Dad's in the hospital

Apr 12, 2007 at 9:07 AM
6 comments

I got a call from his wife, Carol, last night. He had been getting increasingly weak, and then also seemed to be breathless. She took him into the cancer center for some blood work; his pulse was up around 160 so they sent him over to the ER. In the ER they got his pulse stabilized, but both his white cell count (2.2) and hemoglobin (8.5) were low so they got a transfusion going last night.

I talked to him this morning and he's feeling better (hemoglobin is up to 9.8), but they are running lots of tests to see if he might have an underlying infection. It's a bit odd that his white cell count a week ago was up around 17, now it's down so low. Hopefully, they can sort out what's going on here.

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Sorry to hear your dad is back at hospital! I hope things get sorted out quickly.

Thanks, Reese. My Dad's really been on my mind today. He always sounds so positive and upbeat: "this is just what I need to do now." I am just so frustrated for him that he just can't quite seem to turn the corner on this yet. I think they are having a hard time sorting out what might be due to chemo side-effects and what might be due to something else going on. But, I have to remember that there are positive signs that the chemo is working.

Man, where do these seniors get their courage, and will I have it when I face similar challenges? I wonder if it's the necessity of seeming brave for us (and they still interact with us as if we're children, in many ways).

Mark, you took the words right out of my mouth. And I was thinking about what a give of love it is, really, that an element may be that he wants to protect me.

Right.

Strangely, when kids are around that I share responsibility for in some way, I get less concerned about unpleasant events, like weather that suddenly gets scary, or a homeless person wandering into a picnic or something. I deal with them more proactively I guess. When you're the adult, that is sort of your job, so you do it. And the funny thing is, you actually feel it, too. As if the fact that you are supposed to be brave actually makes you that way? Nature follows art, they say. If you buy that, it follows that the elders are actually getting their strength and courage from the youngsters, in a way... their courage comes from their role, and they're not just acting it, but actually feeling it.

Either way, your Dad is certainly lucky to have you!

Mark, Philip Yancey, in Reaching for the Invisible God suggests "living as if it was true" through periods of doubt. He is talking about matters of faith, but I think the idea has enormous power and applies broadly across all aspects of life.

And, thanks for compliment. I'm very frustrated/guilty living so far away, though :-(. Wish I could do more to help him.

Dad's in the hospital

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