail so that Daddy was not alone and Mama never had to worry about him. I just came by day to give support for them to do what they needed to do. I have the greatest family. Even the doctors and nurses talk about how wonderful it is to see a family who takes care of each other. I am so proud to be a part of this wonderful group. Oh, we have our moments, after all we are made up of people, so it is far from perfect. But what means so much to me is the fact that when times are tough and trouble brews, we all put aside whatever differences we may harbor and pull together for the good of the family. There is a time and a place for everything and at times like these we have to focus on the positive until the positive comes, then we can deal with the negative.
Life is tough, but it is so much easier to tackle when you have people on your side. My peeps are the greatest! I am blessed....and tonight, I am tired and I am happy!
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