Things Change Fast

As I sit here and listen to the thunder outside as a storm approaches and I wait for 2am to get here to I can begin my 26+ hour trip to Austin, TX for this year’s Big Android BBQ I thought I would write a blog post.

Here goes…

My dad came home tonight. They were supposed to do an MRI on his liver, but he’s too big to fit into the machine. The hospital he was at doesn’t have an open MRI. So, since they couldn’t do that, he has been stable and they’ve run all the tests they can on him, they sent him home. They seem to think that these episodes are stress related. They also think he’s depressed somewhat. They have him on anti-depressants for like a month. He’s also on some breathing meds because he’s been congested and having trouble breathing. We weren’t really sure it was a good idea to be sending him home, but after we talked to his regular doctor, we began to feel a little better. He said if there’s nothing else they can do for him it’s better that he comes home. If he’s in the hospital he’s more likely to get an infection or catch something. So he was sent home with a new collection of medication to add to his old collection. My mom is going to call his doctor tomorrow to make an appointment for Monday as that’s the soonest he can get him in. Other than that things are the same. However my school schedule changed again. My second class was cancelled, so I had to send both of my textbooks back, the lady in the textbook department told me I have to confirm my schedule again and I’ll have new books shipped to me. I have the option to have them overnighted for an extra $25 and I’m going to do that. This way when I get back from Texas my books will be here waiting for me. So anyway, that’s about all from me for tonight. I probably won’t post again until next week.

Some Good, Some Bad, Some In Between

            Since my last blog post not much has changed with my dad. They did more testing and so far nothing has come back definitive. They were supposed to do an MRI of his liver today because they saw some spots on it but the machine is down so that will have to wait. They don’t seem that concerned about them at this point, they just want to make sure. If they don’t like what the MRI shows or doesn’t show they might do a liver biopsy. Other than that the only other explanation for these “pseudo seizures” as his doctor has called them would be psychological. They talked about the possibility of sending him somewhere nearby to be observed via video camera so they can see what happens when he has an episode. My mom and I found out today that my uncle who is no longer with us had a tumor on his pituitary gland and that caused him to have seizures and that was the reason he eventually passed away because it couldn’t be treated. They don’t think that is what’s going on here, but at least they have the information. My aunt never told us anything about this, so the fact that my uncle had these seizures came as a surprise when my other uncle mentioned it this morning. We set up this meeting this morning because when my mom was talking to the doctor yesterday we could hardly understand what he was saying over the phone. His accent was so thick I even had a hard time, and I can usually do pretty well. It’s really starting to get frustrating because we want to get my dad into rehab for physical therapy so he can come home soon. My mom needs to go back to work and life really just needs to get back to normal. We never imagined this is where we would be when we took him to the hospital two weeks ago.

            Time for a change of subject; some of you may or may not know I’m in college. Well, at the end of term at the end of June my GPA was low. So low in fact, that I was put on Academic Probation. It was partly my fault and partly the fact that I’m terrible at school. So, this last term that just ended we paid for out of pocket. I took one class and it cost $1500. We paid it in three payments over the course of the term. I say we because my mom has been helping me all along. So, after this last term my GPA was still low because again, I struggled in my class. After that I knew if I wasn’t able to get financial aid there’s no way I’d be able to stay in school. I didn’t want to give up, so I e-mailed my advisor and within about 20 minutes she called me back. She told me that they had changed the requirements for my major so some of the classes that I sucked in wouldn’t count towards my GPA if I switched over to the new catalog, so I did that. So now I need to talk to someone in financial aid, plus return at least one of the text books that I already got and reconfirm my schedule because one of the classes for the upcoming term is also not required for my major anymore. I’m trying to get all of this taken care of NOW because Thursday of course I’m leaving for Texas (see y’all at the BBQ!!) and I won’t get back until the very beginning of term, so I NEED this done now. I’ve been so stressed and worn out from dealing with my dad that I haven’t had it in me to deal with this too. But I also don’t want to take a break from school because it’ll be that much harder to go back in a few months. I’d rather just push through and keep going now.

            On top of that, I need to make jewelry for the craft fair coming up at the end of November. I know if I wait too long I won’t have time and I won’t have things ready. Plus, I love to write pen pal letters to friends all over the world (mostly US though) and I’ve even been neglecting that lately. They all understand of course, but I still feel so bad that I have this stack of letters sitting and staring at me and it sucks. AND, I also think either I’ve gotten a head cold or my allergies are screwing with me again because my nose is stuffy and runny and my head is congested. Anyway, I think I’ve gotten just about everything off my chest. If you got this far, congratulations. If not, :-P!!! LOL

My First Blog Post

Who would have thought my first blog post would be about my family? Not me, that’s for sure. There’s been a lot going on this weekend and it’s still going on as I type. Friday night around 11pm my dad was trying to go to bed, but couldn’t. He hollered for my mom and told her something was wrong. His breathing wasn’t good and he was shaking. She called for me and I came up from the basement to see what was going on. I went into the bedroom and saw him sitting on the side of the bed and he didn’t look good. I asked him if he felt nauseous, he said he didn’t know so I put the trash can in front of him. Then I asked him if he was hurting and he said no. I also asked him if his breathing was ok and that’s when he said no. That’s when we decided to call 911. Mom sat with him while I got dressed and vice versa. We wanted to be ready for the paramedics and to go to the hospital with him too. The paramedics were great, as were the nurses and doctors in the ER.

We were sitting in the ER for a good four hours and they admitted him and once he was settled in his room we had to come home and get some sleep, or at least try. After tossing and turning until about 11am, I got up and got ready to go back to the hospital to check on my dad. My mom had called the hospital and talked to my dad’s nurse and some other things. They told us he didn’t like the CPAP machine they gave him to use so we packed his up and took it to the hospital for him to use.

Sunday I decided to go to church, I needed to do something else other than sit around and wonder how he was doing. I also got to be at our Pastor’s son’s dedication, which was really nice to be a part of. Afterwards we went to their house for lunch and spent some time with everyone. My mom had a chance to stay home and get some things done. We were also able to clean up some things and do some grocery shopping. Mom has been taking time off while dealing with all of this.

This morning there was some drama with some of the family. They seemed to think that everything should have been put on hold and we should have been spending every waking moment at the hospital with my dad. Now, that’s not to say we didn’t go visit him, obviously, but my mom and I are the only ones running the house. We had to buy food, pay bills, clean, take care of our cats, and um hello, rest. So, my mom told it like it was and put them in their place real quick. We’ve been through this before and sitting at the hospital 24/7 does nothing except make us crazy with worry more so than being at home. At least at home we can get things done. And believe me, my dad always calls and my mom calls the hospital to talk to the nurses and my dad too. Plus, our house phone is always ringing with someone calling to check on us and him.

Anyway, the nurse had mentioned something about the possibility of him being sent home this morning and that freaked him out because he’s not in any shape to come home yet. The nurse also gave him some papers to read about Dilantin toxicity. He thought it was paperwork for him to sign to be discharged, but we quickly put that to rest. That’s when we found out his Dilantin levels are higher than normal and that’s what they think is causing his symptoms because all of his tests have come back negative or normal. His heart, lungs, brain and everything are ok. This was the only thing that came back as abnormal, so that’s the only thing they have to go on at this point. This evening when we went to visit him, he had the paper sitting on his table and after reading it, I agree because the symptoms he had are listed on the paper. The therapist said that over time the Dilantin will work its way out of his system and his symptoms will go away.

The rehab place he’s being transferred to is close to home, walking distance as a matter of fact. We’re hoping he’s not going to be there more than two or three weeks because it will cost a lot of money as his Medicare will only cover the first 20 days, then after that the co pay has to be paid out of pocket. Normally, the supplemental insurance would pick up after 20 days, but the rehab place we chose doesn’t take my dad’s supplemental insurance and that would cost us a lot of money. We took a tour of the place and it’s really nice, so we feel good about the place. There’s even a woman from our old church that has been there for years and she likes it there, so that makes us feel better too. Not sure what time tomorrow the transfer is going to happen but they are supposed to call and let us know so we can be there. My dad gets anxious and it always asking if we’re going to visit him. He’s always afraid that we’ll get tired of him or something.

I’m really hoping that this blog will focus more on my jewelry that on my dad to day events, but I know what’s going on in that department is going to affect my jewelry. I recently ordered a bunch of supplies from Fire Mountain Gems and when it gets here I’m going to be up to my butt in supplies and hopefully making lots for the craft fair I’m doing this November. Keep an eye out and I’ll post more as possible.