An update on my father

[Alaric]

Some of you may remember from some time back that my father hasn't been doing very well for a while now. He has a form of leukemia, and developed a hematoma next to his brain (it was surgically drained, but came back- it's completely stable, though). Since that time, he's developed an additional problem- severe pain in his legs, making walking very difficult, even with the use of a cane. For a while, the cause of this pain was unknown, but a couple of weeks ago, it was discovered that his leg bones are very brittle, so brittle he could shatter them by stepping down too hard. His doctors believe that the leukemia, which affects his bone marrow, is the cause of this condition- while the form of leukemia my father has is considered less dangerous then other forms, in the past, it's mostly been seen in patients older than my father (not that he's young), so it hasn't actually been observed in a patient who lived as long with the condition as my father has so far before, so this particular side effect hasn't been documented before.

Anyway, the upshot is, my father's in the hospital right now, having undergone surgery twice in order to place metal rods in his legs (they had wanted to do both legs at once, but his blood pressure dropped faster than expected during the first surgery, so they did the second leg the next day). Yesterday (the day after the second surgery), he wasn't doing very well- his blood pressure was low, and his heart rate was very high. They believe this was due to the stress the surgery put on his body. I can't help being very worried.

On top of all of that, today's his birthday. I'm about to try calling him at the hospital- if I can't reach him, I'll call my mother on her cell phone to find out how he's doing.

I may have to go up to Massachusetts to help my parents out for a few days- I can more easily drop everything and head up there than either of my brothers can.

[GGiant]

I hope you're father will be in good condition soon...

[BentonGrey]

Alaric, you and your family are in our prayers. 

[The Hitman]

Wow, Al. I'm sorry to hear that. Good luck with everything, you and yours will be in my thoughts.

[Glitch Girl]

My thoughts and prayers are with you Alaric.  Times like this can be very hard.  Here's hoping for the best outcome possible. 

[AncientSpirit]

My thoughts and prayers are with your father, too, for a speedy recovery.

[cmdrkoenig67]

I really regret hearing of your dad's illness and health trials, Al...Please know you have my best wishes and thoughts.

Dana

[BlueBard]

God be with you, your dad, and your family.  Just keep in mind that even in the darkest times, there are good things that make life beautiful.  I know that from experience.  My own dad has and has had serious health issues, but he's recovered time and again.  (I'd like to say he's "bounced back", but recovered is good enough.)  I pray that your dad recovers, too.

[The Phantom Eyebrow]

Very sorry to hear about this Al.  I hope it all goes well and your father can make a speedy recovery. 

[Alaric]

Sorry for the necropost, but I figured this would be easier than explaining the whole thing all over again. Just wanted to let people know, my father's back home now (after spending several weeks in a nursing home recovering) and is doing well. he can walk pretty well with a cane, and is starting to walk without one. He's tired, and has trouble concentrating on more than one thing at a time, but he's basically doing well. His appetite is better than it's been for a while, and his blood is also in better shape than it's been for some time. Thanks, i think, to the physical therapy he's been undergoing, his posture is better than I ever remember it being, as well. I spent the last week with my parents- it was great to see my father at home.

The only problem is, he thinks he'll be able to drive soon, and, given his concentration problems and general tiredness, I'm not so sure that's a good idea. I mean, he's still having trouble with a lot of very basic things, like, say, making a sandwich. Still, overall, he's doing very well.

[Dyam]

I hope things stay alright with him.

[yell0w_lantern]

Glad to hear he's back home. The driving is a common sticking point with folks. Often, even people with uncontrolled seizures seem to have no insight that SOMETHING BAD will happen on the road like crashing into a car carrying an infant.

[Glitch Girl]

Good to hear he's home again and is improving.  I hope he accepts that driving right now, not the best idea.  Still it sounds like things are getting much better.  I'm glad. 

[docdelorean88]

Fantastic news! Glad to hear he is doing well!

[kkhohoho]

Glad to hear you dad's doing well. And yes, I too hope that your dad accepts driving as something he'd ought to not be doing at this moment.

[The Hitman]

Glad to hear he's doing well, Al!

[Gremlin]

Good to hear. I'm glad things took a turn for the better.

[BentonGrey]

Hey Alaric, I'm glad to hear that he is home and recovering well.  Our prayers will stay with you.

[The Phantom Eyebrow]

Great news that he's back home and recovering Al!  Very glad to hear it.   

I'd definitely keep an eye on him re the driving though; although you're in a better position to judge than we are here.