I have not blogged for a week, which is probably the longest I've gone without blogging since sometime around 2005. I have not been entirely sure what to say, although I suppose the pressure is off since so few people read zee blog regularly anymore. But I should record what's going on for posterity - of the remaining readers, we do often use it to settle disputes about what happened when, and if I'm the paper of record for such happenings, I should really stay on top of it.
So, just the facts:
- on Monday, I woke up early to prep for a meeting. As I was prepping, [censored] and I got a call that Dad was at the ER. He was supposed to have an appointment farther away to check his legs, which aren't looking good, but decided that he should go to the ER instead.
- there, we learned that his sodium is lower than the doctor has ever seen (although we learned that Tuesday night; in the ER they were not alarmist, although they were concerned).
- it became clear that if we wanted to pursue aggressive treatment, he would need to be transferred to a bigger hospital. But, there were no beds anywhere in Des Moines, and so the closest options were Cedar Rapids or Kansas City (note: neither of them are close).
- given all of his many and varied and complicated issues, we decided that it might be time for hospice. Mom, [censored] and I had a really nice conversation with the ER ARNP about this, and also talked to Dad. We didn't exactly make any firm decisions, but we decided to stay local and admit him to the hospital here.
- Tuesday, we talked to the hospice people, who are really quite nice and very supportive. Dad also got a brief visit from Darrell. And then Aunt Kathy came down, followed a bit later by Drewbaby and Sammie. We all spent the afternoon together (except for the brief period when I got allergy shots, which I of course reacted to). They stuck around for an extremely cheap dinner in the cafeteria, and then they all went back to Des Moines since [censored] and I were not up for guests.
- After they left, Mom and [censored] and I had a long conversation with the doctor on call at the hospital, whom I really liked. We agreed that it was definitely time for hospice based on the aforementioned sodium and all the other issues.
- Wednesday, Dad went home. Hospice set us up with a bunch of stuff to keep him comfortable, and luckily so far he's able to drive his scooter around the house, although he's getting weaker again...
- The hospice nurse and social worker came to meet us at home, and it's really quite impressive all the stuff that they can provide. So hopefully he can stay home for the duration, but we'll see. I also grilled some ribeyes because I absolutely had to (I'd thawed it intending to make dinner Tuesday), even though no one had much appetite.
- Thursday, they brought a different mattress to support him better, and some other random equipment. We also met the aide who will come to help with stuff, who happens to be my new neighbor. Darrell came by again, and I made a valiant effort to take some meetings - but I quickly realized I had zero interest in doing any of it.
- Friday, I took one meeting and then decided to call it a day. I hung out with the parents for awhile, and then I decided to go to Centerville to get some groceries. I also picked up Chinese food, since Dad had been craving it. This has mostly been eaten by [censored], but I expected that to happen. While I was gone, my sister came by to see Dad, but I missed her visit. Later, Lee Ann and Clell dropped off cinnamon rolls and soup, and stayed to chat for a bit.
- Saturday, Allie and Chris came down to see Dad. I figured out how to make popcorn in his popcorn popper, which is something no one else knows how to do because only Dad uses the popcorn popper. I made a new-to-me recipe for beef and noodles - I put a chuck roast in the instant pot and pressure cooked it until it fell apart, and then I brought it up to a boil and cooked a bunch of gluten free fettuccine in it. I also made mashed potatoes. We all really liked it, and it's definitely something I would make again. And Joan dropped off some soup, which means Mom and Dad's fridge has stuff in it. We ended the night by watching some Joy of Painting, which really is a joy.
- Today, I got up way too early, but had to do some stuff for the library board, so I spent a couple of quiet hours working on that while [censored] dealt with the early morning stuff at Mom and Dad's. Then I went out to their house since Zane and Allison and also Sammi came down to see Dad. We all talked for awhile, which wore Dad out, so I left shortly after they did, came home and ate a late lunch, and did some more library stuff. Then I went to the grocery store, took groceries to Mom, hung out with Dad for a bit, and then came home to make fresh mashed potatoes for [censored] and I to eat with the leftover noodles.
So that's the update. None of it is pleasant, but Dad is still lucid and able to talk (when he's not sleeping), so I guess there's that. Luckily work has been super understanding and [censored] has also mostly been off, so we can do what we need to do.
But right now what I need to do is go to bed.
