First, I want to thank everyone who has sent encouraging messages of support to me. I try to respond to everyone, but sometimes stuff falls through the cracks of my addled brain, so feel free to kick me in the ass if you don't hear from me.
Dad is IMPROVING! Slowly, to be sure, but he is awake, alert and moving his upper body. He's been weaned off the ventilator and can talk with his capped trach, but he's struggling big time with anxiety. Any time he gets into a seated position, he started hyperventilating and feels like he can't breath, even though everything indicates he is breathing normally and his oxygen levels are great. This has become a major roadblock and the anxiety and depression are dragging him so far behind in his therapy, the insurance is planning on kicking him out of his acute care facility (why do people think our health care system is acceptable?) and the physical rehab center he should be in won't take him until he's improved. Any day now, he might be moved to God-knows-where and we are scrambling to find a facility where he can continue treatment. My mother's at the end of her rope and trying to calm her is becoming a daily battle. Meanwhile, I've adopted their dog so she has a bit more freedom in her mobility. She really needs to spend less time at the hospital. I think they are becoming codependent and it's harming them both in the end. I'm going to try and give her a break tomorrow and spend the day with my dad (he's in the suburbs, so it's very difficult for me to get out there unless I take their car).
Anyway, three steps forward...two steps back...
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
Updated On: 10/14/10 at 11:42 AM
