Because life was just calming down... more drama!
On Sunday night, my mom called me and said that my father fell and was on his way to the hospital. He broke his right arm and injured his hip. The bone actually broke thru the skin. I immediately left home and drove to the hospital. When I got there, he was still in the trauma room and his arm was not wrapped up yet. I saw it in all its glory. Ultimately, he ended up having emergency surgery on his arm. It was a compound fracture. He had a plate and 6 screws put in one bone and a wire thru the other to try to force it heal. He also micro-fractured his right hip. He has to keep his weight off of it and it should heal on its own. He was lucky it was not a major hip fracture! I was at the hospital until 4:30am on Monday morning. I stayed with my mom until my dad got out of surgery. The sun was up when I got home. It was a horrible situation. He was in the hospital until today. He did not come home, though. He was moved to a live-in rehab place. He is having trouble sitting up and walking because of the hip. So, they decided that rehab is the best thing for him. As much as he wants to go home, there is no way that my mom could give him all the help he needs. Not that she doesn't want to, but she just can't. He needs full time attention until he is up and walking again. Getting out of the hospital is a good thing. It's progress. But only time will tell in the whole recovery. He is gonna be out of work for a long time.
The whole thing really sucks. As my sister said today, this is what it's like when your parents get old. We both feel so helpless for different reasons. I feel bad that I live close and haven't been able to visit him more and she feels bad that she lives so far away and can't visit him. There really isn't anything we can do. But it's really hard to see your parent in the hospital. It makes me feel so old and helpless.
2 comments:
Oh yes, you are so right, Laura. That's exactly what happens when your parents get old. The day I turned 74 last year, I fell and broke my collarbone, and things have gone rapidly downhill since then. I'm sorry your parents are old now, too. I can only hope that a merciful heart attack lays me down swiftly before I get much older, and I hope that your parents are similarly rewarded with a relatively painless and speedy exit before they (and you) suffer physically and emotionally. In the meantime, may they both remain in as good humor as possible, and may you and your sister provide as much moral and physical support as you can. Take care of yourselves, too!
It's hard isn't it? My mom died 8 years ago (hard to believe it's been that long) and my dad is getting older every time I see him. And Mike's mom just had a blood clot in her leg that took her down for several weeks. She's finally beginning to get back to normal, but she's not back to where she was by a long shot. It's really tough because even if you're right there with them, you can only do so much. Hugs to both you and your sister and your parents, too.
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