Lately it seems like every time I turn aound it's a Friday. Time flies when you're going nuts!
What a week! And to top it all off, my dad had emergency eye surgery this morning.
On Monday evening he complained that his vision was blurry. Tuesday, he had a headache and still had blurry vision. My mom called the eye doctor and got my dad an appointment for Wednesday morning. She called me from the doctor's office to let me know that an emergency appointment had been made with a specialist and they were off to that doctor. The doctor had discovered a tear and partial detachment of the retina in Dad's left eye. His left eye had been his only "good" eye. He has macular degeneration in the right eye and very little vision with it. So the specialist did a thorough exam and explained the surgery. They create a gas bubble inside the eye (in the vitreous) that acts like a clamp and holds the detached part of the retina in place until it reattaches. The surgery would be just "day surgery" but recovery takes about 6 weeks. It has an 85% success rate. My fingers and toes are crossed as decent vision is soooo important for my dad. Especially since emphysema and lung cancer have severely limited his physical activity. He normally reads six books each week!
The surgery was scheduled for Monday morning. Dad was scheduled for the mandatory EKG on Friday afternoon. Thursday noontime comes around and brings a call from the specialist's office. Oops, the doctor forgot Monday is a holiday, so the surgery would be the next morning at 7 a.m. get the EKG rescheduled!
No easy feat! And guess what? After all the racing around, the medical center never got the EKG results to the hospital. They ended up having to do another one right before the operation! The head nurse was a bit more than furious with the medical center.
The eye specialist is a super guy. Before my folks left the hospital today, he told them he would call later in the day to check up on Dad. My mom thought he probably meant someone from the office would call. 5 p.m., 6 p.m., 7 p.m., came and went. No call. At 7:38 the phone rang. Yep, it's the doctor! He talked to my mom for just a minute and she told him everything was okay, that my dad was sitting right there listening to music with his headphones. The doctor asked to talk to him and chatted for a few minutes and answered a couple questions from my dad. I am amazed! They have to be at his office for a post surgery check tomorrow morning. The doctor actually works on a Saturday morning if he's needed!!!!!
***ANOTHER UPDATE***
News from the bathroom project. Most of the painting is finished. I have a couple patches to touch up. I decided that I really hated the plain old (recycled from downstairs) mirror that was on the wall over the sink. It was just a big square of mirrored glass held up with four of those clear plastic brackets. Yuck. So I bought a nicer looking, if smaller, mirror with a white frame around it. It looks great with the white vanity, wall cabinet, and fixtures. Of course that left the four holes to be patched. I prefitted/precut all the beadboard. Today, I got a coat of stain on it. Next it will get a few coats of satin poly. Then installed. I hope to be at that stage by next Friday!
THE 13th
2 comments:
I am so sorry to hear about your dad's need for emergency eye surgery. He has had such a hard path to walk. And it impacts your life as well as you are right there walking beside him.
Prayers are with your whole family. I don't think you have one extra minute left over for relaxation but you must take care of you as well as your family. Easy to give advice but I know it is hard to find time just for you. Painting the bathroom can be a nice change but you are still expending energy.
Maybe walking delivering the papers is reenergizing. I know when I could walk, I solved the world's problems as I did my miles and I felt good, However, you do have to concentrate on stopping at every house or so and also waving to all of us who pass you by in our cars. So much for being carefree.
The walking is great. It is the only time that I *do* have just to myself. Sort of. It lets me go through my upcoming day in my head, think about friends and their needs, problem solve, and do a bit of creative nonsense thinking. Just so you know, every once in awhile I do miss with someone's paper. Then I have to do ALOT of thinking to figure out where that "extra" paper belongs! Don't tell anyone, though.
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