a rough week
A week ago tonight, my dad had a stroke. It has been a week of ups and downs. On Wednesday night the doctor told us that dad's progress was encouraging, then an hour later he was being transported in an ambulance to a hospital in the medical center for emergency surgery. He was finally awake and speaking clearly enough on Saturday night to demand food and root beer. Then on Sunday morning when we went to visit, he could hardly breathe even after being put on a respirator. He is stable now, occasionally responsive when we talk to him but mostly seemingly asleep. We are in wait-and-see mode now.
In the mean time, I began my new job last week too. Fortunately my brothers and sisters have been wonderful about supporting mom and spending time with her at the hospital so that I've been able to work with a clear conscience. The nieces and nephews were all here this weekend with their parents, and it was fun to spend time with them. They made the cutest audio tape for my dad since they of course are too young to go in and visit him.
We've seen other sad things too that have made us appreciate how fortunate we are. There is a young man in the same ICU that shot himself in the head. His young wife and their friends visit him every day.
The Olympics have been fun to watch when we can. I love watching Michael Phelps butterfly stroke and May-Treanor/Walsh playing volleyball. We're making a list of sports for short people, preferably sports that are inexpensive to get started in. Women's water polo is looking good, especially since the team captain is not only short like me, but she is also a little heavier than your average Olympian...very encouraging for me...plus I love swimming. Work is going well, I think, and my new boss was really supportive when I told her what was happening with my dad.
As ever, when the bad things happen, I am amazed by how many blessings also occur so that nothing is as bad or discouraging as it might be.
In the mean time, I began my new job last week too. Fortunately my brothers and sisters have been wonderful about supporting mom and spending time with her at the hospital so that I've been able to work with a clear conscience. The nieces and nephews were all here this weekend with their parents, and it was fun to spend time with them. They made the cutest audio tape for my dad since they of course are too young to go in and visit him.
We've seen other sad things too that have made us appreciate how fortunate we are. There is a young man in the same ICU that shot himself in the head. His young wife and their friends visit him every day.
The Olympics have been fun to watch when we can. I love watching Michael Phelps butterfly stroke and May-Treanor/Walsh playing volleyball. We're making a list of sports for short people, preferably sports that are inexpensive to get started in. Women's water polo is looking good, especially since the team captain is not only short like me, but she is also a little heavier than your average Olympian...very encouraging for me...plus I love swimming. Work is going well, I think, and my new boss was really supportive when I told her what was happening with my dad.
As ever, when the bad things happen, I am amazed by how many blessings also occur so that nothing is as bad or discouraging as it might be.