Jeepers, Gang! This is gonna be the most exhausting Christmas ever!
Well, no one is laid up with cancer, or from a horrible car accident, or is being shipped off to The SandBox...
For a guy who had his neck filleted, a whole bunch of cervical vertebrae fused, and had everything stitched back together, Dad was in fairly good shape. The tingling and loss of sensation has gone away, and his dexterity has returned. The big problem was waiting for his insurance to make up their damn minds about paying for inpatient OT and PT (they eventually didn't, the fuckers) and taking care of Dad when he got out of the 36 hours after surgery when the hard core pain meds have worn off and there is no comfortable position to be found.
Aunt T and Uncle D were Beyond Helpful; they live 1/2 an hour from the hospital where Dad was at, and took us in with great food, fun company, lots of booze, and help in getting Dad back home. Uncle D had the same procedure done, and he's in great shape now healthwise, and was a lot of help in telling us what to expect in terms of discomfort and the nature of the recovery process.
Still, I'm tired; me and J were focused on helping Mom; she was really, really, stressed, and that is when she gets rushed. So the two of us were busy getting snacks, moving all of Dad's stuff into the car, making sure ALL of Dad's stuff was in the car, keeping Dad entertained as his two Helper Monkeys Who Talk, remembering the route from T and D's house to the hospital and back...
We're home now. With any luck, the bottle of tequila I sent little bro for Xmas will have arrived w/o the US Postal Service being any wiser, and I'll dig out the little Southwestern tchotchkes I got everyone for Xmas, and I will eventually be back in Santa Fe relaxing by dealing with high strung artists and sales staff!
For a guy who had his neck filleted, a whole bunch of cervical vertebrae fused, and had everything stitched back together, Dad was in fairly good shape. The tingling and loss of sensation has gone away, and his dexterity has returned. The big problem was waiting for his insurance to make up their damn minds about paying for inpatient OT and PT (they eventually didn't, the fuckers) and taking care of Dad when he got out of the 36 hours after surgery when the hard core pain meds have worn off and there is no comfortable position to be found.
Aunt T and Uncle D were Beyond Helpful; they live 1/2 an hour from the hospital where Dad was at, and took us in with great food, fun company, lots of booze, and help in getting Dad back home. Uncle D had the same procedure done, and he's in great shape now healthwise, and was a lot of help in telling us what to expect in terms of discomfort and the nature of the recovery process.
Still, I'm tired; me and J were focused on helping Mom; she was really, really, stressed, and that is when she gets rushed. So the two of us were busy getting snacks, moving all of Dad's stuff into the car, making sure ALL of Dad's stuff was in the car, keeping Dad entertained as his two Helper Monkeys Who Talk, remembering the route from T and D's house to the hospital and back...
We're home now. With any luck, the bottle of tequila I sent little bro for Xmas will have arrived w/o the US Postal Service being any wiser, and I'll dig out the little Southwestern tchotchkes I got everyone for Xmas, and I will eventually be back in Santa Fe relaxing by dealing with high strung artists and sales staff!