Happy Tofurkey Day, friends...gobble gobble gobble! I'm grateful for my dad...and for YOU!

 Treason's greedings, everyone...

I just got back home from the hospital where my dad is now...

He had his first ever bout of atrial fibrillation, or a-fib, on Halloween...which had him in the hospital for a couple days until he cardioverted (converted back into normal rhythm) on medication. Then, on 3 November, they discharged him to the acute rehab facility, which we used before and liked very much, to get back on his feet so he could go back to being independent while I'm gone 12 hours every day at work. Then, he caught a urinary tract infection, or UTI, which weakened him and made him very, very sleepy. Friends, I had never seen him so sick. But he was starting to mend just fine. Then, a week ago Sunday and Monday or Monday and Tuesday, for over 24 hours, they were giving him his oral medications while he was too sleepy to swallow them without choking...so he choked on his medications and aspirated them, leading to aspiration pneumonia...and he's been in a different hospital--one less than a mile away from the rehab--since like a week ago Tuesday.

So he's been in three different facilities since Halloween--not home once since--and he's been in this particular hospital for over a week.

The timeline is becoming a blur.

This hospital trip has been the most scared I've ever been for my father's health. With the pneumonia, we were not sure he'd pull through. And, of course, he went back into a-fib again. This place was smart enough to put him on Cardizem rather than digoxin...Cardizem is gentler and doesn't drop the heart rate so drastically...the digoxin dropped his heart rate to well under 40 beats per minute, or bpm. The Cardizem cardioverted him I think within 24 hours, which is good. But he was still too weak to take anything by mouth until late last week, which means that he was off his Parkinson's meds for at least three days...which led to some very disturbing symptoms to see. Very disturbing...very disturbing. Again, we weren't sure he'd survive.

But, yesterday, his breathing started to sound a whole lot better...and, today, his breathing is nearly normal. So that's encouraging.

But now he has oral thrush because of all the mouth breathing and dryness, so he's hardly eating.

Cue Dot Calm's shadow banging head against brick wall....

I woke up this morning just hoping to spend the day with my dad and grateful that I still could.

And I am grateful that I did!

What I can say is that, even though he slept almost the whole time from 11:40 this morning until I left at 7:15 this evening, what little he was awake, he was completely lucid...in contrast to how he was off his meds (holy crap holy crap holy crap...and I don't even want to talk about the grimacing and non-purposeful movements and the apparent delusions and the combativeness in my normally sweet dad)...so seeing him resting peacefully today and moving gently and purposefully when he was awake was a ginormous improvement over how he's been since he's been in this particular hospital.

Now...if only we can get him mended from the thrush and back on his feed...and then into a rehab program to finish getting his strength back...then I'll be able to bring him back home happy, healthy, and strong, and we'll be golden.

Holy phuque.

Seriously, dear ones--if you or anyone you love ever goes into a medical facility in this benighted country, make sure they have a knowledgeable, vigilant advocate on the outside who's ready, willing, and able to ride these people and watch them like a hawk.

The rehab was only trying to help my dad. I know that. But there's no way in hell they should ever have been giving him meds by mouth while he was too sleepy to swallow them--especially after the first time he choked on them.

Seriously!

Now, all of that said, like I said, I was grateful to be able to spend the day today with my dear delightful dad. Even though he slept through most of my visit, I know that he knew I was there, and he knew when I left this evening, and he was able to eat a few bites each of lunch and dinner.

And he knew that the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Dog Show were on--they were favorites of Dot Calm, so now I make a point of watching them, too.

So I am profoundly, devoutly grateful for the progress my dad has made back toward full health--not bad for an 87-year-old--and I am grateful for all of you in the Resistance.

Thanks for your patience with me as I've fallen so far behind posting videos and remarks here.

Before I go put my feet up and get some rest so I can get back to the hospital in time for my dad's endoscopy tomorrow (they want to make sure his throat is ok), allow me to post these two goodies without which Tofurkey Day would not be complete...enjoy!

Dot Calm used to post the video of Sarah Palin pardoning one turkey while another was being slaughtered right behind her, but I wonder if she ever saw this version:

And now a favorite from my childhood:

- Dot Calm's shadow