Off the road again (I really hate to be on the road again)
OK so I guess it's time for another update.
Daddy is still in the hospital but mercifully it's NOT cancer. However, Mom had an important meeting and I had an appt with my psychiatrist that I'd waited a month for and I couldn't put it off any longer if I wanted to go back to England with my med change a fait accompli. (I'm switching to Cymbalta since it may help even more with fatigue and pain, yaay!) Plus I couldn't take much more of sleeping on an air mattress -- 2.5 weeks was more than enough! So we drove back to North Carolina and got here late on Saturday and were dead to the world on Sunday and had errands and appointments Monday (like picking up my computer from the shop, wheee! Still haven't put all my data back on it yet so I may be slow with online stuff until I get the energy to do that.)
The story is that Daddy is still in Tampa General Hospital and is having another test today after which it's up to his GP (Air Force) to determine if he should be released or flown by civilian air as an inpatient to his next location/hospital. (Apparently the military will only fly you if you're an inpatient, otherwise it's strictly ground transport which is not very comfortable for people with severe inflammation of the colon :P Stupid military!!!) He's going to Ft. Benning in Columbus, GA rather than home to NC :( They still can't tell if it's Ulcerative Collitis or Chron's and they don't know what is causing the pesky blood clots and the really extreme swelling (that then goes away almost as quickly as it came) in his feet and legs. So they want him at Benning as their hospitals are better than at Ft. Bragg. (Our hope was that if he went to Bragg they'd admit defeat and send him to Duke's VA unit which is effectively here in town with us, but they don't want to take any chances so fair enough.)
So the various parts of the military are still playing pass the buck about who is going to pay for his transport. It's really shameful :( You would think that with the billions the military gets for the current wars they could afford a few hundred bucks for airfare and taxis for a soldier who fell ill while on active duty, but apparently some units are broke (rumour has it due to mismanagement) and others are just cheap. But at least no more talk of forcibly retiring him and causing him to give up his salary for the rest of the year! He will retire as scheduled on the 8th of December and not before -- but possibly later if they give him proper medical leave orders like they're supposed to but at this point everyone is so stingy with the money we're not holding our breath for that. We'll just be happy with the extra *several* thousand bucks if he doesn't retire until December.
What does all this mean, practically? Unfortunately, we're still not sure. Mom is flying down there after work on Thursday and coming back on Sunday -- leaving me in NC for the holiday weekend alone. That's OK by me, as it's easier on my body than two flights in a short space, I'm just a little concerned about being alone while going off a psych med so if anyone is willing to volunteer to be my after hours panic call (after t's hours that is, so after 7pm Eastern til about 11pm when I usually go to bed), that would rock. I'm hoping I won't have any panic attacks but you never know...
Then, whenever they decide to move him to Georgia, we have to swoop in and move his stuff. If we don't have to move him physically too! That means Mom and I fly down to Tampa (dates still TBA but no later than the 26th as that's when his lease is up), pack up his stuff (we've already done some of that) and get his friends to help us load up the trailer as Mom and I can't do that many trips up and down two flights of stairs. Then we either drive with him to Georgia and go on with the stuff to NC or we go straight to NC. And then I go back to the UK on the 30th!
In any case, my father won't be well for months to come and my summer is utterly ruined. Mom and I have been trying to sneak in some fun, mostly and hour here or there buying up obscene amounts of craft supplies, but we've had virtually no time to actually *craft*. I'm going to try to make up this week, especially while she is away, but pretty much all of our major projects are out the window :(
Oh well, at least I got my diabetes care and found a psychiatrist who can oversee med changes since my GP is clueless on that aspect. And I've gotten a LOT of new craft supplies :)
Thanks to everyone who has expressed support and/or offered prayers and good wishes for my dad and my family. It's very appreciated.
Daddy is still in the hospital but mercifully it's NOT cancer. However, Mom had an important meeting and I had an appt with my psychiatrist that I'd waited a month for and I couldn't put it off any longer if I wanted to go back to England with my med change a fait accompli. (I'm switching to Cymbalta since it may help even more with fatigue and pain, yaay!) Plus I couldn't take much more of sleeping on an air mattress -- 2.5 weeks was more than enough! So we drove back to North Carolina and got here late on Saturday and were dead to the world on Sunday and had errands and appointments Monday (like picking up my computer from the shop, wheee! Still haven't put all my data back on it yet so I may be slow with online stuff until I get the energy to do that.)
The story is that Daddy is still in Tampa General Hospital and is having another test today after which it's up to his GP (Air Force) to determine if he should be released or flown by civilian air as an inpatient to his next location/hospital. (Apparently the military will only fly you if you're an inpatient, otherwise it's strictly ground transport which is not very comfortable for people with severe inflammation of the colon :P Stupid military!!!) He's going to Ft. Benning in Columbus, GA rather than home to NC :( They still can't tell if it's Ulcerative Collitis or Chron's and they don't know what is causing the pesky blood clots and the really extreme swelling (that then goes away almost as quickly as it came) in his feet and legs. So they want him at Benning as their hospitals are better than at Ft. Bragg. (Our hope was that if he went to Bragg they'd admit defeat and send him to Duke's VA unit which is effectively here in town with us, but they don't want to take any chances so fair enough.)
So the various parts of the military are still playing pass the buck about who is going to pay for his transport. It's really shameful :( You would think that with the billions the military gets for the current wars they could afford a few hundred bucks for airfare and taxis for a soldier who fell ill while on active duty, but apparently some units are broke (rumour has it due to mismanagement) and others are just cheap. But at least no more talk of forcibly retiring him and causing him to give up his salary for the rest of the year! He will retire as scheduled on the 8th of December and not before -- but possibly later if they give him proper medical leave orders like they're supposed to but at this point everyone is so stingy with the money we're not holding our breath for that. We'll just be happy with the extra *several* thousand bucks if he doesn't retire until December.
What does all this mean, practically? Unfortunately, we're still not sure. Mom is flying down there after work on Thursday and coming back on Sunday -- leaving me in NC for the holiday weekend alone. That's OK by me, as it's easier on my body than two flights in a short space, I'm just a little concerned about being alone while going off a psych med so if anyone is willing to volunteer to be my after hours panic call (after t's hours that is, so after 7pm Eastern til about 11pm when I usually go to bed), that would rock. I'm hoping I won't have any panic attacks but you never know...
Then, whenever they decide to move him to Georgia, we have to swoop in and move his stuff. If we don't have to move him physically too! That means Mom and I fly down to Tampa (dates still TBA but no later than the 26th as that's when his lease is up), pack up his stuff (we've already done some of that) and get his friends to help us load up the trailer as Mom and I can't do that many trips up and down two flights of stairs. Then we either drive with him to Georgia and go on with the stuff to NC or we go straight to NC. And then I go back to the UK on the 30th!
In any case, my father won't be well for months to come and my summer is utterly ruined. Mom and I have been trying to sneak in some fun, mostly and hour here or there buying up obscene amounts of craft supplies, but we've had virtually no time to actually *craft*. I'm going to try to make up this week, especially while she is away, but pretty much all of our major projects are out the window :(
Oh well, at least I got my diabetes care and found a psychiatrist who can oversee med changes since my GP is clueless on that aspect. And I've gotten a LOT of new craft supplies :)
Thanks to everyone who has expressed support and/or offered prayers and good wishes for my dad and my family. It's very appreciated.