Medical rollercoaster rides du jour

[gerisullivan]

I'm fine. SFContario was great fun. I had wonderful times there again and again and again. fringefaan and Pat Virzi are outstanding convention roommates. Many thanks to them and especially to the SFContario committee for everything that filled my weekend with such amusement and joy.

So why the subject line? Why the Doctor Duck icon? Right as I was loading my last bags into the car early Monday afternoon, I received a phone call from my dad. Daddy was "feeling poorly" and his friend Bill was at the house to take him to the hospital. My sister got here while Daddy was still in the ER; I arrived as soon as the car racked up the miles needed to get me here.

The drive was surprisingly tolerable, though I was keenly aware of the tension from the way my body was stiffening up; it remained clenched until I was quickly and cleanly across the Peter Watts bridge and back in the USA. Talking with benyalow and carnyjack provided both comfort and distraction for the next couple of hours of the drive. I tried calling the house a couple of times, on the off chance the ER fixed him up and sent him home, but I decided against calling the hospital since I didn't want to still be on the road if the news was some flavor of horrible.

So it came as a great relief to be given his room number once I arrived at the hospital. He looks and sounds stable enough that staying here tonight is clearly more a comfort for me rather than a necessity for him. But I'm indulging myself anyway. I know Daddy well enough to know just how bad things were for him to come in.

They're monitoring his heart. There are enough different things wrong with the 87-year-old that his symptoms could be caused by several of them, with heart and lungs being the most likely candidates. We'll see how things go for the next few hours, days, whatever, and then figure things out from there.

Note to friends not on LJ or not on my friends list: I'll likely go mostly or totally to friends-locked posts for the duration. Please don't worry if you don't see anything for awhile.

Comments

[kaffy_r]

Hugs. Is there anything we can do from down here?

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the hugs. Mostly, I'll be hanging loose -- very loose -- on whether or not I'll be there Thursday. Daddy wants me to come. Susie needs to work that day, and we're unlikely to want to leave him alone for a significant amount of time until the pacemaker follow-up appointment in 10 days or so. We're still making it up as we go along.

If I'm not there Thursday, it's highly likely that I'll make it over on Friday or Saturday for a couple of days.

Love you.

[kaffy_r]

We'll miss you Thursday, if that's the case, but we'll keep you in our hearts.

[pameladean]

I'm glad you could get there and can indulge yourself with an overnight stay. Best wishes for your Dad's continued good health.

P.

[batwrangler.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

I hope he does well.

[catelynn.livejournal.com]

Hope he is better soon.

[malibrarian.livejournal.com]

Hope that you'll find him cheerful and ready to go home by the time you get there!

[dlacey.livejournal.com]

"Hugs" I hope he's home and feeling better soon and I'm glad you were able to get there.

[tanac.livejournal.com]

Hugs and sympathies; I hope everything turns out well.

[persis.livejournal.com]

I am so sorry to hear this news. Sending you positive energy and healing thoughts. Remember to take care of yourself.

[maruad.livejournal.com]

My heart is with you and your Dad.

I have a fair idea of all that can go wrong with 86 year olds. I suspect 87 is just as much and a bit more.

[randy-smith2.livejournal.com]

Blessings on you. We're going through similar issues with my dad, so I know something of how it is. Take care.

[sexybass.livejournal.com]

Hugs from Sue and I and best wishes for your Dad's swift recovery. Glad we got to see you at SFContario and wish we could have had time to go for lunch and chat. Sue and I were super busy with the filk track.

[markiv1111.livejournal.com]

I am definitely pulling for both of you. Hang in there and do what you can, and try to let go of what you can't. *Hugs* all the way around, and I'm glad you were able to focus well enough to post at all.

Nate

[thirdworld.livejournal.com]

Here's to a quick improvement. *Hugs*

[mvt.livejournal.com]

sending healing thoughts and many hugs

Merle