August 31, 2008

• What A Week

  6:30 Tuesday morning, I got one of those calls that nobody ever wants to receive. It was an out of state number not entered in the contact list on the phone. My heart and stomach were on the floor before I ever answered. “Your Dad was eating breakfast and collapsed. We aren’t sure if he had a stroke or just choked. We’ve done the Heimlich and we are waiting for the paramedics to arrive.” I think I asked and answered all the right questions. I made the necessary phone calls to family friends that can get to the hospital before I can. I packed a bag, took a deep breath & attempted to make the 3 & ½ hour drive to Oklahoma without falling apart. Rush hour traffic was awful & it took me well over an hour just to get North of Dallas. I called to check on him in the ER. He was on a respirator so he was unable to talk but alert & knew who & where he was. I spoke to the nurse & she said his condition was non-emergent, would be extubated and most likely sent home that day. I sighed a relief and called off the trip to Oklahoma. Finally got to work around 9:30, did my best to make my way through the morning & decided to check in on him at 11:30. He was still intubated & on the respirator. They were using words like “advance directives” & that changed the course of my day once again.

  I was back to the truck and on my way to Oklahoma. By the time I got there he had been extubated an was able to talk a little. They had inserted a g-tube in his nose on precaution that he may not be able to swallow properly. Three years ago Dad began to have some slurred speech & I told him he needed to get it checked out. There have been numerous doctors & visits in that time period & was finally diagnosed with a slow progressing case of ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), also known as Lou Gehrig’s, a few months ago. Wednesday they performed a swallow study and the results were that he aspirated on all three liquid thickness levels (liquid, nectar & puree). In order for him to receive nutrition in a safe way, a PEG tube would have to be surgically placed in his stomach. The surgery for that was done Thursday afternoon & I was able to bring him home Friday afternoon.

  I initiated home health service visits for him for the next 60 days to make sure everything is ok with him medically. That is my only worry, he is still the Dad I have always known. He is very active, walks two miles a day, goes to garage sales and collects antiques, has lots of close friends that he goes and does things with. The only impairment he has is not being able to swallow or speak very well. There will be some speech therapy in the days to come to help with that & maybe by the grace of God he can eat a few things again. I have prayed , chanted , talked cried and maybe even done a little voodoo to every deity I could think of that he went out for breakfast instead of eating at home. It means his work and time are not over yet & I am thankful for that!

  Gary Jules-Mad World This song was playing near the elevators on some tv infomercial for the hospital every morning I went to see him. I'm sure I will hear it years from now and still remember.

  • 7:01 pm
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